Why Experience Engineering in High School?

High schools students are often faced with the decision of making the right career choice for a bright future. For some it’s an easy decision to choose a profession aligned with their childhood passion, but most high school students find themselves in a state of dilemma. Be it future opportunities, growth in the job market, required knowledge and skills, or the college admission scene, there are a lot of factors to consider before making the right choice. It is indeed a tough one! If you are a high school aerospace enthusiast and are exploring avenues to learn more about a career in this field, this article will give you a perspective about high school engineeringexperience and help you decide whether a career in engineering and aerospace is the way ahead for you.

Most jobs require STEM skills, particularly engineering.
The education in primary and middle school today focusses on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as most of the jobs in the US require STEM skills. According to many market research studies, the top ten careers in the US require STEM skills. A high school engineering experience gives students the opportunity to practice and polish these skills. This high school engineering experience becomes an anchor for the students to not just excel in an engineering field but also the related fields of design, software, manufacturing and more.

Engineering experience helps develop soft skills to excel in any field.
Given their exposure to various fields during studies, Engineers are known to be skilled to become effective project managers as they learn how to analyse and solve problems, communicate efficiently and work in a team. The soft skills of team management, leadership, time management and resource management are universal to most careers and a high school engineering experience enables the students to develop these skills. Many high school aerospace programs are designed as a project involving multiple skills apart from Science and Engineering. An excellent high school aerospace platform for students is the SpaceSet competition which puts high school students in the shoes of aerospace engineers.

A high school aerospace experience opens horizons and gives a wide industry exposure to students.High school aerospace competitions are an efficient way for students to learn by doing. A good platform offers an opportunity for students to interact and be mentored by the industry leaders. The International Space Settlement Design Competition, for instance, provides a platform for students to work in an industrial setting and design a futuristic aerospace projects. The project involves not just engineering skills but also the industrial skills of resource management, presentation and working in multi-cultural teams. This helps students gauge the scope of the field and also decide what interests them the most. Students are mentored by real-life astronauts and space scientists and learn from the best in the industry.

As a student if you find yourself struggling to decide the right career for you, high school is the best time to explore and experience, and a high school engineering experience is the best platform to learn new skills, improve previously learned skills, interact with more people and understand the industry from a wider perspective.