what more courses should I do along with my b.tech aerospace degree to make my resume more attractive?
Hi!
I suggest you do the following!
- Join student organizations. You’d think getting the classwork and degree would be the major goal, but at university the resources made available to us were much more important. Hands-on experience is pretty hard to get in class, even at a top school. Recruiters will be impressed if you have a project to talk about, especially if you try your hand at leadership.
- Grades matter but not as much as experience. Again, if you can keep your GPA and have project experience outside of class, getting into industry is a cakewalk.
- Get good at programming. The most popular languages in aerospace engineering to code in are MATLAB, Python, and C/C++. MATLAB is probably the one you’ll get the most experience in while doing class projects, but being able to teach yourself a language will be invaluable.
- If you can, do research. Asking to work with a professor and getting some original work done is an excellent way to build your scientific resume as well as all your trouble-shooting skills. If you want to go to graduate school, this is also highly recommended. I worked with two professors as an undergraduate and did an honors thesis at the end of the road that synthesized a lot of prior work. It helped me grow as an engineer and as a scientist and paved my way to grad school. (Also, bonus if you can get a paying gig.)
- Apply to internships every summer. Once you get your foot in the door of a company, you may find it’s a pipeline to a full-time position. Some top aerospace organizations that are really competitive are NASA Pathways (a co-op deal), SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Aerospace Corporation, NASA JPL, and tons of smaller contracting companies. Find something, even if it’s a local company. The first internship is the hardest, and you’re a great candidate afterwards.
- Think about postgrad school. This is not required for most entry level positions, but depending on where you want to end up in the hierarchy you might find that research is your calling. If you want to enter on the job with more responsibility, a two-years M.S. program is worth it.