Club G40 Forum
Club G40 => General Chat => Topic started by: z3i on August 21, 2013, 08:05:10 pm
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Being a car forum, i thought what a better place to ask :)
does anyone on here do any awesome or obscure jobs related to cars/motorsports?
just curious as to whats out there
been working at BMW for the last 4 years and its shit to put it nicely, thinking of going to uni. i love cars so want to study something automotive and mechanical related. but dont know what, mechanical engineering looks awesome, but i dont really understand what sort of jobs you get from that. im good with my hands being a sprayer and mechanic, but cant stand hours of sitting in a class room writing about maths and crap. which i suppose limits what i can do :(
sooo what do people do? and do you enjoy it?
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Mechanical Engineering is the bread and butter of most engineering tbh, it's a ticket to most engineering jobs. I've just graduated doing Aerospace engineering which is 80% mechanical 20% systems and electrical. Defo a good move trying out uni dude although it's a costly game now!
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im not bothered about costs, id rather be in a job i love in lots of debt than what im in at the moment for the rest of my life!
what was the course like? loads of maths? i dont mind physics as i find it interesting, just cant stand math lol
what are you trying to get into? aerospace r&d? mechanical engineering seems too vast if you know what i mean. it doesnt lead to a specific job as such
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Pretty much everything tbh, graduate schemes mostly. From where Robin works at Bentley doing a Manufacturing Scheme to Fords Engine development and Mclarens Road section Aerodynamycist. Not having much luck mind, looking to move south though!
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Worth registering here:
http://www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com/apprentices/# (http://www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com/apprentices/#)
I know if you get on a JLR apprenticeship you eventually get the opportunity to go on and study for a degree if you want to. At least that way you're earning whilst studying, and you already have a foot in the door with an employer.
They also offer Undergraduate opportunities too (basically summer jobs during your uni holidays).
Other places to look for OEM opportunities are Toyota (based near Derby), Honda (Swindon), Nissan (Sunderland and Cranfield), BMW, McLaren, Ford, Vauxhall etc.
I got into automotive via an Electronic Engineering degree - which obviously makes more sense if that's the side of automotive you want to get into, and with increasing popularity of hybrids and other complex automotive electrical systems it's working okay for me. Probably makes less sense if you want to go and design engines though!
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Cheers for that Andy :) though ive been put off apprenticeships, they are the biggest load of crap IMO, ive done two now, they arnt worth shit!
Once you finish one after 3 years and being paid under minimum wage you manager refuses to pay you more, so what do you do? quite simply look for another job, all is good now you are "fully qualified" oh but wait, during your many many interviews with potential employers you tell them that youve been doing to job for 4 years, (3 training and 1 fully qualified) apparently thats not enough experience, so you get rejected from most jobs and the few that do accept you are only willing to pay you pittance and use you as a skivvy. definitely not doing another apprenticeship lol. both my apprenticeships were with BMW and its the biggest load of crap
that does sound good about working for them whilst on uni breaks
yeah, your ahead of the game there andy! bmw release their new hybrid next year :)
and the fully electronic cars
what exactly does your brother do andy?
i would love to do R&D in motorsport technology with engines. i went on a day release at college to a uni once, learning, designing and fabricating exhausts manifolds, how size, shape etc effects engine behavior, as well as rolling road remapping, starting off with a blank map and having to build it yourself for different situations, (most power, most economical) that was awesome! id love to do that!. but its all math based :(
whats the manufacturing scheme that robin does tom?
how come not much luck? theres not much down south mate! other than a green g40 on axle stands its expensive down here!! especially compared to up there,was talking to pete about that and difference is insane!
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An OEM engineering centre based apprenticeship is very different to a dealership one. I'm told that JLR pay their apprentices well too - but best to do your own research as I've no first-hand experience.
Whereabouts are you based down south?
Peter is a Powertrain Engineer on the engines side of things.
Motorsport often sounds (and looks) glamourous, but the reality can be that it's bastard hard work and not always as sexy as the public image suggests. Your uni experience sounds like a good one - only thing I'd say is that there aren't many automotive jobs where you get to do a whole spectrum of different design tasks. At the bigger OEMs it's rare that the exhaust manifold design geek would get fully involved with engine calibration ('mapping') for example, so you can find yourself in a role where it's like groundhog day - and mostly spent in front of a PC.
On the other hand, if you want to use/develop a broader spectrum of experiences/skills (like I did!), looking at a consultancy isn't a bad way of doing it. I started off at Ricardo, and learnt an awful lot - and got exposed to a whole range of different experiences I wouldn't have got that quickly at an OEM. These days I work for Tata in the UK, where we have a relatively small team, so there's plenty of opportunity to get involved in a range of things - which I like as the variety keeps me interested.
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Ah ok, i will look into it then, i didnt know there was a difference thought OEM apprenticeships were dealer ones. everyone from both my apprenticeships were from dealers
Im in Winchester mate, probably the most expensive place outside of London lol
there was lots of other things at the uni too, i suppose it covers a wide range of aspects of motorsport, but in reality you can only pick one as a job. well unless your a tuning company? then you may have the chance to dip into a bit of everything
just looked up ricardo, must be pretty dam hard to get a job at a place like that!
yeah, lack of variety quickly ruins a job, Tata own JLR is that how you know so much about it? do you think its worth contacting Ricardo? do they do apprenticeships as such?
thanks Andy, that was some dam good info, glad you said about the motorsport side of things
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Lets set up a business :). I can programme and you can do all things car related. Winning combo
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Im currently on an engineering apprenticeship with cobra motorsport/seats, loving every minute of it, as my project I get to design and build my own car interior, im able to get ridiculous discounts on car parts, attend a large amount of really good car shows and the best thing is I get to work on so many awsome cars, theres currently a 1000bhp nissan gtr in the workshop.
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Woah! That sounds awesome! Why couldnt my apprenticeship have been like that! Whereabouts do you work? Is it a cobra main plant?
Yes Martin! Sounds like a plan :P
im gonna apply to birmingham to do mechanical engineering (automotive)
you need good grades in maths and physics, but if your a mature student with a good back ground they are more flexible, so with any luck!
it seems a bit all too genral, like where and what are the jobs related to it? I need to talk to someone lol
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Ah ok, i will look into it then, i didnt know there was a difference thought OEM apprenticeships were dealer ones. everyone from both my apprenticeships were from dealers
Im in Winchester mate, probably the most expensive place outside of London lol
there was lots of other things at the uni too, i suppose it covers a wide range of aspects of motorsport, but in reality you can only pick one as a job. well unless your a tuning company? then you may have the chance to dip into a bit of everything
just looked up ricardo, must be pretty dam hard to get a job at a place like that!
yeah, lack of variety quickly ruins a job, Tata own JLR is that how you know so much about it? do you think its worth contacting Ricardo? do they do apprenticeships as such?
thanks Andy, that was some dam good info, glad you said about the motorsport side of things
I know that JLR do/did apprenticeships at dealers; in engineering centres and for production line staff. It's the middle one I'd be aiming for if you wanted a career in engineering.
If you're in Winchester, Honda at Swindon; BMW/Mini near Oxford; McLaren in Woking or Ricardo near Brighton are probably amongst the closest!
I know that Ricardo have taken on a few apprentices in the past, but there doesn't seem to be any info on their website at the moment - they tend to focus more on their graduate intake.
Worth looking at automotive recruitment agencies too. MatchTech and Jonathan Lee seem to be currently quite popular.
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I make the tea, and a damn fine 'cuppa it is too ;)
You don’t get an engineering degree, without a heavy maths content. Most Universities will display cars, workshops, facilities as though you spend all your time in them, you won’t! You will be swearing at a calculator for hours.
If what I gather is correct, you’re not keen on maths (I’m yet to find an engineer who is) I would suggest you look at a HND rather than a degree.
- Maths content is usually reduced
- Less onus on exams, more focus on coursework / projects
- Shorter course (usually 2 years ‘full time’)
- If you choose the right course, you can top up to a degree with an extra year / 18months of study at a later date
I chose this route, and learnt a good degree of practical skill with my HND a degree didn’t offer, I then topped up to a degree, which offered a good deal of academic skill the HND didn’t offer, and at the end of 3 years came out with 2 qualifications and a negative bank balance
I started off as a contractor for Bentley in the Engine Test Beds, and then got made permanent after 18 months, stayed there for another 18 months before moving to the West Midlands to forward my career and been down here for 2 years now. Competition is high for engineers currently, so wages and opportunities reflect this demand, how long it will last, who knows, but make hay whilst the sun shines!
I have friends who work for consultancies, F1, tier 1 suppliers and OEMs, I think those who work for the OEM have the better deal financially for sure, probably the most security too. It is awesome to be able to drive nice cars, tell people you’re working on Hamilton’s latest engine/chassis etc – but none of that pays the mortgage, and if it doesn’t make you happy, isn’t worth much. I have found the people you work with to be far more important than the product, I’m lucky as I currently have an awesome boss, who is far too intelligent, and I can’t bull shit, learn lots, wide variety of work too. I also have the novelty of being able to annoy Andy at work with one of our advanced engineering projects, as it’s rare our paths would usually cross.
Conclusion- Find an OEM willing to fund you through a HND/Degree.
Pete
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Pretty much everything tbh, graduate schemes mostly. From where Robin works at Bentley doing a Manufacturing Scheme to Fords Engine development and Mclarens Road section Aerodynamycist. Not having much luck mind, looking to move south though!
I'm assuming you've inquired at the AMRC on the parkway Tom?
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Out of interest Pete do you get many people with research backgrounds, say in physics working in your field?
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I suppose it depends what your research field is- generally the more non-conventional (advanced engineering) are PHD types with specialties in a specific area obviously related to the automotive sector, but that covers a massive area.
Fair to say it's not common :)
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I work with low temperature plasmas, so its safe to say short of chip etching/thin film deposition. No real similarities with that industry. I was thinking more of the transferable skills. But i suppose i will cross that bridge in 3 years
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Pretty much everything tbh, graduate schemes mostly. From where Robin works at Bentley doing a Manufacturing Scheme to Fords Engine development and Mclarens Road section Aerodynamycist. Not having much luck mind, looking to move south though!
I'm assuming you've inquired at the AMRC on the parkway Tom?
I've seen a few jobs that way Sam but they are mainly control engineering / software development (Java based programming and C+) which I'm not a fan of (did it in uni and it was dead boring) . If something interesting pops up I'd be interested though. Just browing round at the min whilst I'm still working for the Home Office.
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You guys seem to have really interesting jobs!
All i do is fit boilers lmao dont sound as technical or as glamoures as you lot
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Thanks for that yoof :) didnt know about the hnd, i looked it up and it looks like more of a college based course, some of which part time. The entry reqiurments for math and physics are a lot lower, so would be a really good way to get into mechanical engineering, as like you say when you finish you can top it up to a degree which by the looks of it most places encourage
I quite like the idea of off cad/cam designing and manufacturing/ machining parts. I looked at pro drive and ricardo, but i can imagine it being quite difficult to get a sponserd job with them.
thing is, im worried if i start uni and leave my job it may go tits up! Then again, its not hard to find a job that pays what mine does. Its getting pretty close to uni cut off dates so i better decide quick or i will have to wait another year! Then again i could study math and physics whilst working?
thanks for the help peeps :)
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Out of interest Pete do you get many people with research backgrounds, say in physics working in your field?
Deffo more common on the advanced engineering side, and probably more so on the electronics side of things. E.g. at our place there are people that fit that brief working on HV battery technology, but also in controls/software.
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I've seen a few jobs that way Sam but they are mainly control engineering / software development (Java based programming and C+) which I'm not a fan of (did it in uni and it was dead boring) . If something interesting pops up I'd be interested though. Just browing round at the min whilst I'm still working for the Home Office.
Automotive controls stuff can be quite interesting, dependant on the role you can end up with quite a lot of in-vehicle development time. It's usually model-based then autocoded, so more Matlab Simulink rather than banging the C+ code out directly.
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Never used simulink but heard really good things about it, prefer solid works, ansys and ansys fluent! J/LR is a tough application process, I got to assesment centre last year but still no luck. Hoping to improve on that in september when the 2014 applications head in.
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Would I be right in saying that getting a job for an OEM is difficult and they are only going to be looking for the cream of the crop? Doesn't strike me as the sort of industry that's easy to walk into?
Engineering at uni for me...Monday 9am-12 straight maths. Same on a Wednesday afternoon 1-3pm. Then a wee bit on a Thursday. Fun!
Different world down south, we're pretty much 100% oil and gas up here and of course there is A LOT of work for all types of engineers. In my product line we've got drilling engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, contracts engineers, electricians, mechanical fitters, data acquisition technicians (my job), software engineers the list goes on...and we're only one tiny dept.
I wouldn't get too bogged down with wanting to work with cars...once your engineering a part that is used in a car it's bound to be pretty far removed from the bigger picture. Designing a wiring loom for a car would be equally as interesting as designing a wiring loom for a down hole oil tool...or a wiring harness for anything really. You have so little exposure to the end product in your role I doubt it matters much what it ends up in? I'm sure if you have a passion for engineering you'd be happy in many different sectors. I didn't think plant control would be that interesting but that's pretty much what I look after only adapted for well drilling. Getting into now, it's really interesting.
I've currently got a hard on for machining after we got a new cross over delivered. 2 tonnes finished, god knows how much the original material was. About 1.5m diameter by 1m. Same finish quality as a wheel hub and bearing. Studs the length of your fore arm and nuts the size of your fist. Who ever machined it is a grade A legend!
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Really depends on your role as to how hands-on you are with the final product. If you're working for a Tier 1 supplier of brake pads, you're not likely to spend that much time playing with cars unless you're a test engineer.
I moved away from automotive electronics hardware design as it was mainly lab or office based, and there wasn't as much vehicle contact as I'd have liked. I moved into an Electrical Systems Integration role which can be extremely vehicle-focussed.
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I enjoy all mechanical related subjects, but i just love working with cars. I like seeing the end product. If i were to spend months designing and manfacturing an automotive componant, to then it just be shipped of somewhere else and tested, sort of ruins it
Id definitly prefer as much vehicle contact as possible. I find much more job satisfaction from working with cars and seeing the end product. Probably why i enjoyed paint and mechanics. From seeing a smashed up car with suspension hanging out of its ass. Doing all the mechanical work and painting it, seeing the end product after putting in all that work is such a good feeling
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Maybe just working for a better body shop would suffice Taylor. You know like one which specialises in show car paint / builds etc. Its hands on start to finish work where you get to see the outcome. Considering you are halfway there already it's not a bad option.
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Maybe just working for a better body shop would suffice Taylor. You know like one which specialises in show car paint / builds etc. Its hands on start to finish work where you get to see the outcome. Considering you are halfway there already it's not a bad option.
maybe your right man. Though its pretty dam hard to get into places like that. Unless you start up yourself. I applied and heard back from a few restoration places. But the people that work in places like that tend to have been there for years, once you get into that side of the buisness you tend to stay there
ive only got about 8 months left of my apprenticeship. Maybe just see it through and go from there. Thanks for all the advice peeps
i cant stay in this side of the buisness though. I hate insurance work, bonus, selling hours, effiecency, its all about money money money. Does my head in!
Thanks again, pete and andy you have sick jobs!
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If it's only 8 months left I'd stick it out - at least then you can genuinely say you finished your apprenticeship when applying for other jobs.
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Woah! That sounds awesome! Why couldnt my apprenticeship have been like that! Whereabouts do you work? Is it a cobra main plant?
Yes Martin! Sounds like a plan :P
im gonna apply to birmingham to do mechanical engineering (automotive)
you need good grades in maths and physics, but if your a mature student with a good back ground they are more flexible, so with any luck!
it seems a bit all too genral, like where and what are the jobs related to it? I need to talk to someone lol
Yh its at the main plant they only actually have the one warehouse and the majority of the seats are made to order but its a brilliant place to work
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I've ran a small race team, worked on a BTCC/ GT/ Historic F1 team, been a technician at TRW building/ refining/ testing/ R&D'ing column drive EPS, currently work for Delphi as a rig technician (I forget the fancy title), worked for the MOD removing comms systems (in vehicle), General Dynamics fitting comms systems (in vehicle), fitting/ upgrading/ calibration of weapons systems for Thales, ran a garage, and at least 10 other jobs in one way or another related to cars/ automotive.
The way it goes (in my experience) is like this;
Motorsport- just turn up at a race, or at their unit and say you want to work for them, don't care what as, just anything. Within a day or two you'll inevitably get dragged into helping whatever situation the team is in now due to not enough money for things. Long hours (I mean weeks on end sometimes building an entire car on your own from scratch, 16 hr days, sometimes longer if travel is involved too/from a track). You have to love it, really love it and sacrifice a lot of your life, say bye bye to a mrs, projects, friends, any commitments you've got outside work. It WILL consume your life. I've never worked for a large, or factory based team. It may differ for them, but again when I've asked others, they've pretty much said the same as I have.
All that being said it is a fucking great atmosphere. I've never had such a feeling of elation after a car burnt out (after me pointing the flaws out before and saying it wasn't safe) and managing to create a custom loom, fabricate bits, rebuild it all and get it ready for a race the following week (then it won ;) ). The hours are long and the work is tough, but you'll love it. Oh, you won't earn anything much either.
May be different if you have a degree, etc? Dunno.
OEM suppliers. They love paperwork. If you don't have a piece of paper to say you can do something (whether or not you actually have the skills to do the job is another point) then you will find it hard to get there. Having a mate working there helps, once you get your foot in the door and show your willingness and talents, people soon forget you don't have a degree, especially when you continually point their flaws out and highlight better ways of doing things ;D
It's the "foot in the door" thing really. I've applied for 100+ positions at JLR (I generally stick to contracting as it's more money and the same perks legally after 3 months as a perm. employee, claim back fuel money, living expenses, etc) and heard nothing back from the majority, had an interview for something or other, I forget now, all went well, smiles and handshakes.......no reply. You'll get that time and time again. But when you get the job, it's worth the hassle.
Ultimately, if you aren't happy with your life, change it. It's your choice 8)
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Thanks for the ereeiz :) you sound like youve done a dammmm lot! haha
ive been in contact with Birmingham uni (alot of friends went there and rated it highly) they've said it would be better for me to do the foundation degree and go from there. i like the sound of the 5 axis programmer/machinist. how much of this is covered on the mechanical engineering degree?
I looked into other jobs as a painter, its 8 months till i finish my apprenticeship. ive been thinking and talking to people about this. i am a confident painter. but im not sure id cut it as a fully qualified painter as they want you to be 140% efficient etc. but considering the only thing ive painted for the last two months is wheels. im not gonna be fast enough or have the experience, will have the qualification.
im not sure, been looking at engineering jobs, but i dont even understand half of them lol. atleast on the bright side if i quit my job to go to uni i havnt got much to loose! :) can get a job at tescos stacking shelves for more money and more future prospects
thanks guys, still confused at what i want to do/whats out there
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Powertrain rig testing sounds awesome!!! i can imagine thats hard to get into
fuck it, im gonna do it. its now or never and i hate work so may as well :) everyone on here seems to pretty dam well for themselves especially andy and pete lol
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surely you'd be best off doing 8 months more just to get the apprenticeship finished? as most courses enrol during the summer anyway dont they?
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surely you'd be best off doing 8 months more just to get the apprenticeship finished? as most courses enrol during the summer anyway dont they?
Yeah just looked that up, suppose on the bright side i get my apprenticeship, time to save up and uni.
Just have to put up with the job for 8 more months lol
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I'd deffo stick out the apprenticeship, at least then you've got something to show for all your efforts so far! And maybe it'd help you get a part-time job as a painter whilst at uni?
Other option is to look at part-time study and see what your options are there.
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If its motorsport you want to get into, I would look at a Uni which has good links to motorsport. I think Oxford brookes as the best reputation amongst F1 teams for example and these links help you get industrial placements etc. I went to Hertfordshire and whilst the course was good, the night life sucked lol.
Also if you dont have a maths A-level a foundation degree is a great way in, I did one and I dont think held me back, just added an extra years worth of fees onto my loan :)
If you think youd rather be on the mechaincal side of things, all the F1 teams take apprentices. This usually involves moving around all the departments, then if your good enough they off you a job.
Alternativly if you want a non apprentiship role, get a job anywhere you can trainee machinist or composite laminator or composite trimmer. These jobs come up very regularly in F1 but they prefer to take on experienced ppl. The composite jobs in particular pay pretty well.
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I'd deffo stick out the apprenticeship, at least then you've got something to show for all your efforts so far! And maybe it'd help you get a part-time job as a painter whilst at uni?
Other option is to look at part-time study and see what your options are there.
I have got my mechanical apprenticeship to show for atleast 3 years of it :) most bodyshops arnt open weekends, and painting is one of those things (practice makes perfect) if your not doing it day in day out you start too fall out of touch with it. Though theres no harm in asking around
I thought about part time, but the decent mechanical uni's are atleast 100 miles away. And to be honest if im spending 9k a year on tuition fees and living costs, i want to devote all my time to uni to get the best results i can :)
Either way with work ill have to wait as uni doesnt start till september next year so ill be finishing the apprenticeship regardless. Im so annoyed, i had the oppertunity to go to uni after college, but was so worried that i needed to get out of working at tescos and got offered the job at bmw, it sounded all glitzy at the time, looking back i should have gone to sixth form. But hey thats life, my gf is going to uni too and shes 24 so i dont feel too old :)
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If its motorsport you want to get into, I would look at a Uni which has good links to motorsport. I think Oxford brookes as the best reputation amongst F1 teams for example and these links help you get industrial placements etc. I went to Hertfordshire and whilst the course was good, the night life sucked lol.
Also if you dont have a maths A-level a foundation degree is a great way in, I did one and I dont think held me back, just added an extra years worth of fees onto my loan :)
If you think youd rather be on the mechaincal side of things, all the F1 teams take apprentices. This usually involves moving around all the departments, then if your good enough they off you a job.
Alternativly if you want a non apprentiship role, get a job anywhere you can trainee machinist or composite laminator or composite trimmer. These jobs come up very regularly in F1 but they prefer to take on experienced ppl. The composite jobs in particular pay pretty well.
I did a day release at oxford brookes and it was awesome! But like yoof said, they show you an awesome workshop and loads practical equipment but you spend most of the time in the classroom
im not fussed about a loan, as long as i get a job i enjoy and well paid
Not bothered about night life either lol, im not a drinker and very sociable either haha! Ill be spending most of my time trying to catch up on the maths im lacking on
for these OEM apprenticeships can you only apply online? What happened to things like scholarships? Where companys would pay for degrees? My step dad did one with ford back in the day, earned dam good money! £60k plus with ot and bonus, maintaining the robots at the transit production factory.... Until it close down....
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Not sure on the OEM front but when I was at uni the only full scolarships I heard about were all of military origin (RAF mostly as there were a lot of Aero course). I have heard of people going back to uni to study for a masters degree or phd paid for by companies, but no undergraduate degrees.
That said I worked for three years before I went to uni, so when I applied I was classed as an independant student. This meant that student fees were calculated from my income rather than my parents. Obviosly being on a full time course my income was bugger all so my local council paid all my tution fees :)
I didnt do A-level maths at school, but I knuckled down in my foundation degree and breezed the maths, which gave me a good basis for the maths parts of rest of the degree.
Course wise it depends what you want at the end of it, what kind of Job do you want? More pratical/hands on or design based?
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Youve done exactly what im thinking of doing then lol. Ive been working for 4 years so the same rules may apply?
Have you finished your degree now? Definitly hands on. Im still unsure of the jobs you get from automotive mechanical engineering once finished, theres lots of design based ones, but what hands on mechanical jobs you can go into with good pay from the degree
Thanks for the reply mate :)
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no apprenticeships at JLR but sent them my cv :)
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I graduated 5 years ago with a BEng in Automotive engineering and Motorsport. I like most people on my course have gone on to do a more design based role although I got lucky and work in Research and development for a small F1 team which allows me to get some hands on work too.
Some of my friends on other courses such as a BSC in Motorsport technology now have much more hands on roles travelling as part of a race team (Alms etc). This type of course also has the added advantage of requiring less maths. In fact I could have gone straight onto a BSC course without doing a foundation degree.
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I went to Oxford Brookes before going mental and leaving (in a nut shell....no pun intended).
I remember the glitzy open day, they wow'd me with it all but in reality, you're (well, any engineering course) going to be spending about 26 hrs a week in lectures and the practical lessons are pretty non existent at first, I ended up telling the guy that was "teaching" us how to remove a wheel from a car after watching him jack it up and wonder why he couldn't crack the wheel nuts with a brace. not impressed. In fairness though, he wasn't the lecturer, just someone standing in. I think in all that day I spent 5 hours in there mostly shaking my head and feeling disappointed.
The night life seemed alright, I didn't go out much, spent most of my time in the union or in my room playing battlefield vietnam. I think for me, it was the wrong place to go. I have a few mates that really enjoyed it though. I only really keep in touch with one mate and he's got a good job with Honda.
I had no qualifications going into the course apart from a diploma in IT hardware & networking. I found the maths hard as I'd never done any higher stuff (dropped myself down to be with mates when at school.....silly idea with hindsight as it sent me down the wrong path) and the drawing stuff (for me) is impossible, matched with a patronising old cunt who was pissed up/ hungover lecturing us.... just didn't work. I loved all the chemistry, physics and other subjects, I think your brain is wired to understand certain things naturally though, if you can't find a way round/ help the bits where you struggle then it'll be tough. That being said, I'd do it again if I could turn back the clock, I'd perhaps change a few modules though and actively seek help (which I wasn't aware there was at the time). Perhaps I wouldn't have cracked then, haha.
That all sounds really bitter :/ Not meant to be. I'm also in the finish your current qualifications camp. Start talking to Uni's now too, you can find out who they partner with, contact companies, get sponsorship. I know when I was at TRW they offered education, I think Delphi does too (they offered me something if I went perm.) seems crackers not to if you're a business. You can claim the money back! That could be another way round for you, create a business and write the costs off against that. Not sure how to do that though, just something I've heard about.
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ereeiz - My guess is Ken Martin?
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Really interesting read this thread and helpful.
I'm currently in a bit of a dilemma, I was at college for 2 years after school studying networking and computer stuff, got bored of that and just took a few years out working part time jobs.
Then last year I begun a course at the Leeds College of Art after I'd saved up enough money to get back into education (quite a passion for photography and design) done that for a year now and onto a second year of it and it's come to the time of deciding on if I should proceed onto a degree level course at uni in a related Art field or to bail out of the study education route and go into an apprenticeship in some sort of automotive, mechanical engineering thing.. been looking a few but the pay isn't enough to live off really and it's 40 hours a week and with me currently renting a flat out with my girlfriend it'd be tough to pay the bills/run the cars etc.
Does anyone have some more advice on if it'd be a wise move to go into an apprenticeship in that field? as I've always had a big interest in doing something like that as a job but never figured a good way of getting into it as well as having practical learning along the way?.
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ereeiz - My guess is Ken Martin?
Rings a bell, all I remember is he had white hair I think? Liked a snooze mid- lecture, had a very red face/ hands from alcohol and used to work for Flymo?
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That's the chap!
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Really interesting read this thread and helpful.
I'm currently in a bit of a dilemma, I was at college for 2 years after school studying networking and computer stuff, got bored of that and just took a few years out working part time jobs.
Then last year I begun a course at the Leeds College of Art after I'd saved up enough money to get back into education (quite a passion for photography and design) done that for a year now and onto a second year of it and it's come to the time of deciding on if I should proceed onto a degree level course at uni in a related Art field or to bail out of the study education route and go into an apprenticeship in some sort of automotive, mechanical engineering thing.. been looking a few but the pay isn't enough to live off really and it's 40 hours a week and with me currently renting a flat out with my girlfriend it'd be tough to pay the bills/run the cars etc.
Does anyone have some more advice on if it'd be a wise move to go into an apprenticeship in that field? as I've always had a big interest in doing something like that as a job but never figured a good way of getting into it as well as having practical learning along the way?.
If you go for an automotive apprenticeship after studying at college for 2 years on a completely different topic...kind of a waste of time?
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Well bit of an update, I've been offered a job at snows BMW where I can carry on my apprenticeship. :D
Pay is nearly £2 an hour better and will go up pretty soon. Also got an interview at a classic restoration place, pitt lane garages, resorting jags, Aston Martin's etc, had a stand at goodwood
so is looking good!!!!
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Nice one. Good luck with the interview!