Hi this is my first post so here goes, I'm doing an Meng Aeronautical engineering(3rd year) and am enjoying it. The advice I got whenever I was doing my A-Levels was that very few aero engineering graduates were working in aerospace or any engineering job for that matter 1 to 2 years after graduating. But I disregarded their advice and did Aero engineering at Queens Belfast anyway. Whatever you do in life there'll always be nay sayers trying to tell you what you should and shouldn't do. BTW the same people told me that there would be very few jobs for pilots post 9/11!
guess they were sceptical about budget airlines back then. Anyway get as much advice as you can now but at the end of the day its you who will be doing the course and trying to get a job at the end of it so trust your instincts.
The best advice I could give you is to do a 5 year sandwich course so you can get some industrial experience. It'll increase your chances of getting a job tenfold. A Graduate with 1 years industrial experience and a 2:1 or an equal graduate with a first and no experience, the graduate with the 2:1 will get the job every time. I'm doing a placement at the minute and have learnt loads in the past year. Theres normally alot of competition for placements but if you apply to lots of companies you only have to get accepted to one. But apply early (beginning of 3rd year) and the better your exam marks the more chance you have so aim for above 70%. Most companies that take you on for a placement will also offer you a job if you show any enthusiasm at all.
You could also do a PhD when you graduate which normally pays a £14000 grant plus a £2000-£4000 from the company that you're doing the research for, all tax free so its the equivalent of earning about £20000. Which is slightly more than engineering graduate pay (here in Northern Ireland anyway). Engineering graduates can get better pay in other fields (finance) starting on £50K in London(but in my opinion you'll spend most of it trying to live there).
From talking to various engineers through work it seems that employers aren't looking for specific engineering degrees but more an engineering graduate that can display the intellectual capacity to do the work required. So do the variant of engineering that you want because If you're really passionate and enjoy learning about a particular field then you'll excel at it and get better exam grades and thats what employers will be looking for.
By doing aerospace engineering you won't be confining yourself to just the aviation industry, you could easily get a job in any industry where an engineer is required. All you have to do is show a potential employer that you've got what it takes and you do that by gaining experience in your spare time away from Uni and by getting the best exam grades you can.
Also if you're thinking about employment in the US of A well sorry to disappoint you but unless you've got something really special you don't have a chance. US companies see it as a failure whenever they have to employ a foreign engineer.
Anyway, Good Luck whatever you decide to do
BGC