Gordon0652

iTrader: (4)

Thats basically it, i am 18 years old, and i live in NY.
I am going to a college called Oneonta State, and the college is all book work, and it bores me the **** out of me. Its all book work, and i have never been good with book work.
Since i was about 9 i always was intrested in cars, and today i would like to go and pick up some school that can be involved with the performance field of cars.
A couple of schools that i have looked into are RANKEN tech. college, FULL SPEED Sam, MIT, and ITT. I have talked with them many times about what they have to offer, and its amazing, i love everything about them and teh distance doesnt matter. Heres the down side, i have an odd feeling that if i do something like that i will just be changing oil at honda or something like that kind of low (no effence), but i am trying to aim soooo much higher.
What i am looking for is i want to be the person who designs the parts for any car, like designing a piston or anyother part for that matter, including an entire car.
I used to be hands on all the time, and now that i am going to a "book working college" i have no time for anything. I used to install stereo, and do minor exhaust work, welding, and fabing brackets. I have no time for that anymore, and thats what i am good at. So does anybody have any ideas on colleges?
Its not like i am not looking, i am along with my parents and they hired a privet guidance counselor to help me out also.
On oct. 24-25 i am going to Skip Barber Racing School in Connecticut for a day or so to see how i do on the track, maybe that could be something that i am good at and just dont know yet. I will find out soon enought.

I am trying every possibilty, and so far i am coming up empty handed. I am almost thinking about calling GM and asking who designed the firebirds and see if i can get a hold of him to see where he got started. Or call Diamond and see who designs there pistons. (Pistons i am just using as an example)

If you have anyideas, please share them with me i really could use some help!

Thank You!

GEARHED

iTrader: (5)

You are on the right track by contacting the companies directly to see what it is they are looking for to qualify for what you want to do.

Some offer paid training to become certified, it never hurts to google up the top dawgs, compose a one page stick-to-the facts letter which will most likely get a response. Also send a letter to the human resource departments of companies you are interested in, they can also give you a good idea of what qualifications they look for when hiring.

Don't waste money being a career college student - get out there and rattle some cages

OKcruising

You know, there's really no argument for doing college when you know what you want, and how to go about achieving it sans degree. A degree now-a-days means next to nothing. Seriously. I think of my current majors(mech engr. and physics) as merely certificates of bullshitting.

To design the parts, or at least critical parts, you'll need a engr. degree to back up your choices. That or start making parts and experiment. Find a niche. Go and find how things work, but mostly experiment.

What gearhed said, go out there and bust your hump and get after it! Good luck.

Sharpe

iTrader: (7)

Damn good advice.

Cahill93Z28

if you want to design engine parts you going to need a engineering degree, which yes, has a a lot of book work.

If you don't have a education you will most likely be working at a dealership for the rest of your life.

JUICED96Z

iTrader: (2)

I fix airplanes for a living, about to go work for CAT I think.... a few friends fix cars.

Unless you want to be on the floor all your life untill you retire get a degree. It will make going to management much easier. When you are getting close to retire time you will not want to be still on the floor turning wrenches.

You can take the easy way out now and regret it later or take the hard route now and thank me later.


Its not going to take me much to get my ASE on Deisel's and Automotive, once I do that Ill be able to work on pretty much anything with wheels. Oh and I am a class away from my degree.

I also plan to take a few chassis building classes.

Thinking about opening my own shop.

Its also taken me like 5 years to get me assosiates, part of it do to a nasty learning disability in math. Don't wimp out.

TanRchy

college is for people that need that crutch. get out their and make it happen for yourself! you make money working for yourself not someone else. you have your own finanacial interest in mind at all times. With all that being said, you have to bust your *** no matter if you have a degree or not. Whatever floats peoples boats.

echo3313

iTrader: (3)

Concider a Polytechinc school. i attend Southen Polytechnic state University and its pretty cool (but still hard). I was in the same situation you are in now. I went to the university of goergia and felt like i was wasting my time. i considered going to wyotech or some school of such until i came across SPSU. My major is Mechanical engineering TECHNOLOGY (met for short). It is like a regular ME degree except it is based on application more than theory. I have classes like manufactoring process and welding outside of my regular class like thermo and statics and such. It gives you that bull **** piece of paper along with a little bit of real knowledge of how **** actually works by getting you out there to actually do it. We also have a formula SAE team where we build and race a formula car...pretty cool stuff. Actually last week in my graphics class, we designed a rocker arm using solid works. So just a concideration to give you more options...

Cahill93Z28

dumbest thing i've heard all day

loyolacub68

iTrader: (16)

+1 on that being the dumbest thing I have heard all day. Get real.

bowtieman81

iTrader: (35)

You want to be a designer, but you don't like "book work"? That seems a little backwards. What do you think design is about? I did do design work for while on track loaders. If you get bored in school you may not like design work that much. I didn't, so I went into test and development.

Also, as for college the company I work for (and I bet most others) wont hire design/development people without having a bachelors degree. It is usually the bare minimum these days.

2002 SS #476

iTrader: (2)

If you want to work on cars that would be a two year vocational degree or nothing at all. If you want to design them that would be a mechanical engineering degree. There would be a lot of book work in mechanical engineering with all the math and physics.

yamablaster024

iTrader: (4)

I am in the same boat as you. I just started my first semester in school working towards my Mechanical Engineering Technology degree. I do have a lot of book work (technical mathematics and technical problem solving classes) but I also have CADD classes, manufacturing processes, technical drawing, electronical circuiting and so on and so forth classes. (not all in the same semester). I am going through a local community college while working at a local salvage yard (cleveland pick a part) working on GTO's, Corvette's, T/a's and Camaros. Ill tell you right now though, if you do not have the self discipline to do the "book work" to be a engineer then do not even think about it. The math alone will kill you. It sounds like you want a dream job with great salary but you dont want to get your hands dirty or work hard for it.

JUICED96Z

iTrader: (2)

Yeah no kidding..........dumbest thing I think I have read all year on here.


I know a guy that was a A and B student, we went to Purdue for Nucler Eng.

He droped it and went to something else.

I read threw one of his FRESHMAN math books and after the first few pages my head hurt. Having study groups was MANDATORY.

Any kind of ENG has a TON of book work and a ton of math.

YOu have to bust your butt and do things you don't want to do for your dream job.

nesikachad

Become a machinist.

Life of suffrage but you'll have every cool toy there is for a car/bike/gun/archery/ you name it.

Cause you made it yourself. . .

If you like mechanical, you may have more fun doing this instead.

01pewterbird

If you don't like book work stay clear of engineering. I too was like you once, but realized I was going to keep automotives as my hobby. College is not easy, especially if you go to a good one, but it's worth it in the end. Without a degree it is going to be much harder to get a job, and or move up in a current job. Whatever you do, get some kind of degree

Gordon0652

iTrader: (4)

When i ment by "book work" is i am doing that book work right now, two math classes and a physics class. I dont mind it if is going to steer me in the right direction.
I cant find that direction theo.
Through out my high school years i have always struggled because my reading level was and still is below what it should be. But i did amazing in all my math classes.
I guess what i am looking for is a direction and some guidance of what i should be looking into.

echo3313

iTrader: (3)

http://met.spsu.edu/

check this out...

delsold

iTrader: (7)

hey send me a PM, or IM me at the aim address i have posted under my username...good info

TanRchy

Its amazing how many people have been brainwashed to think that you need college to succeed in life. I have met so many dumb ***** and people working at dead end jobs with college degrees its not even funny. If you retards read my entire post i said you have to work hard no matter what path you choose. Apparently people with a degree think it means something, now thats a joke.