Ever contemplated an Automotive career?

[Rice_tuner]

WRC DRIVER!! damn!! what does it take to get that job!!

Ideally a WRC driver or an R&D tuner

[Rice_tuner]

Originally Posted by highwayblaze

Racing driver's
One-stop shops
Tuning Shops
Test Drivers
All you guys spoke of HOT STUFF. I mean "DEFINITELY" HOT Careers.
I dreamt the same too and still do . Many of us BHPians whose names have been mentioned earlier are already doing the HOT STUFF.
I always wanted to have an Auto career. Well...I do!

I'm already in the automotive industry right now, and frankly speaking, doing the not so cool work. I work for a diesel engine company in the US as an ECM(ECU) engineer where we (as in the electronics team) have to develop all the controls for diesel engines which find their way into both auto, and industrial applications. I've worked earlier on diesel engine's for pick-up trucks and currently work on Semi-trucks (of the like's of Volvo's FH12) and also even larger mining trucks.

This job is however very different from performance tuning/tweaking a car or bike or racing around a track.I spend most of my time in front of the computer and in testing centers where real life conditions are simulated (without an actual engine) which can be boring sometimes. I get out of work and talk to people who ask me what I do for a living and I tell them, "well...I'm a controls engineer working on diesel engines" which doesn't sound cool at all, as opposed to saying "I tune race cars" or "I'm into test driving sports cars". Probably because of the greasy grimy image that diesel's have gained. I'm lost in the myriad of software variables, and other stuff related to it in the development process most of the time.
I would LOVE to be a test driver for ferrari and ofcourse I would love to attend racing school and be a trained racing driver.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT.
FOR NOW, MY CURRENT JOB IS THE COOLEST JOB IN THE WORLD FOR ME. I"M PUTTING ALL MY Engineering KNOWLEDGE INTO DEVELOPING AN AUTOMOBILE. I can say that "a part of THAT truck was developed by me and without my part , the truck would'nt have worked". All that I have said earlier about the job being boring and all goes away in a flash,when I see that truck on the road or the tractor in the field or when I get to drive an 18-wheeler truck with a 15-litre engine around a test track or when I get to bale hay in a field on a massive tractor, with my software in it (yes we get to do this once in a while).
Just thought i'd share this with you guys.
Just like many of you have said, dreams do come true !! GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU. May your dreams come true!

Regards
Blaze a.k.a Bhupi

p.s. When I say 15litre engine here its the truth, This is not a Ferrari india marketing head remake here Diesel engines on 18 wheeler trucks do have HHUGE engines, checkout the spec's online if you like (on volvo or caterpillar). Meanwhile looking forward to a racing school very soon !!

Hey!!! damn!!! i sooooooooo wanted to be an ECU designer/tuner!!! thats some awesome job u have there!!!!
n yea, i know those 15 lt engines!!!! sum torque!

good going man...love ur job.

[sujaylahiri]

I'm currently studying Mechanical Engineering with Automotive minor in Canada. Let's see how far can I get. It's freakin tough and competitive.
I've always been passionate about cars.

[mtnrajdeep]

Well, throughout college i wanted to work on embedded systems for automobiles and somehow have ended up in process implementation and related research in an automobile research organization!!!

[Stage3Monster]

If wishes came true by just posting...
well i would love to work in England tuning Ford gt40s running v12s powered by a set of six webers!!! tune em a lilttle , take them for a test in the english countryside and scare the bejjabers out of whatever is left of the wild animals there!!

[mtnrajdeep]

Originally Posted by mtnrajdeep

Well, throughout college i wanted to work on embedded systems for automobiles and somehow have ended up in process implementation and related research in an automobile research organization!!!

not to say that i am disappointed as i am working in DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology !!!!

[headers]

Would be interested to know if you guys can actually understand the ECU codes..or are you completely ignorant of these codes and there is an intermediate translator / compiler that does the job..

[sajo]

@highwayblaze : Do you work for Cummins, since you are in Columbus....

[mtnrajdeep]

Originally Posted by headers

Would be interested to know if you guys can actually understand the ECU codes..or are you completely ignorant of these codes and there is an intermediate translator / compiler that does the job..

I am working in the area of process implementation, so i do not know them.

[arpanjha]

I'm still doing my BTech in Mech engg.....and praying day and night for working in the automobile industry.....

[superavi]

I'm thinking that I should fund a guy who was incharge of a Hero Honda showroom (Hero Honda works manager, superb treatment!) (since then has moved to another showroom) and start a garage. The guy seemed knowledgable, courteous surely and someone who'd be a good bet to start a business on.

i'm thinking of roping in some folks that i know and start a garage with a seed capital of about 10-15 lakhs. No idea of whether that'll work or not, just an idea playing around in my head!

Any advise, or thoughts anyone? Especially someone who's gone down the same road?

Superavi

[Jomz]

Well said Highway Blaze!! Well said!!

Let Me add my Experainces In the CV sector... The Project in which trying to Put a common rail on a Commercial vehicle Engine..!!!

Man this thing takes too long.. The Project started in 2000.. Still Not Yet completed..

And about the satisfaction of seeing your components in the veh.. Hear my story.. You model it.. You find a supplier.. who can cast it.. You machine it.. you check it.. You test it on the rig.. you check it on the vehicle.. Bty the time it goes to production you'll have seen enough of the component thta you'll have nighmares of it...

Time targets.. Not enough facilities.. actually people who duno what is the digfference between a steel pipe and Common Rail (The component)

Sucking salaries.. I've to get cash from home to fill up Christine ('99 Zen- Carb)

6 day working weeks...

Testings to be devised for customer durablity of 200000kms..

Man It is Torture.. For aspiring guys.. THINK TWICE BEFORE JOINING ANY INDIAN AuTO COMPANY.. Pls. Go to Germany.. Thatz the Mecca...
Exceptions are MARUTI, MAHINDRA (Now... since last year)

This is From a guy Who was a BE From NIT Calicut.. and then 4 years veteran in Diesel Engines.. 5-12L- Inline 6

This views are my personnal views and may differ from person to person and company to company..

THe Best job as per me.. is a tuner.. Get the car.. Tune it, turbo it, notro it.. Cool...

[garvit2002]

as a school guy i m always in the dreams for being a rally champion but i know that dreams are apart from reality and i know that i cannot be what i want to be . i m happy to be known as a good learner at driving by my family . i am a victim of making the race tracks out of roads of normal use . sooooo, i want to build a proper training school for kids to enhance their driving skills and that will be one of the motives of my life.

[BEEM3R]

Dream: A BMW Dealership. I'll spend every waking hour amidst the Bavarian wonders. Will be unfazed by every other personal problem. Would even spit shine the cars if I had to. Would enjoy working in every department of the dealership.

Reality: Want to buy my own BMW in 5 years.

[ameya]

thanks to my supportive parents, im doing what im passionate about.
currently at brunel university, UK. doing an MSc in Automotive and Motorsport Engineering. headed for F1/WRC long term !