I was hoping to draw some good information from you guys. I'm looking at colleges that offer automotive or motorsport engineering programs. My main focus is to get out of the repair end of the auto industry to the creating, R and D end of the auto industry.

Schools I've looked at so far are

Arizona state
central Michigan
Colorado state
Ferris state
Indiana state
Indiana U at Purdue
Old dominion
Weber State
Minesota state at Mankato


If you have any useful information that would help me with my search please share.

Thanks
Scott

http://www.mtu.edu/

Michigan Technological University is known to many, many as RallyU. Many industry guys that rally went there, and party bonus, is home to LSPR.

I was a mechanic who went back to school, I'll be finishing up my new degree in april. I looked into the automotive engineering program at Ferris, but for the life of me I couldnt get anyone at the school to respond to my questions about the program, and I even visited the campus. So I crossed them off my list and ultimately chose MTU, it helped that its is in my home town. I looked at Mankato too, but for some reason I wasn't that in to it.

What I've found, in looking for jobs the last 5 months, is that I've gotten an overwhelmingly positive response from my combination of previous hands-on practical mechanical experience and my electrical engineering technology education. Knowing both has opened a lot of doors.

Also, if you were a mechanic and like hands-on stuff, go for a technical degree. MTU, for example, offers 4 year Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Technology degrees. If you compare MTU's Electrical Engineering program to the EET program, the EE program has 4 lab classes for the entire thing, while the EET program has at least 16, plus optional ones, throughout the degree program. So you get WAY more hands-on technical training and skills with the technology degree. And, a lot of places I've found dont care if you have an EET or an EE degree, as long as you know your stuff there are plenty of jobs where either works and plenty more where EETs are preferred. The one thing I wish the EET program had more of was things relating to networks and stuff like that, but there are CNSA courses that you could take to cover those things, I just wish I had figured that out before it was too late, oh well. But since everything automotive is using some type of CAN network these days, its definitely something I've seen asked for a lot on automotive-related job postings.

MTU also has good relationships with many auto manufacturers and suppliers, like ford, toyota, honda, continental, nexteer, american axle, etc. They all come to recruit at the career fair and many support projects and research on campus. And MTU has all the formula SAE, Mini Baja, clean snowmobile, and EcoCAR clubs/projects/whatevers that can help you get contacts in the automotive industry and maybe learn something.

The number of quality rally events within a reasonable days drive from MTU include LSPR, Ojibwe, Rally MN, Nemadji Trails, Sno Drift, 100 Acre Wood, Magum Opus (resurrected!), STPR, Gravity Park, and probably a few I forgot. There are also a couple of ice racing series 4 hours away, a winter TSD series (this weekend's event goes from Duluth, MN to Ely, MN and back) with events from 0-4 hours away, a UP autocross series, an occasional local rallyx or two, and over the past couple of years MTU's sports car club has really picked up momentum. I'm pretty biased, but overall I don't think its a bad place to be. Yearly snowfall average is just over 200", with a record of 355.90".

Carl bear me to suggesting he talkie talk with you..

The OP didn't mention it be we know the area up ther eis full of Finnish descent people. Are there lots of Finnish type cutinas there?
It does get cold, ya know.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Carl, what you say is true, however you're forgetting that EE's make a lot more. I make about 2/5ths more than what an equivalent experience EET makes at my company.

One of my old college roomates was an EET and he said he felt dupped when we graduated because he thought they were about the same, when really the course load is much much different also types of jobs.



As far as getting into the R&D you pretty much have to get lucky these days. I interned at delphi working on a problem for the C6 vette auto transmission. Sounds cool, still same boring shit haha.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2012 09:04PM by czwalga.

All the street signs in Hancock have their English name on the top and Finnish name on the bottom. The local diner serves Mukkara Mojakka. Lotsa Finns, and lotsa finn girlies but they can be hard to find unless a poika is an Apostolic Lutheran.

It gets prety cold here in Rochester to so the temp isn't realy a factor. I could get into the street sighns with suomilinan printed on them. I havn't had MTU on my list, but i'm going to check out the web sight. So far I've seen UM Mankato with alot of what I want to get into.

Much like yourself Carl, I'm a tech. I wrench on cars for Acura. The only bad thing about being a tech, is all your insurance is your cost, and if you get hurt your SOL and need to find a new career. So I'm dedicated to staying in the automotive field, just need to step up to another level. My heart wants me to go more the motorsport engineering route. Desighning parts ect, and proving they work has a very strong appeal to me.

Quote
Carl S
All the street signs in Hancock have their English name on the top and Finnish name on the bottom. The local diner serves Mukkara Mojakka. Lotsa Finns, and lotsa finn girlies but they can be hard to find unless a poika is an Apostolic Lutheran.

Sweet bleedin' Jeebus! That's terrible!
Thank Dog the original ones left all that nonsense behind.

(sigh) is nothing sacred???

Don't they know that they're supposed to be about the most friendly and um straightforward and uhm what to call it...um.... little minxes around?

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

The two questions that I would have in your shoes are:

1. What is the real world probability of getting a good job doing what you learned?

2. Is going through the process of retraining going to yield a net financial gain over continuing as a tech?

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Robert.

"You are way too normal to be on Rally Anarchy." Eddie Fiorelli.

Western Washington University - Vehicle Research Institute

One of the premier vehicle design schools. I went there in the mid- '80's during which time we worked closely with Subaru. The first Subaru 16 valve engine was developed there. We were sort of a skunkworks for Subaru back then.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2012 01:24AM by Doivi Clarkinen.

Dave beat me to it. Adam Crane is a graduate of their program as well.

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Welcome to the cult of JVL drink the koolaid or be banned.

Not to be biased or anything, but Oregon State University has a great ME program, and EE too.
They are also home to one of the best Formula SAE teams right now. Formula SAE is a collegiate motorsports competition involving around 470 schools and competitions all over the world.
While OSU does not have an automotive engineering degree, many students that have graduated from there with SAE background have landed motorsports engineering jobs.
I have been seriously approached by big names in the automotive world while at competitions. It's a great way to get your name out.
Some recent grads are working at: Chrysler (windtunnel and design), SCCA, NASCAR, Pratt & Miller, Daimler, Honda Powersports, Space-X, Honda (cars), Dallara. These are just a few that I can think of without much thought.

No matter what school you go to, be sure to get involved in Formula or Baja SAE.

Global Formula Racing
GFR Documentary Trailer (TOP SECRET INFO INSIDE!!!)

I have 3 friends that graduated with MET degrees. One got a job with the company his Dad works for right out of college, basically, because his Dad works there.
The other works at a lab using an electron microscope testing for asbestos.
The last spent 18 months trying to find work, then gave up and went back to grad school for a Master's in mechanical engineering. Pretty sure his one piece of advice to anyone would be to get an ME, not MET.
I could see in something like electrical the difference being less though.

A guy that works as a tech at Land Rover here was in a customer car after a test drive waiting to turn back into dealer a bit over a year ago. Guy that's huffing and driving blacks out and boom, head on collision. The tech still hasn't fully recovered. The dealership was bought about a month ago and the tech's back is still fucked and can't lift 50 lbs so doesn't pass the physical and is on pain killers so failed the piss test for opiates. The new owners currently have not told him if he has a job and he's in limbo, not working, not knowing.

Uhh. I know one rally guy that went to CSU's grad program in Motorsport Engineering. You have to get undergrad first though. If you aspire to go to grad school anyhow, go to the least expensive quality school you can. I have had classmates and coworkers that paid 3-4X what I did for undergrad for a similar or potentially worse education.

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Grant Hughes

Quote
Doivi Clarkinen
Western Washington University - Vehicle Research Institute

One of the premier vehicle design schools. I went there in the mid- '80's during which time we worked closely with Subaru. The first Subaru 16 valve engine was developed there. We were sort of a skunkworks for Subaru back then.

here is a better link for the VRI: WWU FSAE

i went there, got me a job at Brammo, i designed a ton of shit on the US Ariel Atom and the proto brammo E-bike, so i guess you can get jobs like that, if that is what you are into...

I assume you looked at RIT since you're in the neighborhood. Big SAE and Baja programs.
JT