If Embry-Riddle offered a brand new exciting degree with great job opportunites would you go?

I should have thrown this in. I graduated with a minor in space operations from ERAU. I don't think this major is a bad idea, might be hard to convince companies at first that its a worthy degree, especially if it isn't engineering based.
 
rframe said:
ERAU - Education and Fun...All In One Place!
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Sign me up, Sign me up
Sign me up for the Christian jubilee,
write my name on the roll...
 
I have to admit, I dont really understand the whole ripping on Riddle thing. Was it those Riddle dudes who posted all of those geeky Youtube vids who got the ball rolling?
 
The space industry is set to "explode"? Are we talking about the same space industry? Do you have any idea what it COSTS to launch even a few pounds in to low earth orbit, let alone to go send some dudes to mine an asteroid? The world is, essentially, broke (really more like in massive debt to western ruling castes...surprise), we've hopelessly befouled significant portions of the planet, we're wildly overpopulated, and we're running out of cheap, easily obtainable fuel. I'm uh. "Skeptical".
 
Boris Badenov said:
The space industry is set to "explode"? Are we talking about the same space industry? Do you have any idea what it COSTS to launch even a few pounds in to low earth orbit, let alone to go send some dudes to mine an asteroid?
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Well, with SpaceX at least, it costs substantially less. About $2,000/lb to low earth orbit (or $50mil/launch). Which is much better than the $10,000/lb a Delta IV will run you. There certainly is a market for the service, as TV satellites don't last forever.

Of course, the cheaper launch costs have an absolute floor - the kerosene and O2 don't come for free. So getting much cheaper than SpaceX isn't going to happen anytime soon. And let's look at why they are cheaper. It is a private firm, staffed mainly by (and owned by) talented engineers. With the single goal of getting things in low earth orbit on the cheap. Whereas the competition (NASA and the defense contractors) must fight for government spending, require lobbying, pencil pushing, and jobs in the right congressional districts. None of which has anything to do with putting things into orbit.

But seriously. A degree in anything other than the engineering or science is pointless if you want to be involved in the space business in any real sense. It is like saying a EMT certificate is all you really need to work in the medical field.
 
Boris Badenov said:
The space industry is set to "explode"? Are we talking about the same space industry? Do you have any idea what it COSTS to launch even a few pounds in to low earth orbit, let alone to go send some dudes to mine an asteroid? The world is, essentially, broke (really more like in massive debt to western ruling castes...surprise), we've hopelessly befouled significant portions of the planet, we're wildly overpopulated, and we're running out of cheap, easily obtainable fuel. I'm uh. "Skeptical".
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The costs associated with space-flight are dropping by orders of magnitude. On top of that the overpopulated and broke masses still require cable TV, a good internet connection, and the folks that run the show still require powerful earth pointed telescopes and sensing equipment.

As for asteroid mining - remember, by your own words the world is broke and driven by the profit motive. The instant that rare-earth-elements become easier to pluck from passing rocks than mine out of Chinese and African shanty-towns (which is rapidly coming as these elements become more and more rare) the industry will take off. We're overpopulated and running out of resources (fuel being only one of them) - I suspect that soon to meet our demands for resources we'll start looking skyward.
 
Boris Badenov said:
The space industry is set to "explode"? Are we talking about the same space industry? Do you have any idea what it COSTS to launch even a few pounds in to low earth orbit, let alone to go send some dudes to mine an asteroid? The world is, essentially, broke (really more like in massive debt to western ruling castes...surprise), we've hopelessly befouled significant portions of the planet, we're wildly overpopulated, and we're running out of cheap, easily obtainable fuel. I'm uh. "Skeptical".
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New avatar for you
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I'm going to go with a big NO on ERAU. Their price is way too much and they don't have a good reputation in a lot of the aviation industry. They made some recruiting trips here to Afghanistan and it was almost laughable how they made it seem like you'll be rich in the aviation field!
 
Well, I have a hard time believing that they would open up a new degree field without at least some market research to back it up. Then again, crazier things have happened. I would think that if you were really interested in Space then you would get a job in Electrical, Aeronautical, or Fiberoptic Engineering.
 
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