<p>what are the top grad schools for automotive engineering? and in undergrad, what is the closest, would it be a mechanical engineering major with a concentration in thermofluids? Or would it be something different?</p>
<p>As you know, there aren’t very many schools who offer a major in automotive engineering. I think that most people who work on the design and production of cars (assuming thats what you want to do) work on specific aspects of the car. For example, an electrical engineer might design the electrical systems, and mechanical engineer that specializes in thermofluids might work on the engine, etc. Other engineers may develop models of the car to be analyzed for crash saftey, while others who work in aerodynamics might design the body of the car. These days they probably would also have computer engineers and programmers working on the computers on board the car.</p>
<p>Another place that will use a lot of engineers is in the manufacturing of the car. Because most of the factories are largely automated these days, they need all sorts of engineers to build and maintain the machines and the facility.</p>
<p>RIT offers such a major, as does Kettering. </p>
<p>Rose-Hulman, Ohio State, Michigan Tech, and the University of Michigan would also be worth looking at for future career plans in the automotive industry.</p>
<p>how is UT Austin’s program for automotive engineering or mech eng w/ thermofluids concentration (I’m in-state)</p>
<p>Bump!!!</p>
<p>Doesn’t Kettering specialize in this?</p>
<p>Dude, Automotive Industry=Michigan (state of, University of, etc). </p>
<p>If you can’t stand the thought of that, try Ohio or upstate New York, as mentioned above. The warm, sunny days of Texas are over for you if you still want to continue into this industry.</p>
<p>However, despite its recent problems, it is still a solid industry and Michigan really isn’t a bad place to live. The cost of living is low, the natural beauty surrounds you (yes, there’s skiing, prestine beaches, lakes, and all kinds of other outdoor recreation, as well. Some of it even betters regions known for such features), and the people are friendly and fall across all areas of the poltical, social, and ethnic spectrums. I highly recommend going to a place like Kettering or U-Mich, continuing your passion, all while getting the best and most respected automotive education available in the industry.</p>
<p>Good Luck!!!</p>
<p>OHKID, thank you so much for the advice! Do you think it would be okay to go to UT Austin for undergrad and U Mich for grad school (UT would cost about $20,000 a year for undergrad and U Mich would cost about $45,000+ per year)</p>
<p>Yeah, you’d probably be good if you did that. My comments mainly applied if you wished to enter the industry immediately after graduation with a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>If you did your above strategy, it would help you feel out other career fields or help you determine what area of the industry you wanted to specialize in if you did undergrad at UT- Austin. UT is a great school, and a degree from there with a 3.0+ GPA behind it would definitely be looked well upon by U-Mich engineering grad school.</p>
<p>Good Luck!!!</p>
<p>I would definitely recommend UT undergrad in-state over U-M out-of-state.</p>
<p>Save your money, if you are still interested in the auto industry, then I would definitely recommend U-M’s automotive engineering program (The Big Three, Toyota, and Nissan are all right in U-M’s backyard.)</p>
<p>My personal recommendation: stay the hell away from the auto industry. My mother is an MBA at Chrysler, has 30 years with the company. It has been a wild, wild ride. The industry is a roller coaster. When times are good, Michigan booms. When things are bad (right now,) it’s ugly.</p>
<p>I have several friends who are going to Kettering and had been co-oping at GM. Every single GM co-op lost their job this past spring. A year ago, Ford had to pull offers from all of their new hires just before graduation season.</p>
<p>To conclude: for undergrad, stay at UT and major in mechanical engineering or whatever. (Michigan does not have an undergrad automotive engineering major.) If you are still interested in the automotive industry, Michigan would probably be THE place to go. I would just stay down in Texas and take an energy job though. Much more stable and the pay is much better as well.</p>
<p>thanks dsmo! yea I’m a rising junior in high school, so I have plenty of time to choose. Thanks for the personal recommendation!</p>
<p>Take a look at Clemson University ICAR ( working with BMW)</p>
<p>Despite job security issues, the work automotive engineers do does sounds interesting to us outsiders. Could any employees/relatives employees chime in on that?</p>
<p>Im also interested in this, I know the big companies are back east but what about all the smaller aftermarket companies. Anyone work for one of these and how is it?</p>