If you asked anyone who knew me, the first thing they would tell you is that there is no place more fit for me than my major choice of astronautical engineering. If you were to ask me, I would say that my journey into astronautical engineering was a non-linear path with many steps along the way. I started out as a computer science major and although I still like programming, I realized that the career path I wanted was not in computer science after trying out some college-level coding classes at a local community college. I knew I did not want to work in industry but I wanted to make as informed of a decision as possible so I applied to do a research internship in a quantum computing lab and I got it! After a year of coding classes in college, I began my research journey and fell in love with the very idea of doing research. With that being said, I knew I wanted to work in a more hardware-focused lab and after reading tons of quantum research papers, I stumbled across a NASA publication. This paper was outlining the future of space technology and how quantum sensing and communication would revolutionize space exploration. I started to look more into space exploration, rocketry, satellites and quickly realized that was it. I had just found what I wanted to do for the rest of my career.
This brings me to the end of my internship. I learned a lot about coding that I still use to this day but at this point I was entering my second year of college as an aerospace engineering major. It was time to start thinking about transferring schools and I started researching various engineering programs around the country and I stumbled upon Viterbi’s very own Astronautical Engineering program. It was perfect for me, it gave me hands-on experience, PLENTY of lab experience, an abundance of industry opportunities and so much more. I realized then that the best education I could get was a holistic one–one that gave me a little bit of everything!
I applied to USC with the encouragement of my friends and family and I got in!! Now that I have been at USC for almost a whole year, I can wholeheartedly say that this was the best choice I could have made a year ago. All of the experiences that I wanted, I got. I would not lie to you and say engineering is easy but I absolutely love every second of it, and the truth is: love does not exist without work. It takes both 0 and 1 to work a computer, the same way it takes some struggle and success to build a dream career.
This is not all to say that Astronautical Engineering is the only right choice but this is your sign to explore every option available to you until you find what work suits you best. For me, Astronautical Engineering has put me in the exact place I dreamed to be in and I am CERTAIN this is precisely where I should be. It is alright to explore your options until you find the right fit and I highly recommend Astronautical Engineering! 🙂
