What advice would you give to someone transitioning from active duty combat arms to a civilian career as a mechanical engineer?

https://search.aol.com/aol/search?q=wikipedia%20flight%20test%20engineer&s_it=loki-tb-sb

Read these....

http://www.acm.org

And them....

http://www.asme.org

Also this....

http://www.crows.org

And this....

http://www.afcea.org

Then this.....

http://www.mors.org

Read about this...ops research is all too frequently overlooked by those with engrg interests, it's extremely germane to all you're seeking to do, promise, OK?

http://www.same.org

Them, too...

http://www.ieee.org

And them, esp their aerospace electronics society (AES), among others of their groups....

If I'm gonna be really honest with you, which is, I suppose, what you want, you're gonna need to give me a whole lot more, OK? I follow what you're asking...I've been exactly where you wanna go, on the electrical side...the thing is, you have a fundamental misconception which, if you're gonna fix it, you're gonna need to do a really serious rethink, for real...I worked 11 yrs as a research EE, though God knows I worked with countless MEs, aeros, civils, everything technical that walks, crawls, talks and flies, I assure you...the stuff I did was really serious, really high level, so I've done projects of the sort I'm supposing you want to be part of...now, having said all that, you need to tell me exactly, precisely, just what coursework you've taken thus far, both STEM, as well as non-STEM...and by exactly, I mean taking the time to actually tell me the actual course titles, whether you've done an assocs thus far, how much of a bach you've done at all, how you want to go, ROTC, SMP, Green to Gold, whether you'd consider staying in at all beyond the period you'd mentioned (which I'd very strongly suggest you consider, if you want serious such research)...also, exactly what types of projects you wanna be part of, how much comp sci (CS) you've done, NOT just IT, I'm speaking of numerical modeling, using current state-of-the-art comp aided engrg (CAE) software...I can point you to packages suitable as examples, I'm talking MATLAB, SCILAB, OCTAVE, I'm speaking of Python, Ruby on Rails, that level...I need to know exactly which processor languages you know, HTML, XML, Java, and yeah, BASIC FORTRAN, COBOL, PASCAL, even though those might seem like dinosaur-era irrelevancies to you, as well, for myriad reasons. Another thing: The notion of you being purely a mech/aero type is total fantasy...you can't be, you won't be...all mech/aero types, ALL, need a SERIOUS level of EE, doesn't matter whether you're doing numerical aerodynamics, thermo, heat transfer, all of that...further, there are specific groups you're gonna need to join, that I'll send you, so you know which ones are the REAL ones you need to be part of...that means finding the chapters, student or regular, going to the meetings...I need to know what grad-level thoughts you've had...the notion of you working with solely an assocs or bach as an aero/mech, trust me, ie total la-la land, complete fantasy...you need, minimum, as masters, the content will be directly relevant to your work...further, how much physics have you actually done, or think you'd need to do? Youll need TWO years BASIC as well as MODERN physics, look at Halliday and Resnick for classical physics, Beiser for modern physics, up through, and incl, quantum mechanics (QM), statistical mechanics, particle physics, solid state physics...if I were you, I'd seriously think about materials science, as it's a major modern topic now, and FAR, WAY more interdisciplinary than classical mech/aero...you're also gonna likely need multiple masters, I needed three, EE, physics, and pure/applied math, before I even REMOTELY thought myself even HALFWAY competent...I never got to publish, though God knows I tried...you're gonna be expected to, so trust that I know what I'm talking about, been there, done that (BTDT)...then, too, you're gonna need serious chem, NOT just inorganic, but organic, with lab techniques, esp spectroscopy...read heavily on the Navier-Stokes equations, they're the Maxwell equations of the aero/mech world...however, and let me emphasize this, IF you're seeking to be involved with aircraft at all, to try to avoid exposure to avionics would be absurd, totally ridiculous to even try...if I were you, I'd figure on taking no more than 12 credits a semester, and for God's sake, dropping and repeating coursework, if a school would let you, if you're headed for a C...to get a serious chance at a teaching, research, or grad assistantship (TA/RA/GA), or a fellowship, you'll need, absolute minimum, a 3.0, preferably a minimum of 3.2 to 3.6 or higher...then, you DON'T work for a company...read what I said, OK? DON'T...stay in the school, if you can manage it, if family or other stuff don't get in the way...you wanna do externships or internships, fine...however, if you can get under a faculty with a grant to do an RA, or teach for one as a TA, that'd be the best way, GAs tend to be purely admin, and an utter waste of your time and effort, other than paying the tuition...if you do a TA/RA/GA, you're gonna have to pay taxes on the grad tuition, that's been that way for yrs...I can't begin to tell you how many, incl myself, worked, rather than stayed in to do a masters, and, also, yeah, a PhD or ScD (look up the difference), to try to get to the top of the intellectual food chain first, BEFORE working full-time...working at a company, or in a svc, is exactly the same, on a day-to-day level...you're worked till you're exhausted, expected to work overtime at a company, esp if money is thrown at you to do so, it was with me, it would be with you...when I worked on active as an EE, I wound up in TOTALLY the wrong field, under the WRONG people, for ALL the wrong reasons, because I was impulsive, rushed to get in WAY too soon, and didn't have clue one what I was talking about...I was screamed at virtually incessantly, by both civil servants, as well as active duty alike...I knew what they were having me work on, I knew it was very, very serious, and there was zero way I could get out of it...so, before you go heading off trying to do what you're seeking, give me grades, GPAs, course titles, specific technical interests, do a really thorough, serious, detailed biosketch...there's NOTHING you're gonna tell me about technically I haven't heard, ZERO, I've taken it all, passed it all, I promise you...so, the more you tell me, the more I can suggest for you...however, trust me, I've been exactly where you wanna go, you're more fortunate being prior enlisted...I'm assuming you want warrant or commissioned, I gather...I need to know if it'd have to be Army, would you be willing to go intersvc...and, being mech/aero inclined, you should look at flight test engrg (FTE), there's a Wikipedia site on it, and NOT just test pilot...NOT...look at flight test navigator/WSO, as well, if you're inclined toward flight itself...sitting at a desk doing EE, mech, aero, civil, it gets real boring, real quick, the bloom wears off the rose real fast, trust me, I know...believe me, there's a FAR difference between HAVING a thing, and WANTING a thing...and, also, another very true adage, "Be careful what you wish for, you might actually get it," OK? Lemme send the other sites I typically send to those with the kind of career/educ questions you're asking, so you have a halfway decent idea where to look, who to ask, and know at least something of what you're REALLY seeking to do, OK? And I didn't say all that to discourage you...I did it to try to educate you, honest, so trust that I know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, and read what I send you, join what I suggest, so far as possible, OK?

The Army hires a lot of Engineers to work on Army systems. Your experience in the Army would directly transfer to your work.