Dc9 Launch... 1 game day... 200 orders

[slither360]

Trust me Bob, brush up on the calculus (and the Fourier series, differential equations, Laplace transforms). You will need them.

Where do you hope to study?

Eh, I'm trying, but my teacher is awful. And trying to balance schoolwork with college admissions is a serious hassle (especially considering that I want to go to a school which works on such a specialized degree)

My guidance counselor couldn't give me a better idea of where to go to than "Embry Riddle Aeronautical University" which is a crap school with an 89% acceptance rate and a credit check instead of an application :/

[alexgv1]

Eh, I'm trying, but my teacher is awful. And trying to balance schoolwork with college admissions is a serious hassle (especially considering that I want to go to a school which works on such a specialized degree)

My guidance counselor couldn't give me a better idea of where to go to than "Embry Riddle Aeronautical University" which is a crap school with an 89% acceptance rate and a credit check instead of an application :/

My advice would then be get as much extra tuition inside and outside of school as well. Sit all the additional maths papers you can and maybe get to know an older maths/engineering student who can help you with some advanced stuff. Not saying splash out on a tutor or anything, but make the most of the free things available to you.

Good luck getting into the college that you want (look further than what the guidance counsellor advises if you are not happy). Engineering is a hard degree, and I hope you don't expect much of a social life at college compared to the arts students. But it is worth it and you wont have wasted your time there, like some people on other courses.

Not trying to put a downer on aero engineering - go for it! It's not for everyone (even myself I think at times) but you will find out what it's like for yourself.

[slither360]

My advice would then be get as much extra tuition inside and outside of school as well. Sit all the additional maths papers you can and maybe get to know an older maths/engineering student who can help you with some advanced stuff. Not saying splash out on a tutor or anything, but make the most of the free things available to you.

Good luck getting into the college that you want (look further than what the guidance counsellor advises if you are not happy). Engineering is a hard degree, and I hope you don't expect much of a social life at college compared to the arts students. But it is worth it and you wont have wasted your time there, like some people on other courses.

Not trying to put a downer on aero engineering - go for it! It's not for everyone (even myself I think at times) but you will find out what it's like for yourself.

Thanks, I really appreciate all the help I can get.

From what I understand, engineering is a tough degree, but the toughness causes lots of people to look in other directions, therefore basically guarenteeing a job if you manage to get your degree. Considering the jobs market right now, and that I've always love aviation, it seems like a good choice.

[RushmoreAir]

I'm in Calculus II right now, but my professor teaches all calc/dif EQ classes, and he actually makes Calculus fun! 

Here is his website, he has podcasts, animations, notes, key ideas, practice problems, etc.

http://www.mcs.sdsmt.edu/tkowalsk/index.html

P.S. To see past course materials go to the "Useful Archives" section

[slither360]

I'm in Calculus II right now, but my professor teaches all calc/dif EQ classes, and he actually makes Calculus fun! 

Here is his website, he has podcasts, animations, notes, key ideas, practice problems, etc.

http://www.mcs.sdsmt.edu/tkowalsk/index.html

P.S. To see past course materials go to the "Useful Archives" section

Apart from the site, which had some very creative ideas which I thought were very interesting and helpful, the main thing that I learned out of this website is that a school called the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology exists. And a couple minutes of looking at info on it, it doesn't seem like it would be a horrible place to go to (which, to be honest, was my first reaction when I read "South Dakota"). So, that begs the question, is the school worth going to, in your opinion? (starting college apps in a couple months, and I'm already stressed out about them from what everyone's telling me)

[RushmoreAir]

Apart from the site, which had some very creative ideas which I thought were very interesting and helpful, the main thing that I learned out of this website is that a school called the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology exists. And a couple minutes of looking at info on it, it doesn't seem like it would be a horrible place to go to (which, to be honest, was my first reaction when I read "South Dakota"). So, that begs the question, is the school worth going to, in your opinion? (starting college apps in a couple months, and I'm already stressed out about them from what everyone's telling me)

Of course I'm biased, but I really like the school.  The facilities are great, and the academic quality can't be beat.  The quality of the school is undeniable, something like 98-100% of students get placed in a graduate program and/or job within 1 year of graduation.  It is also reasonably affordable, with tuition (with R&B) running at something like $8k to $10k per year.  Lots of companies come to recruit; one of my friends got an internship with Goodrich testing the 747-8's electric systems.  The facilities the school offers are amazing.  We have 1.5 million dollar titanium deposition lasers and friction stir welding systems that students can experiment with in classes, etc.

http://gotomines.com/academics/

One of the cool things about the school is the CAMP program.  It allows students to explore real-world problems while still in school.  Basically, you have teams that use creative problem solving on fun projects. A few teams are the Formula Team (builds formula cars), the UAV team (builds unmanned aerial vehicles), and the Aero Team (My team  ) that designs and builds R/C aircraft from scratch.  These teams are completely student run, and fairly small (20-40 people per team) so you can have the full experience.  CAMP teams frequently beat similar teams from MIT and similar.

http://camp.sdsmt.edu/index.php
www.aeroheads.org
www.hardrockerracing.com

One other benefit of the school is the campus and student community.  Since the school is around 2,500 students, it feels small enough so that you know most everybody in your class.  The campus itself is not more than 20? acres, so it is easily walkable anywhere.  The dorms just got renovated as well, which is a benefit to incoming freshmen.

The only sad thing is that it doesn't offer aerospace engineering (AE) but the Mechanical Engineering department has a heavy emphasis on fluid dynamics, which is almost better than AE.  If you look at Boeing, most AE jobs can also be filled by ME with fluid dynamics electives.

Rapid City, a town of 67,000, is more amenable than what you would think just based on its size.  Since it's the second biggest city in the state, it has a retail/service catchment area of 300 miles, so you get lots of stores and restaurants that other towns this size wouldn't.  It also has the beautiful Black Hills, hiking and nature galore.



So, definitely consider it.  

Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.

[slither360]

Sounds like a great place, and best of all, assuming I don't flunk a couple courses next year, the website tells me that I should get auto-admission
I'll add it to my list of possible safeties

[RushmoreAir]

Correction:  8-10k per semester, not year.   

[GEnx]

Ever thought about studying abroad? The TU Delft (Technical University Delft) is one of the best technical universities in the world, at a price of about €1672 per year (subsidized by the government). Go look it up in the rankings.

University rankings are really helpful in deciding your university. I study at the University of Groningen which is also ranked in the top 100/200 in the world, which is always useful for job/study advancements.

[alexgv1]

Thanks for sharing Rushmore.

Bob you are right, with an engineering degree you open many doors on the careers front, there isn't much you can't do (and if you can't it's because you're overqualified for the job  ).

If you consider studying abroad, I wouldn't recommend the UK because fees are something like £11k per semester. If you were to go then University of Southampton has the best course in the country for Aerospace Engineering and is ranked pretty high worldwide.

[GEnx]

Bob you are right, with an engineering degree you open many doors on the careers front, there isn't much you can't do (and if you can't it's because you're overqualified for the job  ).

Not entirely true. For example: an Industrial Design degree is as much an engineering degree as Aerospace Engineering, yet the experience is that those who hold an Industrial Design degree find it difficult to obtain an appropriate job.

[slither360]

Abroad gets pricey because you have to have citizenship to get your tuition subsidized. However I'm definetely looking at all my options.

[GEnx]

This might help: http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2011/subject-rankings/engineering/mechanical-engineering

[alexgv1]

Not entirely true. For example: an Industrial Design degree is as much an engineering degree as Aerospace Engineering, yet the experience is that those who hold an Industrial Design degree find it difficult to obtain an appropriate job.

By appropriate job do you mean within the engineering industry?

I could agree there, but loads of engineering graduates go off and make their fortunes working in the city (London) as bankers, accountants, actuaries, stock brokers, etc.

So I'd say there is a job out there for an engineering graduate, at least in the UK. Getting into high industry here (e.g. Formula 1, Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Thales, etc.), however, is very competitive and requires a First Class degree and industrial experience.

[Curse]

The DC-9 vs. B737 vs. BAC-1-11 thing was discussed in the JA#4 forums and every aircraft and variant has its advantages. Saying "A is s***" or "B is much better in every scenario" is just and simply wrong.

By the way, I can understand why DC-9 (and now B727) are ordered this much - they establish a completely new class of aircraft; >75 pax short-mid-haul jet aircraft

B707 and DC-8 can be used as long-haul, too, and you can get just 11 of them a year, so why don't use another aircraft type for the job.

Another thing is... DC-9, B727 and B737 take their time this scenario and released very late. Many people waited for them and gained a good cash basis to order them. Ordering just a few of them is also not very smart. I was launch customer for B727-100 and orderer 35x and now, 6 hours later, back at home, I'm forced to order some more if I want no delivery gap...

[GEnx]

It is quite unbelievable though how aircraft like the HS Trident get completely forgotten. I believe this is the same as Pepsi vs Coca Cola, people simply choose the brand, not the "taste".

[GEnx]

By appropriate job do you mean within the engineering industry?

I could agree there, but loads of engineering graduates go off and make their fortunes working in the city (London) as bankers, accountants, actuaries, stock brokers, etc.

Well that's something I have never heard of before.. London has the finest business universities in Europe yet engineering graduates work as bankers and accountants. That sounds quite unlikely to me.

[alexgv1]

Well that's something I have never heard of before.. London has the finest business universities in Europe yet engineering graduates work as bankers and accountants. That sounds quite unlikely to me.

I'd say your view might not be well informed, most good universities are outside of London; it's just that those in the capitol have the big name/reputation.

London universities aren't actually that great, most just have a niche which they specialise in (e.g. LSE for economics, LVC for vetinary sciences, Imperial for medicine/science/engineering, Kings for arts, etc.). There may be some private universities in London which are really good for business degrees but I wouldn't know about them.

Engineers are wanted by these finance companies for their analytical thinking and methods they learn at university, most other things can easily be learn on the job (especially with the capacity of engineers).

I know this is just one person , but as an example, I'll name one of my lecturers (from an engineering degree) used to work in the city and has now taught us propulsion and analysis modules.

[GEnx]

The London Business School is ranked as the number one MBA university in the world..

Anyway, I think you overestimate the engineering degree. Of course, it offers many job opportunities but a bank can't hire a mechanical engineer and simply expect the guy to do well. One simply needs at least some financial or business education for these kind of jobs. What does happen often, though, are bachelor degree engineers following a management masters, after which they fulfill management positions in airlines, consumer electronics companies and so on. But someone solely holding an engineering degree fulfills a completely different niche in the market.

[alexgv1]

The London Business School is ranked as the number one MBA university in the world..

Anyway, I think you overestimate the engineering degree. Of course, it offers many job opportunities but a bank can't hire a mechanical engineer and simply expect the guy to do well. One simply needs at least some financial or business education for these kind of jobs. What does happen often, though, are bachelor degree engineers following a management masters, after which they fulfill management positions in airlines, consumer electronics companies and so on. But someone solely holding an engineering degree fulfills a completely different niche in the market.

Yes thats a private one I think. Could never afford them  

One path I was recommended was BEng/MEng > MBA so of course it's not always a straight transition if you don't specialise in management, kind of like you said.

I'd say there is no more versatile degree in the world than an engineering one, nor one which is better and highly esteemed. But I would say that because I'm biased (yes I am an engineering snob   , rightly so   ).