Automotive engineering: the power and the glory
Think of a car. Four wheels, engine, steering wheel, ho-hum. How exciting can it be? Well, if you’re building Ferraris, pretty exciting. And if you’re building Ferrari Formula One racing cars, very, very exciting.
Why? Well, anything that can top 200mph in a few seconds without breaking sweat, stop in a heartbeat, and turn corners like it’s on a Scalextric track, is a pretty exciting bit of kit as far as etc. is concerned. These things are so complicated they don’t even have a key – you have to start them with a laptop. (Which sort of hinders a quick getaway, but does make them pretty hard to hotwire.) They’re the most sophisticated, complicated and hi-tech vehicles out there.
‘But,’ you cry, ‘all they do is follow each other round and round until one millionaire stands on some steps with a couple more millionaires and wastes a load of champagne; boring!’ Well, sometimes this is true (until that Hamilton chap came along and made things interesting again), but the general public gets a lot from Formula One– the technology we see in our road cars (ABS braking, traction control, more efficient engines, controls on the steering wheels) was all developed there – by automotive engineers. So it’s all linked together, like a big circle of life. Hang on, did the Lion King just sneak into an engineering feature? Hmm. Best move on.
Formula Student
The good thing is, as an engineering student you don’t have to wait until you’ve got your degree to get involved in motorsport. Every year the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) runs Formula Student, which is open to universities across the
world. The idea? To design and build a single seat racing car, and then race it at Silverstone – home of the British Grand Prix.
Now, these aren’t little go-karts we’re talking about here. etc. fancied a day at the races, so off we trotted to the circuit to have a look – and were confronted by racing cars. Actual ones! But built by students in their spare time! They were ragging them up and down the start/finish straight, racing them through special courses to test their speed and handling…there was even a hybrid car that ran on batteries that recharged themselves when the car braked.
‘Really, the cars are very impressive,’ says Jon Hilton, Chief Judge of the competition and a man with 16 years’ experience in motorsport. ‘We never cease to be amazed by how much students are willing to take on. You’ll see some quite clever features on the cars – usually followed by some not quite so clever ones!’ he laughs, as a car is pushed along by some grumpy looking mechanics. Well, if at first you don’t succeed…
While this is all tremendous fun on race day, it’s incredibly hard work, and it highlights the skills an engineer needs – it’s not just about being good with things that move. ‘Although it seems to be an engineering project, it’s also business skills, marketing, things you need out in the modern world,’ Jon tells us. The event’s not just about going fast, it’s about things like building the car for a reasonable price as well.’
Fast track careers
The Formula Student cars cost around £15,000 to build, so students learn all about getting sponsorship and marketing their team, as well as picking up teamwork and communication skills – on top of all the engineering know how that comes with
motorsport, from engines to electronics. All in all, it points to a career that’s going to be anything but dull, as etc. found out by wandering around the event. We saw mechanics rushing around from place to place, cars up on jacks being persuaded back to life, showers of sparks, and lots of people huddling around laptops trying to get the best performance out of their creations (although none of them were shouting ‘Live! Live!’ like Frankenstein, to our disappointment). Out on the track you could sense the excitement even more as all the hard work paid off and cars raced, skidded, rushed all over the place and generally looked fast and pretty. ‘The experience here will definitely take me into a motorsport career,’ says Juan Navaro from the Oxford Brookes team, ‘and it’s just so exciting being here, running the cars and seeing them working!’
He’s right. An automotive engineering career can be all about the moving parts, but it can also be about teamwork, communication, thinking on your feet and being part of a group effort that helps drive technology forward – green tech in Formula One may
one day help the car on your drive be more environmentally friendly too, for
example. The only thing that remained on the day was for etc. to have a go in
a car, to report first hand on the fruits of their labours. And would they let us
anywhere near them? Hell, no. Denied. So if you should make your name in the field, remember your old friends here and come give us a ride one day…
Jobs for the girls
Engineering, particularly where cars are involved, is sometimes seen as an all-boys sort of business. Not so, says CEO of the IMechE, Ruth Spellman. ‘There are more women going in than previously, but we do need to increase that number,’ she says. ‘Employers are crying out for engineers, and as a woman you can bring different things to a team – knowing when someone needs an arm round them and taking away from a situation, say. A lot of the girls are saying they’ve learned a lot about dealing with all male teams!’ Ladies, start your engines…
More Info
Go see the IMechE: www.imeche.org
For more on Formula Student, head to www.formulastudent.com.
Essential info
Ways in
There are several routes into Engineering:
• Degree
• Foundation Degree
• Apprenticeship/Advanced Apprenticeship/
Graduate Apprenticeship
Each option has different entry requirements, and your path of study will be very different, depending on the path you choose…
Degree study will involve a lot of theoretical work, plus projects, tutorials (small groups working with a tutor), lectures, and possibly working in a lab. And occasionally building a racing car or two.
Foundation Degrees combine higher level academic study with practical work experience, which you get with an employer who works with your university.
Apprenticeships combine college-based study with on-the-job experience, so you’d be working for an employer and studying part-time.
Qualifications
What you’ll need
If you’re looking to study for a degree in engineering, you’ll need good maths grades to lock down the theoretical and ‘laws of physics’ stuff involved. You’ll probably need A levels in science and technology, depending on the course you’re looking at, as well. If you’re considering automotive engineering, an interest in cars and motorsport is going to give you the edge, of course – and it’s good to get some work experience, too.
Speaking of which, work experience with a local engineering firm is always going to look good: the National Council for Work Experience – www.work-experience.org – is a good place to start.
What you’ll get
At degree level, you could end up with an honours degree as either Bachelor of Science (BSc), or Bachelor/Master of Engineering (BEng/MEng), depending on the length and type of course. There are a large number of degrees accredited to professional institutions (such as the Institution of Engineering Technology), which will help you gain professional qualifications when you graduate.
You can probably guess what a Foundation Degree course will give you – and you’ll have the option of upgrading to a full honours degree by studying for a further period of time.
Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships will get you NVQs at different levels, technical certificates, and you’ll gain practical on-the job skills too. There may also be Graduate Apprenticeships available, combining your academic skills with work-based learning.
Professional Qualifications (PQs)
There are three PQs in the engineering world: Chartered Engineer (you get CEng after your name), Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and Engineering Technician (EngTech). They prove you have skills that are recognised across the industry –which makes you more attractive to employers, potentially boosting your salary. PQs aren’t compulsory, but they are recommended.
Once you’ve graduated (or can demonstrate the right level of experience), you can apply through the Engineering Council UK to gain a Professional Qualification. If you have an accredited degree, you’ll already have the necessary academic qualifications, but will need to demonstrate your work-based abilities; if not, there may be an element of further study involved to get your academic qualifications up to scratch, too.
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