What should I do to prepare for college?

What are the pros and cons of your job? What college degree/major did you pursue in order to prepare for that job?

• I am attending my community college and plan to go on to a four year school, and will consider attending graduate school after that. I would like to widen my perspective on the different jobs available. I am interested in knowing what you personally think of your chosen field. Is it anything like what you expected it to be when you began your college studies?

• Answer:

  I am an aeronautical engineer. I started college, as a freshman, believing I would major in Physics. After the first term, I decided I was more interested in "applied physics", aka Engineering.  I took a seminar in Aeronautical engineering second term, got hooked and majored in that.  Aeronautical engineering has aspects of: structures, propulsion, fluid dynamics, guidance and control, transportation theory, etc.   Therefore it had a "little of everything". I also decided to do a Co-Op in second term Junior Year, and took a slight overload to make certain I would still graduate in four years.   I worked at (then) North American Rockwell in Los Angeles, and it was a Great experience.   Not only did I learn stuff, and make money (enough to pay for my Senior year fall tuition), I also learned that working in an aerospace company with merely a bachelor's degree is not good (long term).  Therefore, I found an opportunity, during senior year, to do research for a professor, did five years of grad school at no cost to me, and now love all the years of aeronautical engineering that I have performed.  One of my sons and several of my co-workers were Mechanical Engineering majors and I highly recommend that field as well, as long as you Plan on getting a Master's degree.  All the best.