P.F.M

Yup and you can see this every time you go to work on a new car.
"What the hell were they thinking?" I love that line.

fantastixvoyage

Couldn't disagree more with that comment. And if you don't mind the travel Trackside engineers can make six figures pretty much starting out.

Its all about contacts. Go to conferences and shows and don't be afraid to get your name out there. Know your $hit as much as possible too before talking to them. Remember no guy is too small. While its great to know pres., vp's, directors, etc it often only takes a reference from a tech to get your foot in the door.

Last thing is get an advanced degree. These are almost mandatory these days with the engineer pool becoming so large with layoffs, etc. Mechanical or electrical is the obvious choice but also look at Engineering Management and Motorsports masters.

fantastixvoyage

That is true to a point. But keep in mind we are all a rare breed in that we work on the cars ourselves. This is NOT what the automotive engineers are there to design around. They are there to do packaging in a given chassis, build for a certain performance or ride quality, etc. A lot of limitations to work around. Not to mention their focus is on the initial manufacturing feasibility. If they can shave two mins off the build time to assemble the car but add an hour of work after the sale if there is an issue later in its life, which route do you think they will go??? Can't say I blame 'em either. If they dont make a profit they will be no more...as we are seeing lately...

SScam68

iTrader: (20)

My first year as an engineer I started in automotive manufacturing, same problem. I got tired of the monotony, as well.

I got spoiled in college jumping around from bioengineering to alternative fuels research as an M.E.

Started off as a design engineer where I am now and I have somehow got myself put into a management position.

I had a hard time getting through grad school while I was working because I knew I wasn't going to use any of it

RippinZ121

iTrader: (16)

Do you like it better now? Did you get an internship through school as well?

SScam68

iTrader: (20)

I'm content with what I'm doing now. I asked my boss for more project lead roles, and I got what I asked for. I've got 9 engineering techs working for me with a $1M+ operating budget for my team/project. It's not really technical in nature, but it's a GREAT learning experience. I'm getting exposed to problems that I should be dealing with later in my career.


I didn't get an internship through school, but I would highly encourage you to do so. In fact, if I could go back through it again I would do an internship/Co-Op every summer with a different company to get a taste of what you might like without a serious commitment. Not only that, it's a good time to take a break from school and get paid for it

99ssleeper

iTrader: (98)

Automotive Engineering degree here...cant say I'm using it as I intended.