Car Careers

I will probably be going to a engineering school when the time comes. I am EXTREMELY interested in cars. I just want to know what kind of jobs are available in engineering(especially in cars). I am just wondering what engineers can do with cars. I know this question sounds dumb but bear with me. THANKS

come on...i know i'm an idiot but you can still reply.

Its not that your stupid, its just that nobody has read this that knows the answer. Have you tried a few colleges web sites? There are probably engineering courses at those you could get information on and see what kind of things are available.

Definitely not that you're stupid. I just read your post and would like to say a few things on it. If you're going to college, you have to know exactly what part of the automotive industry you want to effect.

As it pertains to engineering, I am an Aeronautical Engineer and have graduated in this field. I mainly studied in the design of aircraft. You choice is pretty much the same as mine except that yours applies to land vehicles. What exactly is it that you like? You can go into Automotive Design, Powerplant Design, Safety Design, etc. The list is pretty big. You just have to know what will make you happy and what interests you the most. If you're like me, you'd probably be better suited in Automotive design. Which would have to do with the shape of the car. But then again you could just take Auto Engineering in general and be involved in all aspects of the design of a vehicle.

So as you can see, there is no specific answer to your question. It really depends on what you interests are, specifically, then inquiring about which schools provide the best education in that field. What I would highly recommend to you is one very important factor. When choosing the school, pay very close attention to the Career Development Dept. Make sure that after you get your degree, the school is able to place you in the field of your choice. I got shafted pretty bad when I graduated and had to go to another school to learn something else, like computers, cuz I was to specified. Thus, the school didn't help me much in finding a job after I was done. So becareful with that. Hope this helps.

Thanks guys. I have mainly been looking at Kettering(formerly GMI). I probably wouldn't do too good in Auto. Design because my artistic skills are jack. The part that would interest me the most would probably be the engine or the whole car itself.

my friend's dad designed engines for GM... he was a mechanical engineer

I going to University of Detroit Mercy, which is better for me, i was accepted at kettering, but they stress buisness almost more than they stress mechanical engineering, thats why I choose UDM. I also have a guarenteed co-op job with Ford from UDM. It depends on what you want to do as to where u go, Ford and UDM are really close, Kettering is not on very good terms with GM, but they do alot with teir 1 suppliers. I got job offers from two tier one suppliers and im not even in college yet!! Kettering also doesnt offer that many scholarship, UDM offers alot. I suggest looking into UDM as well.
P.S. you know you're going into the right field when you design a new steering system at 12:30 A.M.

it seems kind of weird kettering not being on good terms with GM. it used to called GMI. well so far, i've only looked at Kettering, do you know any other good engineering colleges?? thanks for all the replies :)

Yea, I'm interested in the same thing. I was thinking of going to a college close to here Oregon State University, and majoring in Automotive design, or Alternitive Fuels

This school is more design oriented, but someone will be interested. When I was in school, a professor said this was the one to go to to learn automotive design. He also said they have a good career office.

Art School in Pasadena (http://www.artcenter.edu/)

Go to Undergrad, then transportation design.
Check out the gallery, some wild concepts there. Also some familiar sponsor names: Kia, Aprilia, and Honda.

University of Detroit Mercy, Lawernce Tech, Michigan State, University of Michigan, Michigan Tech. University are all good colleges.

I'm a mechanical/electrical engineer (I studied both). I would say there is unlimited opportunities in the automotive field if you choose either of these disciplines. Within these there are many specialties which you will have to decide on before you graduate. Or you can just keep going to school like I did and add several specialties. Whatever decision about a specialty you do make, it probably won't fix your career anyway since a lot of engineers don't always end up in their specialty.

Within Mechanical Engineering is:

Thermodynamics -- typically engine design
Fluid Mechanics-- typically hydraulics(brakes & power steering)
Mechanical Design-- typically mechanism design(suspensions, etc)
Aerodynamics-- typically body design
Materials-- typically parts design(plastics & metals & composites)
Structural Design -- typically frame design

Of course Electrical engineering has its specialties too which for Automotive design would be:

Power Engineering -- 12V power systems
Component design -- relays, power modules, alternators
Systems -- Integration of computer systems into vehicles
Semiconductor&IC design -- Actual design of components for use in automobiles
Software - Programming/integration of vehicle systems

Whatever you decide, I can tell you from personal experience that it will help your career a lot if you can understand both mechanical and electrical systems. There always seems to be a shortage of people who can work with both and yet the integration of the mechanical and electrical systems is key to making a good vehicle. Anything you can do as an engineer to make that "handoff"/integration easier will be highly valued by the company that you work for. The next best thing to having both mechanical and electrical expertise is to have a wide range of expertise -- learn more specialties!

As a final note, learn about business too. A lot of engineers go into their new jobs believing that every decision will be an engineering one. A lot of decisions need to be made for business reasons too -- knowing this and understanding the business will help you do the best for your employer.

hey thanks a lot guys, especially CraigFL, that helped a lot. thanks a bunch. one more question though. is there any way to take all of the different parts of mechanical engineering in one class or several classes?? same for electrical engineering. thanks again.

Originally posted by Psman32@af
University of Detroit Mercy, Lawernce Tech, Michigan State, University of Michigan, Michigan Tech. University are all good colleges.

Hey, what about penn state?!?!

I'm in mechanical engineering there...

For the automotive field, try University of Michigan, Kettering University, or Wayne State. For automotive design, it's the Art Center College of Design.

Most importantly, do VERY well...and get an internship with any car company.

cool, thanks, I wanna do the body design and engine design, I'm still deciding, I kinda wanna develop alternative fuels for vegicles also.

OMG! Hermunn123, You and I are almost identical in career interests. CraigFL in a few years I will have to talk to you more in depth about this because I want to do sort of what you did. This thread is exactly what I need. Okay here goes. I want to work in the field of either Powerplant or Body Design. My artistic can be tuned I was once better than I am now. I have exceptional motor skills and well, it is qutie steering but a few nights ago I was up till' 1:30am building a winch mechanism out of K'nex (A Legoish type building Toy) I love working with tools on the other hand, I am constantly trying to outdue my self I need serious guidance as to where I should go. It's a bit different for me however, I live in Canada, There aren't as many options for me and I really want to get a job overseas. I don't know if Anybody here can help me. I'm looking for a Path in Either Aerodynamics/ Powerplant or Materials. I'd appreciate it a lot if you could helkp CraigFL, you are well educated and probably have an Idea as to what I am looking for. I am thankful for your advice regarding both Mechanical and Electrical fields and the Buisness aspects of things.

Oh, sorry I forgot to check some stuff in that last post, I'm tired. I meant to say that my Artistic Talent can be tuned, that it wasn't quite a steering Mechanism but../ and that I repeated myself a few times in there. My schedule is very off right now.

in electrical engineering. I would like to get into the automotive field as well. :flash:

im not trying to affend any one her but the way most of the new cars are desined and built the engineris dont have a fucking clue on how to put a car together. i curently work at a chrysler dealer were i see the latest clusterfuckmobiles from chrysler for example the pt cruser the engine compartment is of a spare tire compartment. most engineres dont have servis in mind when desing a vhical or its componets. another example is the the cadilac northstar were the starter is under the friggin intake manifold. please al of u whom wish to become enginerers i beg of you take some cosideration on how the parts will interact and be installed not just the part itself. if the all the engineres picked up a wrench in there lives the cars would be designed and built much better. agian im sorry if a affended any one

don't worry, i wasn't offended. but dude, do you know how to spell?? that was hilarious to read... "engineris" hahaha. "enginerers" funny stuff....

i'l tri to desin a kar 2 ur standerds

HEY just because i own a computer doesnt mean i can type proporly/ and for the record i cannot spell worth a shit!
but if your car dont start in the morning let me know that i can do well

besides i got a c in english last semester so please :flipa: off :D :D :D

Yea, I work on my cars, as well as others, so I would design a engine so people can fix it them selves.

I'd make sure that service is possible, I know exactly what you mean. However, some parts might need to be placed like that in order for it to fit in the body, If you make body alterations, the car might look really bad. Engines are all plastics and computers anyways, I'd hate to have to take one apart.

well service is always posible but it is geting to the point were you have to pull the engine to change a exaust manifold/ or the part is accesable but their is one bolt located just right were you canot acces it . im not trying to bitch its just that i feel the modern engineering is for the birds.

Speaking from experience....

It's not often the engineer that makes the decision about the placement of these "unserviceable" items. While it's true that a lot of engineers don't know how to service the cars they design, most decisions are left to the "team". I say "team" because products like cars than span across many different engineering disciplines involve a group of people that are responsible -- including sales and marketing . Some members of that group may have more say or power and can compromise serviceability for other things which they feel are important like styling. In any case, compromises must be made because of all the things that go into producing a car. And of course there are always errors made both in design, production and tooling that cause bad situations also.

Olds88:

Automotive engineers have more of a clue than you give them credit for. While they might not engineer a car to be serviced, more and more parts don't need to be serviced like in the past. Starters will go, but less frequently than 20 and 30 years ago.

Engines and other components are designed to afford the most (fuel economy, power, reliability, drivability, passenger space, comfort) for the least (vehicle size, exhaust emissions, cost). For major repairs of engines, for example, the system is designed to be removed from the vehicle. For regular maintenence (spark plugs, fluids, etc.), parts are accessable. For the intermediate parts (starters, alternators, a/c compressor, etc) it takes a bit more work on the technicians part.

Why should you complain? You get paid based on the time it takes you to work on the car, right? If it were simple, they'd need fewer technicians.

hey hudson if you ever get a chance take a good look at a warrenty labor guide try and break even, then you will understand were im coming from . and im not totaly ablivious to your point of veiw either but in my experiance if it has been installed an a vehical you will see it break and it just pisses me off to have to deal with the simplest thing made into a nightmare :mad:

but im the moron for pusuring the field im in so i should just shut up:o

agian i mean no disrespect :cool:

Having worked side-by-side with the guys who WRITE labor guides, I do know what you're talking about. But the labor guides we wrote were for aftermarket shops and gave a little bit more room for "real working conditions." Factory guides are typically a bit tight.

And it's not just modern cars. I passed on buying a Jaguar XJS because of transmission repairs. While the transmission is a standard GM part and fairly easy (and cheap) to purchase, the labor guides list about a day (not 8 hours....like 18+ hours) to replace it. That includes removal of the V12 engine since there's no frame crossmember to remove to drop the tranny.

I DO know where you're coming from.

Im sorry hudson i had a bad week at work. I did not mean to insult your car knowledge and some times i need to blow of some steem.

Not a problem.

hermunn123,
have u read "Wheels" by Arthur Hailey?
It`s very interesting book for everyone who wish to became autoprofiman.
Excuse my bad English.
Reed this book!

no, i haven't but i will. thanks!

Originally posted by DAINTY
hermunn123,
have u read "Wheels" by Arthur Hailey?
It`s very interesting book for everyone who wish to became autoprofiman.
Excuse my bad English.
Reed this book!


Ever see the movie? I'm still looking for it on tape.

Re: Ever see the movie? I'm still looking for it on tape.
No, I havent.

I've also been an auto tech and can say I've spent some time swearing at engineers. After I was ASE certified and went to work the most simple tasks became migraine inducing. Most people don't understand how their car goes together- that's fine that's why they pay me to fix it. But it wasn't for me so I decided to go into engineering. Although I'm still in college working for an engineering firm, I still miss the shop job. But in the engineers defence, I can say the parts needing frequent maintenence/ replacement were simple to service, while water pumps, starters, oil pumps required much more substancial work. I still cannot believe an alternator replacement on a honda required removing a half-shaft.

Has anybody here heard of UTI. Im not sure exactly but it either stand for universal technical institute or united technical institute. Anyways they offer direct job placement into things like NASCAR, NHRA, Ford, BMW, Mercedes and so on. They also have scholerships and dorm setups. They also help you find a job to pay off any student loans and to have a good time while going there. There are three of them i belive in the states and none in canada so if your canadian your outta luck. But its almost your best bet if your wanting a carrer in automotives as thats the only subject they teach there. If you get the channel Speedvision they have adds and infomercials on there all the time for it. You should check it out.

that UTI sounds real cool. working for BMW would be a dream come true! :):)

and i don't have speedvision, so if any of you guys see the ad, let me know what UTI stands for. thanks!

UTI is an awesome program. If you're interested I'd say to go for it. If anything else, you'll have a skill where you can live comfortably. Car mechanics are growing fewer every day.

i don't want to be a mechanic, i was thinking more of an automotive or mechanical engineer. i'll still look at UTI though

Im pretty sure its universal technical institute im just not completely sure.

It is Universal Technical Institute. I think it is more mechanic-based, and like hermunn123 I want to be a design not fixer, I actualy got it narrowed down to Automotive Powerplant desgin Engineer, Any suggestions on where to go? I'm aso considering an Apprenticship program with BMW next year, I may get to go to Germany

I'm aso considering an Apprenticship program with BMW next year, I may get to go to Germany

how did you get that?? that would awesome for me!

Ummm, i saw the infomercial 3 times on speedvision. I really dont know much about it except for what ive mentioned. Im sure you could phone a ford dealership as they're partnered with ford as well and they might have information about it.