View Full Version : Career advice?
Thought I might give this a bash on here, maybe someone will be able to shed a little help or point me in the right direction...
Currently, I am looking into getting into the motorsport trade or a trade that is very closely related to Motorsport. However, I am finding this very difficult.
I am 20 years old, Have multiple GCSEs and A Levels under my belt but dont have any "proper" experience in automotives, the only experience I have is teaching myself all the knowledge I have, I completely rebuilt and track prepped my old nova at the age of 18 and do all of the maintainance on my A3.
My original plan while I was at college was to go to uni to study Motorsport Technology, however, I finished College, and after having such a bad time there and really not enjoying it, I decided I didnt want to carry on with education and wanted to get out into the real world!
I have been looking into apprenticeships, but the only half decent ones out there seem to be with dealerships and they dont appear to allow you to focus on the motorsport side of things or even the developement of their new cars. I have written to lots of local companies, all of which either not replying or saying they cant take me on.
I would love to get into the electronics side of things and engine management, but do realise I have to start somewhere that will proberly not be so glamourous! :D
Could anybody point me in the right direction? maybe theres some guys on here that are already in the trade? any top tips?
Any info would be hugely apprectiated :D
Cheers
Liam
Basically, Uni is needed if you want to go anywhere in the automotive electronics game.
I got my automotive electronics degree from The Swansea Institute of HE (Think its Swansea metropolitan now) in 2003, There was a motorsport course too and loads of people went to motorsport places.
Unfortunately pay even for epicly qualified people in motorsport is dire :(
I personally found it more fun working for an OEM as you got to play with new cars that noe one has seen yet, drive them in various states of 'tune' and generally have to get the best of the system while sticking within REAL regulations.
Try contacting Ford UK in Dunton (Essex) as they do apprentiships and you might be able to wangle your way into their extra programs (like grpN rally car prep etc), as applying to dealerships is a waste of time if you want motorsport ;)
I'd get some time in OEM then make the move to motorsport if I were you, its easier to get into the OEM industry and then easy to make the sideways jumps.
FWIW I bailed out of the automotive game for a while lol
I am currently studying Motorsport tech at derby uni, and its near impossible to get a payed (even just expenses) job in motorsport atm, well anyone close enough.
Did get one offer, some company said they would pay my expenses for travel, until they realised i lived over 250 miles away lol
Unless your well contacted up (imo) its hard to start off in motorsport especially with no qualifications towards it
Thanks for the comments guys, I do appreciate it! think going for the OEM approach may be the better route
having a degree is a must now a days. end off. (unless you get lucky)
i think stu has summed it up nicely.
but my first step now if i were you, would be looking to getting a degree.
as **** as it is, having a degree is just a filter when applying for a job, if you have one, your past the first hurdle.
also worth noting, in most OEM's (I say most, we only 'really' have Ford and JLR in the UK) being an apprentice means you become a tech as opposed to a designer/engineer... It is very seperated unfortunately :( their stupid policies have seen many many good engineers in waiting leave to do other things while muppet grads sail through and balls up the engineering roles lol.
Another route could be the boat industry (skills are portable into automotive too) given your location.
also worth noting, in most OEM's (I say most, we only 'really' have Ford and JLR in the UK) being an apprentice means you become a tech as opposed to a designer/engineer... It is very seperated unfortunately :( their stupid policies have seen many many good engineers in waiting leave to do other things while muppet grads sail through and balls up the engineering roles lol.
Another route could be the boat industry (skills are portable into automotive too) given your location.
would you mean the engine side of things with boats? i live near portsmouth, so could be a possiblity
yep, marine engines are epic these days and have tons of electronic control in them :)
Plus Marine 'motorsport' is way cooler than land based (imho) lol
yep, marine engines are epic these days and have tons of electronic control in them :)
Plus Marine 'motorsport' is way cooler than land based (imho) lol
Do you have any links for companies that would possibly do such apprenticeships or have any openings? Had a quick look on google and not much really comes up
seriously, unless you are senior staff at an f1 team, there is not much money at all in motorsport as a career.. i have a distant relative who works at williams & was a wheel gun man a couple of years back. people do the job cos its cool, not to get rich.
Same i am (sounds stupid i know) doing it as i have passion towards motorsport and also the engineer sides of things,
I'm not too fussed on wage, if i do a job i enjoy or have a passion towards, i wouldnt see it as a job, it would be a hobby that i would be getting payed for :d
My tutor said to make if your looking to rich, your in the wrong course, 10 people dropped out the next week lol :roll:
it would be a hobby that i would be getting payed for :d
That becomes old fast and your hobby is no longer fun :( Trust me.
One of my mates who has a BEng, an MEng and a DEng in Aerodynamics setup the williams wind tunnel after they had it built and cocked it up.... when you worked out his salary Vs the hours worked it was less than minimum wage and throughly raped the working time directive lol. He had to ask persmission for weekends off (And he wasnt contracted to work them), he was never able to use holiday as they wouldnt let him take it. But they did let him buy merchandise at a cheaper rate than others lol... yeah well worth it. Hes now in the aerospace game working a few hours a week being paid 5 times what he was on lol
and in OEM, I would do what I wanted, when I wanted, got paid well enough and played with stuff on the road.. much fun.
I dont know any specific companies for marine engines etc, thats down to you for the leg work as I dont want a job in that field in yoru area :p get creative with the searches, goto boat yards and talk to people as they will know local suppliers/engineering firms.
That becomes old fast and your hobby is no longer fun :( Trust me.
Been told too many times and yea i know its true.
I Also got qualifications in Mechanical engineering and also Using cad etc.
So when i do get to the low point in motorsport, i was going to branch off into one of those areas, and all the different possibilities and different routes that mecahnical engineering gives you, should keep me busy till i finally hit the sack :d
having a career, and a hobby are great.....
but if you are trying to make a career working on racing cars & then get so knackered that you don't play on your own car, you start to look for something else to do......
think about it, do you think pornstars want a shag when they get home from work????
same here, i love cars and being a mechanic was good but you come home and hate doing your own stuff. now i work in an office, and do my cars at the weekend, and enjoy it.
having a career, and a hobby are great.....
but if you are trying to make a career working on racing cars & then get so knackered that you don't play on your own car, you start to look for something else to do......
Exact reason why I quit it.
office worker ftw, women love soft paper pushing hands ;) lol
same here, i love cars and being a mechanic was good but you come home and hate doing your own stuff. now i work in an office, and do my cars at the weekend, and enjoy it.
ditto. :)
Nova_Tek
01-06-10, 11:59 PM
Getting into the trade you want is HARD mate. Whether you have a degree in it or not. I finished an Audio engineering degree (which I paid fomr my own pocket as the grants you can apply as financial help didn't apply to my course. Trust me I could'Ve built 3 LET Nova's with that money) and have been trying for years to get into the industry but even with my qualifications it's been a right nightmare. I've ended up doing what I love to do in my spare time as small one off jobs for people I know and those that have recommended me word of mouth. It's mainly luck when it comes to these things tbh.
In saying that having the qualification will help that little bit more, but you really need to research it thoroughly. I think Stuart has given some decent advise there.
And it's true, make it a career that you'd love and not a hobby. I want music as a career as I love it but cars will always be my hobby. It's always nice to turn off that work brain and concentrate on something taht'll make you relax, in my case the Nova.
Ian_Gsi16v
02-06-10, 12:43 AM
same here, i love cars and being a mechanic was good but you come home and hate doing your own stuff. now i work in an office, and do my cars at the weekend, and enjoy it.
Same here, when I was working as a panel beater I never touched my own car, last thing you want to be doing at the weekends is doing what you do all week.
Best thing I did was leave the trade :thumb:
I had been a mechanic for 12 when I started applying for motorsport jobs..
I got a very nice rejection letter from Ross Brawn..
I applied for many more jobs and finally made some headway with Simtek GP..
All was looking promising until the team started to hit financial problems in 1995..
Needless to say I didnt get a start there..
I was under no illusions that it was very demanding, poor money, and not a job if you had a family..
I wanted to get into F1 for the experience and not for the cash!
Shortly after I met my wife(!) and that was that..
I jacked the mechanics job in in 98 (good crack but money poor)..
Having said that, I enjoyed almost every minute of it!
I got into college at 19 to do Lvl 2 mechanics with just a BTEC, equivalent of A Levels and okay GCSE'S. They said i needed real experience in automotive to get me into it but i just showed them a print out of one of my old projects, talked them through what i did and it was enough to get me on the course. Prove that your worth while, committed and that your not a newbie to it all and you'l get there eventually ! Not sure about motorsport though, might be a little harder to find a way in
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