Career help?

[Plunky]

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!
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
Cheers
Liam

 

[JD09]

I would suggest that you get a CV together and look into internships with some of the big players in Automotives or racing. I know a couple of friends have done so over the years - most apply to car manufacturers to gain some experience and training to aid them in their choosen career.

 

[finesse]

1. Get your CV together and show your potential.

2. At the moment, experience is more valuable than "qualifications"

3. You know your way around the A3 and feel confident, presume you have tools, why not work for yourself and offer a mobile mechanical service? A3/S3 and other marques

Easier said than done.... but needs must

 

[S3 Nattie]

I am 21 and im doing a degree in Motorsport Engineering Design (in my last year now).

I went to college and done physic and maths and the difference in education and what you should know between uni and college is a 1000% different. You do not actually learn anything to do with motorsport or how a race car actually works

To get a decent job in a motorsport you will need to degree FACT - ATLEAST. You do not know how an things"actually" works.

You do not understand what exactly happens within a engine pressure, stress wise. What type of heat transfer is taking place at BDC or TDC and through out the crank angle. You will need to understand force exerted on parts and within a engine and side thrust forces etc. You need to know how to design things with motorsport packages and know how to analysis things and test them.

If you want to do Vehicle dynamics you need to understand loads exerted on the tyres + suspension points during steady state and transient cornering. Need to understand weight transfer and weight transfer above the roll axis and CG of gravity height + load splits.

This is just a tiny tiny amount of things you should know from the top of my head. There is a massive difference between knowing whats going on but knowing what is "actually" going on and why.

Go to uni and you will realise your knowlegde of understanding how a race car works is very very small lol.

If you want to be a mechanic for a race team you could probably get one through a CV or if you know someone but who wants to be a mechanic, Not dissing anyone who is but the money is not very good and who wants to just fix car all your life. You want to design stuff, analysis it test it and hopefully put it into production it.

I have lecturers that have worked for a numbers of race team in F1 and Prodrive and Cosworth.

I will be trying to get a job in F1 in the next couple of years. Got one more year in uni first.

Nathan

Edit- just seen you want to work in the electronic part of the industry, very good money in that. You will still need to understand the basics of what I just said above in order to get a job. I would really advise you on getting a degree. I have been there and doing it NOW and once you have a degree that is a massive qualification you will have for ever.

If you do decided to do a Motorsport degree, make sure its not Automotive or mechanically degrees as this is not the same. They teach you the basic of what you should understand but do not sure you have to make thing as advance as possible to be applied to a motorsport application. They do not sure you how to make thing as efficient as possible or show you how to actually make a race car go faster. Motorsport engineering design is the degree you will need if thats what you want to do

 

[Plunky]

cheers buddy, some very useful info there! much appreciated!
Just out of interest... how do you afford a modded S3 at uni? lol

 

[S3 Nattie]

No worries. Say if you need any more info.

Well I was going to buy a Golf GTI MK4, at the end of my first year but them realised I could get insured on a S3 for a little bit more so just worked my *** off throughout the summer holiday and had some help from my family and manage to get one.

It is very expensive car to running I think but im managing fine at the mo lol. Just paid £135 for tax today and about to order a VVT cam chain tensioner for £150 lol after spending £160 on tyres last month and major service the month before at £500, you get the point lol

The tuning has not actually started lol. 3" turbo back exhaust coming soon and stage 2 REVO map then

Nathan

 

[mk1chopper]

Nissan technical centre in cranfield offer apprentiships, although they have a lot of people apply. I know of 2 people I went to school with getting on them, one of them ended up working fot the toyota F1 team and was based in germany, unsure if he is still owrking for toyata after they pulled out of F1. Other options would be to apply to work at a garage that has a race team, I met someone last year who worked for a vauxhall service centre (not a dealership) and his boss had a race team which he worked for. It would be worth writting to race teams and asking for their advice, the big setups should have the PR in place to write back to you.

 

[sportstractor]

Its true that qualifications do mean nothing! But they do get you your foot in the door. So you really need to get back into college or apprenticeship etc. Otherwise its very very very very very unlikely you'l get into it. By the way I know a guy who used to be a mechanic for a couple teams, one being cosworth, and he said the salary isnt as great as you would think, But expenses make up for it when touring.

 

[A3Tomlin]

Its true that qualifications do mean nothing!

Don't listen to this, it's ******** if you want to get anywhere in industry. Gone are the days when you can start by making cups of tea and end up designing cars in a couple of years time. Now any decent motorsports company will not even look at your CV if you don't have a degree. If you just want to tighten bolts for a living, then go to your local Kwik Fit, because F1/WRC teams will still require many years of experience in automotive mechanic roles (along with relavant qualifications).

My advice: GO TO UNIVERSITY. Those that tell you degrees are unimportant, didn't go to uni. It is nothing like school or college, because you are only taught about the subject you choose to study and, if you chose correctly, that means it's enjoyable! Not to mention the life experience and independance which you learn whilst being away from home. At the end, you'll have the necessary knowledge and skills to be worthwhile to your future employers.

I completed a 5 year Motorsports Engineering degree at Brunel University, graduated in August and now I'm designing dampers for companies like Ferrari and Aston Martin. Goes to show you can get the job you dream of if you're prepared to put the hard work in =)