How to become an aerodynamics engineer?

[Gonner]

Hello.
I'm a french student, and, since I was 4, I've wanted to become an aero engineer.

I would like to know what are the best way to become one.
Looking on the Internet, I've found that : http://www.soton.ac.uk/ses/courses/pg/rca.html

Currently, I'm in a two year class preparing to competitive exams to engineering schools. Then, I'd like to go to a french school called Arts et Métiers, in which I can get an engineer diploma.
This school gives the possibility to its students to get a double diploma, in relation with the following universities : http://www.ensam.fr/fr/international/et ... of_science ( bottom of the page ).

Could someone give me a hand and tell me where I should / should not go. Thanks.

PS : Sorry for my english, and sorry if the topic is in the wrong place.

[Jersey Tom]

There are many, many universities you can go to for Aerospace Engineering.

[KeiB]

I think in France, you have a lot of university that offers Aerospace eng.

ESTACA, ENSICA/SUPAERO, ENAC... i think that should give you a hint

[Gonner]

Thank you both.

[freedom_honda]

a aerodynamicist working in an F1 team told me to do a mechanical degree in Uni then aerospace eng. for post. grad.

should i follow his suggestions or should i do aerospace all the way?
and one more question. With all the teams now cutting aero department due to the new rules, should i even do aerospace? because i'm not very interested in our series other than F1.

[Jersey Tom]

If you're not at uni yet, setting "F1 and only F1" as your goal is pretty lofty. It's a little silly, really. Also extremely unlikely you'd be able to just hop into top-tier motorsport without having proven yourself previously. Motorsport is a very unique, very fast-paced, competitive, stressful environment.

My suggestion would be to do MechEng in undergrad so it gives you a broad base of options upon graduation. Get heavily involved with a Formula SAE / Formula Student team while you're there... see if you like the workload and if race is something you want to do as a career or just a hobby.

From there (and you do change your outlook on life a lot from 18 to 22) you can decide if you want to go straight into industry, try working for a race team (F1 or otherwise), or do graduate work in Aero or what have you.

[freedom_honda]

True that thanks so much for the advice.

[czt]

I'd disagree with the choice of MechEng - an aeronautical degree would still offer plenty of general mechanical knowledge but would be so much more appropriate for aerodynamics. If you did choose mechanical then i'd suggest taking any optional aero modules and doing your final yeah project on an aero subject.

[mikhak]

I agree with czt. I was told many times by my "career guidance" counsellor not to do Aero. eng. because it's too restrictive and i should choose something more general for wider job prospects but I chose to aero anyway and enjoyed the course. 4years in Uni is a decent bit of time so to do something you like makes it more enjoyable. The only problem was that it was still too general for my liking with alot of subjects about materials/solid mechanics/avionics etc and too few on fluid dynamics. But there's always the option of postgrad studies to focus on your area of interest even more.
I must admit though at a recent Careers Fair talking to some engineering companies they were so prejudiced against Aeronautical engineers it was amazing. As if aero engineers knowledge solely revolved around airplanes and they cudnt see aeros as having the same general engineering skills which all engineers learn in uni. And especially as the mech and aero courses were so similar over at least 2 years.

[Conceptual]

I am personally working on cleping an "Automotive Technology" degree at Penn State University with the hope of getting into one of the US race teams (not F1). Although, every F1 team does employ AS degreed personnel.

I hope that with my business education and the AS degree that I will be able to find a job in motorsport within the next 2 years.

http://www.pct.edu/catalog/majors/BAU.shtml

Good luck to you, and I hope that you land the job that you are looking for!

[granite]

As an F1 aerodynamicist, I can offer the following advice (which may or may not be of any use to you).

My first degree was an aeronautical engineering bachelors degree which I followed with a purely aerodynamics post graduate qualification. I worked for 2 years as an aerodynamicist for a research establishment before I got a job in F1.

I would say that the mechanical/aeronautical first degree argument is irrelevant since most (possibly all) teams are now looking for applicants with an aerodynamics post graduate qualification. You frequently see adverts now for phd qualified applicants since F1 is becoming more and more theoretically based. Its no longer a case of throwing hundreds of options at the wind tunnel model and hoping that one is better than the rest. There simply isnt the budgets or wind tunnel time to use this approach anymore.

As for experiences, I would recommend that you become very familiar with a CAD/CAE package (most usefully CATIA or Unigraphics) as these are vital for your everyday work. Also, familiarity with a CFD package would be beneficial since this is becoming a vital tool in F1's armoury. There are generally dedicated CFD engineers but you need to be able to converse with them and be sure you are not asking for the impossible.

Thats a general overview from me. I can try and offer so other advice if you have other questions.

[Gonner]

I'm sorry, I don't know much about English scholar system.

If I understood the little bit I read on the Internet, when you've completed high school / college, you go to University, and, you get a first degree in 3 or 4 years. Those years are named undergraduate studies. Then, postgraduate studies last 1 or 3 years, it depends if you choose a Master or a Doctorate.

Am I right so far ?

My question is : When I'll have finish engineering school, after 5 years, I'll get my engineer diploma, which is equivalent to a Master in Engineering. Would I be able to apply for postgraduate studies ? Would I be able to apply the year before I get the diploma, if the french school and the university are partners, and therefore get what's called a " double diploma "?

Thank you.

[granite]

Hi again,

If you have a degree/diploma which is equivalent to a UK Masters degree then you can apply for a PhD directly while in the final year and they will likely offer you a place based on your final result.

Usually in the UK you need a Masters degree before a PhD but some places may ofer you a PhD with only a 3 year course (bachelors).

I am not aware if partnerships between universities in the UK and France make it any easier to get postgraduate courses in the UK. There are quite a high proportion of French aerodyanicists in F1 which I presume is due to the depth and quality of the courses which are offered by French universities.

[Callum]

Just to pop in my bit, at Glasgow Uni i think they do a mech-eng with aeronautics. Maybe you could find something similar in your country?

[PlatinumZealot]

Kool.. a real aerodynamicist in the thread.

I am interested in Aero but I think I might choose mechanical as my masters with some aero courses. England will be too expensive for me (No aid to international students!) so I will have to opt for the Us.

I think it depends on what you like.. and what you can see your self doing over the years.


I think everybody wants to be an aerodynamicist because it gets more exposure in Formula 1. But the car is still a machine .

I like mechanical because I have an overall view, I can transition from one discipline into the other. Like Aero to solid mechanics OR aerodynamics to thermodynamics to heat transfer to solid mechanics.

You can visualize the machine on a whole. But as I said it depends on you.. I like how machines work, I like seeing different components and systems move around and work together. So that will influence my choice. Aero seems nice but i think i will miss out on other things if i do it.