The AIAA Houston Section strives to support and encourage students interested in Aerospace careers or aerospace developments.
Spirit of Apollo Scholarship
Students pursuing a course of study in any field of engineering, math, or science (i.e., physical science, physics, or computer science) that is pertinent to the technical activities of the AIAA is encouraged to apply for the AIAA Houston Section’s Spirit of Apollo Scholarship.
Student Sections
The following student sections are directly connected with the Houston professional section:
- Rice University. As of June 3, 2013, this seems to be an old web page from about 2008, but it might be useful in some ways.
- Texas A&M University: As of June 3, 2013, this web page is often offline, but it is the 2013 web site for the Student Section.
- University of Houston As of January 19, 2021, this web page is active.
In addition, we want to be able to support students in the area who attend a school without a chartered student branch of AIAA, including students in other 4-year programs, community colleges, and those who have not yet started college. We are always open to suggestions as to how we can best mentor and support the next generation of engineers. Please, let us know if you have ideas by contacting us with the form at the bottom of the page.
For students not studying in the Houston area, there are still opportunities to connect to the Houston professional section. Houston hosts students on internships and co-operative learning programs from all over the country, indeed the world. To facilitate your search for employment opportunities in the Houston area, the AIAA section will be developing a webpage that lists contact information for those companies that frequently hire students.
Co-op, Internship, Temporary Employment, and Initial Professional Appointment Resources
The following list is being developed in 2013 to provide contact details for aerospace-related businesses and organizations in the Houston area that hire students straight from college. Hopefully this page will give you some information on what is available, and who to contact.
This page is a starting resource only to point you to employers in general, not to specific job opportunities. We simply cannot maintain a reliable list of all current opportunities in the area. If you find contact information that is out of date, please let us know as as soon as possible so that we can correct the entry.
For all categories, consider carefully what the employer is looking for. Some may be looking for someone to fill a specific need, somebody with a particular skill set. Some may be looking for “all-stars”, somebody who can float between tasks easily and apply themselves to multiple situations.
Co-operative Learning Program
With these programs, students apply their classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios, while earning academic credits and usually some money, too. Co-op programs usually take place over an academic semester or year. Depending on your institution, you may have to take coursework at the same time, and generally have to write a report on what you have learned. Co-op programs must be approved by your academic institution.
Larger co-op programs, such as with NASA-JSC, will often include student activities. Students at smaller co-op programs are often welcomed into these larger groups.
Internship / Temporary Employment
An internship or temporary employment position is typically taken between semesters, usually over the summer months or as part of an interim or gap-year. These typically carry no academic credit, but still allow students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to actual engineering practice. In many disciplines, internships are often unpaid; that is generally not true in engineering.
Similar to co-op programs, large internship programs, such as with NASA-JSC, will often include student activities, and students at smaller internship programs are often welcomed into these larger groups.
Initial Professional Appointment
Your first career move. Landing that dream job can be a daunting task, and not all companies are willing to hire somebody straight out of college, especially if they do not have internship or co-op experience. This list may also be useful for individuals looking to make a career transition into aerospace.