<p>I can confidently say that I have chosen engineering to be my future major in college. However, I am having trouble picking between mechanical and electrical engineering. I am extremely interested in getting a job in the automotive/heavy equipment fields (BMW, GM, Caterpillar, Ford...) once I graduate. My dream would be to become the head engineer for either the high-performance sector of car companies (sports cars), or to become the lead engineer for a racing team. This will most likely just remain a dream of mine, but nevertheless I want to be able to at least have a chance to attain a position like this. What would you guys qualify to be the engineering concentration that would give me the best chance of landing an automotive career? Is there a lot of demand for jobs like these right now, or is this simply too much of a niche field?</p>
<p>Coming from Michigan I know that there are a lot of opportunities as an engineer in the automotive field. However, it really is a niche field and requires a lot of networking to land in the field (particularly at the Big 3). I would recommend joining your school’s formula team (or equivalent team), first thing at your college. Auto companies love this. Also do well on your grades and you should be fine.</p>
<p>As for mechanical vs electrical, I can’t answer this for you. They are different things. I can’t tell you which one you’ll enjoy more. The world is slowly changing towards an electric future but IC and mechanical is here to stay as long as you’ll be working.</p>
<p>Dude join the club!!!
I too wanna go into automotive engineering.
I’m positive I’m doing ME.
My dream job is to work for Tesla motors here in California.</p>
<p>I’m nobody to give a 100% accurate answer to your question but I’ve been lurking around the sites of car companies and the open job positions they have.
Almost all of the open engineering jobs preferred a BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering.</p>
<p>Nice! It’s great to hear that there’s someone else who wants to go into automotive engineering too! And I never even thought about Tesla until now, but it seems like they have a TON of electrical engineering positions open. However, my real passion is IC engines and most of all, turbo and supercharging. When I take a look at some of the new performance engines that have come out in the past several years, they are becoming more and more advanced, and nearly all of them depend on either turbo or supercharging systems to gain massive amounts of power. To develop, test, and produce the electrical systems that control this power must take a fairly large group of electrical engineers. But, you are right that it probably takes a lot of networking with the right people to get a chance at those jobs. And as for Formula SAE, I am definitely joining it next year no matter where I go off to college. Are only mechanical engineers allowed to work on the car itself? Also, do car companies have any internships for people interested in automotive engineering?</p>
<p>I know Mercedes, BMW, GM, and Ford offer internships.
I don’t known of any others.
After a year or 2 in college I will apply to all car companies offering internships.</p>
<p>Note that the automotive industry includes not just the well known car companies, but also their suppliers.</p>
<p>For example, Johnson Controls and Lear both make automotive seats and electronics. Johnson Controls may be slightly more familiar as a maker of automotive batteries sold under various brand names. A slightly more well known seat company is Recaro.</p>
<p>Other companies include Allison (transmissions), Cummins (diesel engines), Delphi (various parts), Visteon (various parts), Robert Bentley (owners and service manuals), Helm (owners and service manuals), etc…</p>
<p>UCBAlumnus always posts some very good information.
I wish we had a rep point system so I could give him reputation points.</p>
<p>Another way to find companies in a given industry is to go to [Google</a> Finance: Stock market quotes, news, currency conversions & more](<a href=“http://finance.google.com%5DGoogle”>http://finance.google.com) . Put in a company name or stock symbol (GM and F are fairly obvious ones in the automotive industry). Below the chart will be a list of related companies. Below that, there will be a link to a sector or industry, such as “Auto and Truck Manufacturers”. You can explore the links to find more companies. Similarly, you can put a parts company name or stock symbol (e.g. JCI) to get a link to “Auto and Truck Parts” industry listing.</p>
<p>However, this will only find companies with publicly traded stock; private companies whose stock does not trade, or government or non-profit companies, cannot be found here.</p>
<p>I have the same goals as all of you!! What would be the best schools for automotive/mechanical engineering? i am in the applying process…and i havent found any reviews for MAJOR universities about it. FYI major universities are my goal to attend so any advice??</p>
<p>The electrical / electronic work is too specialized and usually farmed out. Mechanical may be a better chance. </p>
<p>They usually look for mechanical or electrical. For the physical testing side its a little more mechanical, but for the controls and software its obviously a little more electrical. As a calibration engineer currently working for one of the Big 3, I studied mechanical at Michigan, which also has a great Automotive Engineering masters program. If you are serious about IC engines, go to to a good school with an engine lab and participate in some combustion research. Also, you can participate on a FSAE team and you will easily find opportunities for recruitment into the OEMs and even some race teams.I think Ford may even require project team experience (?) for new college hires. </p>
<p>Lawrence Tech used to have a popular program for AE, and of course the grand-daddy of them all, GMI aka Kettering University in Flint MI are all places where the auto industry recruited heavily. - along with the anointed Big 10’s (Michigan, MSU, Purdue, OSU, UIUC, Wisc). The FSAE teams are quite the fun. As the old generation of auto engineers retires there should be quite a bit of hiring going on in the future.</p>