Yes on both counts. My B.S is in computer engineering and I’ve been in the space industry for over 8 years. There are plenty of mechanical engineers in the space industry as well (same basic education as an aeronautical/aerospace engineer, but not as much focus on fluid dynamics and coordinate reference systems).

Posted by Eric H, on November 21st, 2008, at 9:08 pm. #.

Yes, but I think you’ll find work in astronomy to be pretty thin, and the pay pretty dismal compared to other jobs.

After the costs of the necessary education, few people can afford to be professional astronomers. You have to be willing to live on a shoestring, or find a second job to pay the bills.

With the soon decommissioning of the shuttle, a lot of jobs associated with it are going to go away. Hopefully that will be a temporary issue, but in the meantime several thousand workers are going to be displaced, either directly or through loss of sub-contracting jobs.

There are jobs in the space industry, but rough times are still ahead. Aerospace has really never come back from its hey-day of the ’60s and ’70s.

Posted by George N, on November 23rd, 2008, at 7:05 pm. #.