Question - Car Design

[blondiechick]

I am currently a junior in high school. I plan on going to visiting colleges soon. I was wondering if any of you new any great automotive engineering colleges. Or colleges with great a great CAD Program because the field I plan on going into is designing cars, I have pleanty of patience. I have found school one in Las Vegas. If any one has any suggestions it would be greatly appruciated! Thanks!

[twospirits]

Hope you fix your spelling before getting into college.

Seriously, Glad you have the patience, you will need it.

Interesting story about the car design universe, and
What do auto designers actually do.

As for your question, check these links for design and art schools geared toward car design.

Off topic: I love what this designer did to the Hummer and Santa Fe.

Back on topic: Good luck

TS out

Final note: I am moving this to the Engineering section, its more appropiate in there.

[drdisque]

the best automotive engineering school for getting a job is Kettering University, however, there's hardly any girls there and its kinda in the sticks.

Other schools with good ME programs are Georgia Tech, MIT (good luck getting in), Michigan, Purdue, RPI, and Case Western.

[rollin_on13s]

Originally Posted by blondiechick

I am currently a junior in high school. I plan on going to visiting colleges soon. I was wondering if any of you new any great automotive engineering colleges. Or colleges with great a great CAD Program because the field I plan on going into is designing cars, I have pleanty of patience. I have found school one in Las Vegas. If any one has any suggestions it would be greatly appruciated! Thanks!

To the best of my knowledge, noone on this forum, including myself, is a professional automotive designer or automotive engineer. Therefore, for the most part you’ll probably not receive much more in the way of responses here than “you can’t do it”. I’m not interested in trying to discourage you, but I can give you some realistic advice based upon firsthand experience.
If it’s automotive engineering that you’re interested in, I would recommend that you research, not necessarily “the best” University for Mechanical Engineering, but find out what engineering school that domestic automakers regularly recruit from. It is very possible that Ford or Chrysler often take graduates from the same schools repeatedly. By this, I mean not necessarily that the “Big Three” get all of their automotive engineers from the same university, but that each company may choose from a small number of schools that train graduates in a manner that fits their individual company. This shouldn’t be too terribly hard to find out.
I know that General Motors has GMI (General Motors Institute). See what you can find out about their school.
Overall, your best bet is to pick a car company that you like, and target that company. Find out about their hiring practices, and what they are looking for in an entry-level engineer. (your guidance counselor should be able to help you with this) Unfortunately, in a small, specialized industry like automotive engineering (particularly in the way that you are planning), just having a good degree isn’t enough to guarantee a job after graduation- You have to groom yourself for what they are expecting, and, just as you are expecting, attend the “right” school.
Lastly, find out what from which universities car companies sponsor internships. This is realistically your best way into the company that you really want work for.

If it’s automotive design that you’re interested in, I can give you a bit more information. My knowledge of the design industry is first hand, I’ll share a bit with you. I have a degree in Industrial Design, and presently work as a designer.
What I know is this: there are essentially three schools from which Ford, Chrysler, and GM routinely seek out car designers: Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, Cleveland Center for Creative Studies in Cleveland, Ohio, and one more (which I can’t remember right now-sorry) that is in or around Detroit, MI- I believe. These aren’t the only schools that they take designers from -when I was a student at UC, they were taking 1-2 design grads each year from our program- but these are THE schools that are known within the industry to groom designers specifically for automotive design. They’re your best bet.
Wondering what Industrial Design is? I’ll explain. Industrial designers design anything that is mass produced. Whereas fashion designers do clothes and such, graphic designers do magazines& webpages, and architects do buildings- industrial designers design just about everything else. Industrial Design includes furniture, CD and DVD players , toys, athletic shoes, camping equipment, sunglasses, car wheels, computers-on and on, you get the idea. Industrial designers are architects of almost every product-including automobiles! ( car designers are also called “transportation” designers)
If you’re attracted to designing with CAD, you can do either design or engineering to get your fix. I definitely look forward to geeking out on a design at work with 3d software, it’s alot of fun!
It’s worth pointing out that, in general, designers use CAD to make stuff, well, look cool. Engineers use Cad software to either execute a design that has already been specified by a designer, or to do things like check tolerances or do stress-tests. There’s a huge difference. To a designer, CAD is like digital sculpture.
Anyway, I hope that this helps. I work daily with both designers and engineers- I get to see the differences. If you want more info on product design, do a google search on Raymond Loewy or transportation design. Visit www.cardesignnews.com, and visit the Art Center website. Good Luck!

[rollin_on13s]

Also check out www.alias.com

[rollin_on13s]

Correction- College for Creative Studies- it's in Detroit, MI

[drdisque]

CCS is a great school, I know several people who go there who have gotten good jobs in design

Also, GMI is now called Kettering University, they also have a design school

[sunfire_starter]

This might not help but every year Porshe (I am pretty sure Porshe) hold a contest where you design a car and model it in a 3d program and send it to Porshe and whoever wins gets your car made in real life and sold.