A day in the life of an Aerospace Engineering student at Birmingham

Most people associate aerospace engineering with nothing more than astronauts, planes and rockets. But the field of aerospace holds much deeper responsibility. It involves designing technology to perform flawlessly whilst balancing safety, sustainability and customer requirements. The complexity of meeting all these goals is a challenge that, as an aerospace student, you grow more accustomed to each day. But what does this look like in practice? Here is a typical Monday.

7am

I wake up at 7am and get ready for the day. Whilst I live close to campus, having that extra time to prepare and look over the lecture material is vital for giving a preview of what to expect.

10am

At 10am, the first lecture begins – Electrical Energy Systems and Control. This module is not an aerospace-exclusive module, so it is an amazing way to meet students who are specialising in other areas such as Mechanical Engineering. 

After that, my tutor group has our weekly meeting. Tutor groups are usually small groups of students from the same course, so discussions are always relevant to your modules, deadlines or even exams. After the meeting we head for a brief, but enjoyable lunch.

1pm

At 1pm, the second lecture, Thermodynamics, begins. Again, this is a shared module with Mechanical Engineering, and it has various labs which provide an opportunity to apply theory learnt throughout the semester. This is a two-hour lecture so it is a lot, but the lecturer will usually give a break halfway through to re-energise for the second hour.

Following on from that, I have an hour break. This is a chance to recharge (both myself and my laptop) and do some personal study. I often work on one of my thermodynamics tutorial sheets or my CAD coursework.

4pm

At 4pm, I have my last lecture of the day. This one is aerospace-exclusive and focuses on fracture and fatigue. Despite the timing in the day, I enjoy this module especially for the heavy focus on aerospace.

Finally, my university day is “over”. I often give myself an hour break before completing two more hours of personal study before spending the evening with my housemates or at the gym.

Whilst Mondays are very lecture-heavy, each day is different. Some days are much freer and provide more personal study time. Other days have labs, which are good for working with other students or you may have personal society events some evenings. Each day is unique. Some feel overwhelming, others feel rewarding. But each day pushes you forward and grows you.