before i start: im sorry if anything i ask is really dumb or obvious but i want your opinions..

i was really interested in becoming an automotive engineer and i had a couple questions. I am a freshman at FIU right now and really want to get into automotive enginnering. i was wondering if it would be best to go to a seperate school for just automotive engineering or to persue a mechanical engineering route. im really confused andi really wanted to know.

i would also like to know just what exactly does the Sae do or stand for?(i know the name means Society of Automotive Engineers but thats it.... )

i really love cars and have always loved the complex side of them and iwould like to do something along the lines of automotive not as general as mechanical enginering...

 

I would go for the mechanical engineering and see where it takes you, cars are fun but there is way more mechanical engineering than just cars. Go to school first and focus your edu. towards automotive when possible but dont rule anything out in the begining. Maintain an open mind because what you learn can be applied anywhere else.

 

Get your B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering. Those 2 fields deal greatly with Physics side of science. Even Material Science is a good one.

Be warned though...I was a Aerospace Engineering major at UCLA. It's no joke. Besides, you're not even guaranteed to get a job anymore. That's why I'm Socio/Econ major now.

Jay Kim

P.S. Unless you are planning to design and innovate parts, I don't think it's necessary to suffer in those majors. Because, IMO, your experience counts a lot more than your theories when it comes to cars.


[Modified by AllMotorMonster, 1:03 AM 11/12/2002]

 

[QUOTE]Because, IMO, your experience counts a lot more than your theories when it comes to cars. QUOTE]

This is true.

 

Mechanical Engineering
The sheer breadth of this field is amazing. I switched from Chemical Engineering my Soph. year because I was in to cars and motorcycles. Little did I know how broad the profession was. You are truly the jack of all trades when it comes to engineers.

My focus became failure analysis because I got to break stuff, but somehow I ended up working for a Natural Gas company. But now I get to work with compressor engines making up to 20,000 hp.

For the future, no matter what section of engineering you choose, you have to be strong. Engineering school isn't for the meek. You don't have to be a genius to finish, you just have to want it bad enough. If you pay attention for the first two years when you are learning the basic math and physics, the rest won't seem impossible, just hard. If you want to cruise through college, get a business degree.

 

Damn right.....

 

I wanted to be an automotive engineer as well, but from what I understand it's not at all that we think it is.

Unless you work for something like Mugen or SVT, you'll probably end up designing an airbag bracket or some crap like that and then have the marketing guy tell you to use the crappier material and design because it costs .01c less and looks slightly more shiny to the customer....

Screw them. Start your own automotive company or performance shop.

 

93h22a4, unfortunately there seems to be no set formula for getting into auto engineering. I was in your same position a few years ago. The only thing I wished that I'd done differently was go to UofM in Ann Arbor...they have an awesome engineering program there with lots of toys! I graduated from MSOE in Milwaukee, WI in Electrical Engineering (2000). A friend of mine 3yrs ahead (1997) graduated there in Mech. Eng. and got a sweet spot into Honda America in Ohio (with an option to get on the race team in 3yrs!) That lucky dog!

I now work for a supplier that develops tools for rapid ECU development...Honda America is one of our customers. The trend seems to be going more in the direction of a well versed mechanical AND electrical engineer. If you can do both jobs, you'll be doing pretty good in the auto industry. If you could see the stuff these guys are doing over here, you'll definitely wanna bone-up on the electrical stuff.

Another recommendation I would make (assuming of course, that I have such power) would be to shoot for a supplier company rather than the big guys. There's a ton of outsourcing going on around here, so all the "cool" stuff is getting done by companies like Delphi, Visteon, Motorola, DCX-Huntsville, etc.

Regarding SAE, I've been a member since I started school. It will really be a bonus when you start contacting companies cause it will provide some common ground (most of these guys are members). Start checking out the shows that they put on and talk to people that are there. You'll get to see all the latest "neat" stuff and maybe get a few job offers! The ones here in Detroit are the biggest, but since that may be a haul from FL, you can also check out some of the regional shows. It seems the way you get into this industry is through contacts and knowing people...

Best of Luck!

 

i went to talk to my advisor today and told him exactly what i wanted. im no genius but i think i want it bad enough to go ahead with it. to tell you the truth i really want to stay within the automotive side of things but im sure there are thousand of other really cool ME related jobs... also, in how many years did you guys take to finally finish...?
thanx again.....

 

Automotive engineering isn't all fun and games. However, there are rewards. The money generally is good, ther field is stable, as far as things go, and it is easy to apply the skills to other fields.

As for the requirements, Go to the R&D sites and look at the positions. Honda's is http://www.hondaresearch.com. Most require a BS ME. Experience in any team is very helpful. Not just to get a job, but in learning skills (hands on, designing, CAD, analysis, etc.) that you can apply to any field.

Please remeber to keep an open mind. There is a lot of fun engineering out there that has nothing to do with cars.

One final note. Look into companies around your sophmore or junior year. Try to make contacts, get internships or just merely make an exercise tracking down the HR people and managers of departments that appeal to you. This skill more than anything else can jump start a career in any field. Good luck.




[Modified by kek-san, 5:47 PM 11/12/2002]

 

After thinking about it, I have to fully agree with the other guys here: prepare to get your butt kicked when learning engineering. I'm pretty convinced that's how I became the twitching obsessive-compulsive freak I am today. Here's a couple suggestions:

1) Find a cheap hobby to deal with the stress.
2) Stick with it, no matter how bad it "looks"
3) Try to find things to use your newly found knowledge on so that all the equations don't seem so bad. I've found it really helped to relate things back to the "real world" to solidfy my understanding. Get your hands dirty and try it!
4) Don't feel bad if you need more than 4 years. Understanding things is a hell of a lot more employable than "stuffing and flushing" to get out in 4. Some classes I had to take twice, cause I just plain didn't 'get it' the first time.

Completed in 5 years...and glad as hell to be done with it!

 

do the non matriculated thing and get the physics and math classes done, if you have a nitch for it, then thats your field ... don;t do it for the working/designing car/motor field, do it cause its something you know how to do FIRST the rest is icing on the cake.

Greg

 

I was originally planning on seeking a major in Mechanical/Aerospace. You can do it as a double major as most the classes are the same. You will have to take another year or so of classes after you get your bachelors in Mechanical but you will have two bachelors.

Reasons I switched majors. Found out I like actual cars more than the science that is behind them. While I find it fasicinating how they work, just isnt meant for me. Plus as mentioned your not guaranteed a job. Your job is going to choose where you live more than you finding a job where you live. So I switched majors to Pharmacy and will hopefully be starting pharmacy school next fall pending my acceptance.

 

I'm in that same boat of wanting to switch majors also; I'm a computer engineering major, but got really interested in cars and really looked into mechanical engineering until I read this post. I didn't know it's that broad which confuses me more. Now I have no idea which way to go

 

Please don't think that only Automotive Engineers work on engines.

I work in aerospace - HW/SW type. A dream came true when I got to develop a turbo engine computer from the ground up. No, it doesn't go in a car, but the point is, don't limit yourself to that one exact job. Theres LOTS of jobs where you can work on engines... they just don't happen to be F1 engines, but so what. (BTW, how secure do you think a job is on an F1 team... if you're not winning...)

Like others said, don't limit yourself to only that one branch of engineering.


[Modified by kb58, 2:58 AM 11/13/2002]

 

It took me 5 years to graduate with an ME degree, including 1 year co-op. I knew or absorbed most material without much difficulty because mechanical things and the physics behind them always interested me. A lot of the material in the classes was kind of like research on Honda-Tech. The only thing that made the stuff difficult was too much structure, bs, and red tape of a college environment. The main thing I ended up learning was that the less I cared about my classes the better I did in them.

I heard a good quote that said something along the lines of "don't let your education get in the way of your studies."

Anyways, a plus of working in automotive is you should get a paid week off around the 4th of July!
Although I guess lately companies don't like that and are trying to to make it more difficult

 

I've always been into Hondas... hehe One day like 4 years ago my friend and I got the idea to drop his old motor (D16Z6) into my friends 92 VX.. My friend had gotten his GSR swap a couple months before and we all thought it was sooo crazy. His car was an Si originally but I had no clue what was going on back then and we had the shop that he works at now do it.. All we would have had to do was drop in the motor and wire a KS in... Oh well.. This was all back during my freshman year of high school and everyone thought his car was the **** when he ran a 13.5.. haha it's funny now looking back.. Anyways we always worked on everyones cars then a couple years ago he started working at the shop that did his swap originally so he learned everything from them... I had to learn everything myself just from reading but it's been fun trying to keep up with him..... He is their head mechanic now and he does an awesome job of building motors... We both know the same when it comes to assembling a motor but i think i still got him on the electrical side...hehehe... Right now I'm a freshman at OSU majoring in electrical engineering... I really like that kinda stuff but I dunno if there is anyway to make over $600,000 a year... Orthopaedic Surgeon maybe, that's the other field I'm looking at.. anyways thanks for listening to my boring *** story Latez


[Modified by JDMspecEG6, 8:53 PM 11/12/2002]

 

well im definately going for it regardless if i fail or not. its what i like and what i REALLY want to do. i figure im gunna hit it hard and if it works out then perfect, if it doesnt then ill know it wasnt ment to be. i dont care if it takes me 6 years to finish, if thats what i takes then so be it.. oh btw the money doesnt bother me that much, i rather get paid less doing something i love than get a little more doing something completely boring and useless...... thanx again for all the insight. this board is like crack, yu can never have enough......

 

One more note.
First congrats on choosing a major that is worth something. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I can't count the number of people I know that got a worthless B.S. or B.A. just to be a waiter or sell auto parts. It still may be hard to find a job, especially in today's market. But an engineering degree is one of the few that will land you some serious money with a B.S. And that first job you get won't be your dream job, I can assure you. But it will be experience. The thing most employers like is an engineer with around 5 years experience. Enough to give you knowledge and confidence, but not too much to make you a one trick pony.

Second I'll let you know that I took 6.5 years to graduate. I switched majors 3 times, from ChE to Physics to ME. Those years are the best of your life. I know people say that all the time but it's true. At no other time will you have that balance of responsibility and freedom. Enjoy college, it goes by fast.

 

that last post made me feel alot better. thank you guys again for all the help.

 

If you are that deticated, then you won't have much problem. Engineering is hard, you have to have some inteligence, but you don't have to be a genius. You just have to be willing to work hard. Engineering is a lot of work, and if you work hard at it, in time you will figure things out. It just may take you longer than others, or maybe you will catch on faster then most (I don't know your inteligence level and am in no way judging you). At any rate, it will still be a lot of work, a lot of homework, a lot of lab time.

I'm no genius (I wish I was), but I think I am somewhat inteligent. But the biggest thing about engineering to me is the amount of work. While my roommates (Psychology, Math, Business majors) would be going on during the week, more often that not, I had to pass because I had to much homework to do, or had to go the lab.

So, if you are deticated... you'll do fine. My suggestion is get into study groups as much as possible. And if you are not living at home, make some friends that are in your major & classes that you can stand to live with. This way you will all have the same work to do, can help and motivate each other, and you won't be distractions to eachother and have some Business Major as a roommate that doesn't have as much work to do as you going out, and trying to persuade you to go hang out too.

Good luck!


As a side note:
I'm not ragging on Business Majors, or Psychology Majors, or any other major at all. There is the potential to make a lot more money than in Engineering. But in the undergraduate degrees, it has been my experiance that it is a little easier, and a lot less work. This is from my friends and roommates that have even admitted to me that they would never want to have to do all the work Engineers have to do.


[Modified by PSU-TEG, 7:47 AM 11/13/2002]


[Modified by PSU-TEG, 7:49 AM 11/13/2002]

 

I got my bachelors in ME in 4 years. Maybe 5 years woulda been more fun and resulted in better grades, who knows. I just didnt want to be in too much debt when I got out.

 

That is so true; I remember when people used to tell me that all the time about high school but I didn't listen and ditched all of the time, now I sort of miss all that fun with less responsibility stuff. That's why I'm taking my sweet time in college now (maybe taking too much time--going on 5yrs now but still no degree yet ).

 

IM currently enrolled in the PACT (professional automotive career training) program the PACT program is strictly all honda training mechanical side, were the top in the nation. its a 2yr program. 1st yr you complete brakes & electrical, eng repair & fuel & emmision including obII training, then 2nd yr manual trans & steering and suspension, and the last semmester is automatic trans and a/c. i really enjoy this program after the 1st semmester i was already placed me in a honda dealer and now ive been a technician for almost a yr and gotten a lot of experience in rebuilding motors like the 02 Si and lil kids blowing the motors and especially s2ks are infamous but i had previous experience before that so dont matter. torrance corp office already offered me a postion in tech line but im waiting for the big R&D to call, corporate office wants at least 1-2yr dealer experience. im gonna interning @ the torrance training ctr soon. so i can only thank this program, plus you graduate w/a AS and transfer to cal state la and major in industrial technolgy which covers electrical, mechnical etc. heres a link if you wanna find out about the PACT program call john frala 562-463-4603 there program is located in rio hondo college in whittier recommend this program

 

College can definately be the best years of your life. Don't waste them. I graduated 6 months ago but didn't find a job yet on purpose, just so I could extend the college lifestyle a little bit longer .....

Make sure you save some easy classes for your final semester and take full advantage of it.



[Modified by Lsos, 6:21 AM 11/14/2002]