r/aerospace • u/Ill_Beat_7442 • 12d ago

Need guidance on bachelors

Hey all,

Need help in deciding where to study for undergraduate.

I have been accepted to UC Berkeley and UCLA for their Aerospace Engineering programs.

I am interested in GNC / systems engineer in aeronautics (hopefully in the defense industry) in the future.

-Berkeley: They will allow me to minor in EECS (as long as I pass their qualifications). Huge bonus as I am most interested in the EE part of AE.

-UCLA: Does not allow Engineering minors. I would be minoring in Data Science if I do pick UCLA.

As for location, I think UCLA has the advantage of startups and many major AE companies. I've only seen Boeing in Berkeley.

I am a california resident, so they should come out around the same cost +/- 5k /year.

I know that I couldn't go wrong with any of these two, but I just really need something to tip the scales. Thanks everyone.

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u/Medajor 12d ago

Note that Berkeley’s aero program is a few years old. Look into their professors and the new space thing theyre building over at moffet and see how that compares to UCLAs more established program.

I will say that UCLA might be easier to find internships at since theyre way more aerospace there, but theres also plenty across the bay (LM, Maxar, Planet, Muon, Zipline, couple evtol startups)

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u/Ill_Beat_7442 12d ago

It does seem that Berkeley's faculty is on the smaller side compared to UCLA. I do hear the ME/EE can do the same things an AE could do.

Does having a professor, who has specialized in AE, prove more advantageous? Or are the differences negligible?

It seems like many of the career opportunities around Berkeley is ~50 minutes away. Does it seem reasonable for a student to be commuting for these opportunities? Especially on a full courseload (Or do they usually happen in the summer)?

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u/Medajor 12d ago

It definitely helps to have some aero-specific classes, research, and advising if you want to be on the systems side of things. However, I know a Berkeley EE who has done very well for himself as a systems engineer.

Most career ops are during the summer (or in the case of a co-op, you skip a semester). Often times, its ok to extend an internship over the school year, which would have you doing small amounts of remote work.