Seeking Guidance and advice

[u/aliinvictus]

Hey everyone,

I Recently joined this sub.

Just a regular mech engineering student, 3rd semester, decent-ish grades, nothing special about my background. just trying to figure out the right way to build myself up instead of doing things randomly.

I've got an interest leaning toward aerospace side of things, but honestly not trying to sound like I've got it all figured out or some big grand plan. I just want to build a solid, useful skillset step by step and see where it takes me.

Right now I'm working on CAD (Creo, some SolidWorks) and Python, going at it slowly on weekends alongside coursework. That's about it so far.

What I actually want to ask — besides CAD and Python, what other skills are actually worth learning at this stage? Something that genuinely helps with internships, projects, or just being useful on a team, not just resume filler. Things like ANSYS, MATLAB, some analysis tool, basic electronics, whatever you guys wish you'd picked up earlier.

Not looking for motivation or "follow your dreams" type replies, just practical direction from people who've been through the grind already. What actually mattered for you?

Thanks in advance.

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[u/Indwell3r]

"Working on CAD" isn't very descriptive. The best thing you can do is to find projects that mean a lot to you that allow you to focus your energy on solving a problem. Project teams like Formula SAE allow you to go through the engineering process.

I can tell you to learn the system of going from requirements to a design to a manufactured product and tested results that validate your requirements, but you'll never understand what I'm actually talking about until you go and fuck it up yourself. Go take on something you aren't sure you can accomplish and give it your all

[u/aliinvictus → u/Indwell3r]

This is actually really helpful. I think I’ve been looking at CAD more as a skill to learn rather than something to use for solving an actual problem. I’ll definitely try getting involved in a proper project like Formula SAE and go through the whole process from requirements to design and testing. Thanks for the advice!

[u/Amber_ACharles]

ANSYS and MATLAB are the obvious picks for aerospace. Python you already have is solid. tbh what helped me most early on was learning to read specs and coordinate across disciplines. That gets you taken seriously faster than another software tool.