Jobs in Motorsport / Automotive Engineering

[egomeister]

I am currently in the final year of my degree in Automotive Engineering looking to get a job in motorsport or performacne vehicle design if possible. I realise that this even trickier than normal with the demise of Reynard and Arrows but I do have some relevant experience which should help.

So, my questions to you, the diverse PHers are;

What advice can you suggest when writing to apply for positions or speculative letters? How would you suggest the letter is followed up? And does anyone know of anybody recruiting in motorsport or niche performance engineering?!

Thanks a lot!
Steve

[Gargamel]

Steve

I have been a recruitment consultant for nealy eight years Although I work in finance search and selection I have a spreadsheet of motor/automotive companies with web links, email me offline and I will send it to you.

i would wait now until after christmas.

key points

a SHORT letter - include your aims

a clean cv on decent paper - no photos or flowery quirky stuff - it just goes in the bin.

start with education degree a levels gsces as an overview then any relvenat educational experience including any projects ou have had

then any work experience -

finally a paragraph about you and your interests

include two referees (names and addy only)

also look at the websites - if they have specific role then look at those and tailor slightly

lotus were looking until recently they have an online recruitment area

hth - and GOOD LUCK - be persistent

[egomeister]

Chris - I have just mailed you.

Steve

[Mark B]

Egomeister,

I may be able to help.

I work for ACR Solutions, a recruitment agency that specialise in Automotive and Motorsport recruitment. Having worked for OEM's and Design Consultancies in the past prior to joining ACR I know the industry pretty well.

I can't promise anything, but if you send me a CV with some info I will have a look. Companies we are dealing with include many F1, WRC, Sportscar and their respective suppliers.

For your CV, can I suggest, if you have been involved in motorsport that you highlight this on any CV's you send to motorsport companies. They will take you Degree for granted, if you have achieved it and will therefore look further, ie your final year project and any work experience.

Placing graduates is never easy but it is worth a try.

Hope this helps, I will look forward to hearing form you.

Mark

[egomeister]

Mark, I have just sent you an email.

Steve

[egomeister]

Come on guys! There must be more people working in the automotive industry than this. I cant believe you ALL work in IT!

[krispy]

I'm currently working for a fluids/structures consultancy that does a lot of work for the automotive sector. You'd be surprised how much the big boys outsource so it may be worth your while hunting around for a smaller company rather than looking for a job with one of the names. What areas of work are you interested in?
Kris..

[egomeister]

Kris - my main area of interest are motorsport / performance vehicles although I am aware this is a tricky area to get into. I do however have some experience in this area having spent my placement year in the drawing office of a major motorsport team.

Although I would prefer to get a job in this area I am going to apply to the major manufacturers graduate schemes as an alternative if I can't get into motorsport. The main problem with this is that I am interested in the design / development areas whereas it is mainly production rather than design in the UK - the design is done abroad. I will be applying to consultancies such as Ricardo since they are probably the best chance of design work in the UK.

What companies have you done work for? Any information is welcome in case I have missed any!

Steve

[Bodo]

egomeister said: [...] - the design is done abroad. [...]

Steve, you may want to talk to these people?

[egomeister]

Thanks Bodo, I hadn't considered Porsche with it being in Germany and the extent of my knowledge of the language being "Wie comma ich am besten zum Bahnhoff, bitte" - and I have no idea whether that was right! Thanks for the link, I'm just looking at it now.

Steve

[Bodo]

Steve, don't get detered by the language - as you can see, the website is targeted to English-speakers. If you start in Weissach, you won't have a problem with language either, because most people you work with will probably speak fluent English!

And for the social part, you'll learn German faster than you can imagine (Anyway, in that area, they're not speaking German, but Schwäbisch )

[egomeister]

Thanks again Bodo. I notice from your profile that you are a student yourself. Would you consider it possible that I would be able to get a job in Germany despite not knowing the language? I'm sure as you say that I would pick it up quickly if I was there. What are the differences between Schwäbisch and German? I'll definitely have a good read of the Porsche information and give it some consideration.

Steve

[Bodo]

The difference between Schwäbisch and German could be compared with the difference between Geordie and English hence the

I'd say it wouldn't be a mistake to ask companies abroad for a job, especially if they're acting global. The extension of your choice is *massive* if there is no geographical borders!

I'm working for a global company (non-automotive), which does all research and development in Germany; all people in my department speak fluent English, all software is in English by default, the intranet and all local campus information is bilingual.

I don't know, what Porsche demands in language skills when you like to work at Weissach, however BMW says

Q: What languages should I speak in order to work for the BMW Group?

A: As a foreign applicant outside Germany you need a good knowledge of English as well as at least basic knowledge of the language in the country in which you wish to work. So if you are a non-German national seeking employment in Germany, you should already have a certain knowledge of German and be willing to further improve your knowledge of our language.

Find more here.

Best would be to talk directly to them; what they really demand, and what they offer to support you; i.e. language courses that accompain trainee programmes.

You should on all accounts talk to all companies that seem to have the right job for you!

Good luck,
Bodo

[Bodo]

I should add, that there is a strong need for engineering graduates in Germany, working time in the metal processing industry is 35h/week and average income for the first year for engineering graduates is 40...50k€ per year. PhD get around 60k€.

[egomeister]

Thanks for the help guys. I have a few useful pointers to look into now. If anyone comes up with any other ideas, don't hesitate to let me know!

Steve

[big_man]

Anyone any suggestions of summer work for a 1st year aeronautical engineering student?

My ultimate goal is to get into aerodynamics in car design or motorsport.

Thanks

[egomeister]

Hijack my thread why don't you!

For aerodynamics i would suggest that you apply to as many of the Aerospace companies as possible as there will initailly be few opportunities in motorsport. Just try to get as much aerodynamics experience as possible - maybe do some testing yourself, put a fairing on your bike or something! Also you could "obtain" some CFD software and learn to use that, although CFD is notoriously awkward to know you are getting meaningful results from.

Everything mentioned above should be taken with a pinch of salt as I havent graduated myself yet - use the info at your own risk!

Steve

[big_man]

thanks egomeister

[Gargamel]

www.qinetiq.com

BAE systems

Eads
Honeywell ?
GKN

etc - look at the Financial times for engineering and aerospace comapanies

[Deester]

egomeister said: Would you consider it possible that I would be able to get a job in Germany despite not knowing the language?
Steve

Steve, I work for one of the biggest airlines in the world based in Germany, when I arrived here I didn't know 2 words of German, you soon pick it up.

Deester...