Does anyone have any info on Automotive engineering? im kind of intrested because its a little bit different than mechanical engineering, whihc is what i was planning on doing.
Jeff95TA, any input?
i know there was a college that i wanted to go to it was called GMI, general motors institute in michigan, they had a pretty nice program. but that has been a few years. might be a place to check into.
Sorry, not really sure. Only options when I was at CMU was a class on internal combustion engines and you could join SAE. Seems like most of the automotive engineers are mech e’s. Interested to see what you find out though. But you could definitely learn a lot more with a dedicated degree.
Jeff - was it a full 4 year program?
yes it was, GMI was an engineering school dedicated to automotive industry
but like you said most automotive engineers are Mech E. but good point with SAE very, very good program. i wish i would have done more than i did with it. But since i was industrial engineer i was not really accepted with the Mech E for being a mechanic/fabricator :rolleyes:
http://www.kettering.edu/
guess it changed names since i was looking but here is the college that i considered
i’m a ME major at pitt now. senior year
SAE program is great but i never got involved. they got a few hands on classes they offer, like auto fabrication which i really would love to take. i’m gonna find more info on it for sure
but other than that, the engr program is rough…it kinda sucks and you go thru lots of bs, and tough times with it, but in the end, you’ll make it thru when u think you wont, and it should be worth it once its alll over 
Yea im a senior ME at pitt also, before this semester the auto fab class was basically a way for the SAE kids to get 3 credits for working on the car, but this year it is a seperate class that my buddy who is a grad student is teaching, it has alot to do with suspension geometry and such from what i saw him preparing for the class.
my friend went to kettering. he loved it. has a god job now too. he won the kettering u bracket class the 4 years he was there. yeah, kettering has automotive games if u will. also has pics/video of renting a lowes flatbed and taking it on an oval track, lol. i guess there is an oval asphalt track that has open days, where you pay for track time run what u brung style. also auto-x events too, as he won at that shit too in a rental cavalier that would get neutral slammed all over the place.
One other thing to consider, if you go the automotive engineering route, you kind of know where you’ll have to live - near someplace that does that kind of work. Unless you do something like Jeff and open your own shop. Might not be an issue for you.
Also, you might want to see exactly what the curriculum is, because if it’s very dedicated to automotive engineering and doesn’t cover other basics like general mechanical design, analysis, etc. then you may limit yourself to that industry, which is fine if you’re able to stay in that industry your whole life. It’s just getting harder and harder to stick with the same job. The days of working for one company for 40 years (e.g., Westinghouse) are pretty much gone.
For example, I never thought I would work on engineering anything to do with ships, but that’s where I ended up. Luckily I do a lot of stress, dynamic, and thermal analysis that has given me experience that is applicable to almost any industry, and I get involved with non-naval projects. Some of the guys I work with know ships - that’s it. And Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a meca for shipbuilding. Once you get tied down to an area with a house & family, moving isn’t always that easy.
Not trying to preach or discourage your endeavors, just mentioning some things to consider. If you have a true interest in it I say go for it. Just please ask us for the Pittspeed input when you become the head of designing a new sports car. 
Kettering University in Michigan is the old GM automotive college. I believe they still have programs for Automotive engineering. I was very interested, but then my boss started paying for school, so i’m going local for EE.
I agree with Jeff95TA. I did my undergrad at Pitt and got my BS in Mechanincal Engineering. Like 90% of the freshmen, I had visions of some day designing cars or working in a plant somewhere.
You never know what opportunities will come up. I went on a co-op interview in 1993 just for the interview practice. Had no interest in software. This place offered me a job after graduation and I have been here for 10 years now and love it.
I would say go to school for mechanical engineering. After school, as an entry level employee, any company will give you the training to tailor you to their needs.
Another example to show you that a degree doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll do exactly what it was in! I really said in 1994 that “I would be happy if I never touched a computer ever again in my life”.
I think I jinxed myself…I have a BA in Math but ended up working for the same 1’s and 0’s factory as obi-1.
i don’t have my computer / business degree yet and i work for a top fortune 500 computer company… degrees dont mean much!!!
Degrees are supposed to get your foot in the door… the rest is who you know/impress. Skill keep you around on the job. To bad I still have a problem getting IN the door.
My youngest son is in his sophomore year at Pitt for M.E.(no interest in cars BTW, doesnt even have his license:nuts: ). But anyway, he looked seriously at RIT’s program…they have a ME program that has a focus on either aoutomotive or Aerospace.
Son says he is going to join the SAE team this year and work on the car. I will believe that when i see it…:hahano: :hahano:
I have a degree in US history…
I work in IT support…so yeah.
you see, stories like that make me wonder wtf i took engineerin in the first place. the major is challenging and LOTs of time and work spent doing shit. you dont get out much and it sucks… and if i end up doing something that i really didnt need the me degree to do, i’ll be pissed
It’s always possible to end up doing something in engineering that doesn’t require the degree, but usually you need the degree to at least be considered for the job. And I still think that there are a lot of cases where you really do need the education. I obviously don’t use all the stuff I learned, but a lot of what I do I couldn’t do if I didn’t have the courses. And it’s not really stuff that you just learn on the job. You’re not going to just “pick up on” stress analysis, mechanics, or dynamics unless you work with someone who really has a lot of time to mentor, which is almost nonexistent in today’s engineering environment.
:off of soap box:
Of course learning on the job and knowing people doesn’t hurt either!
The ME program at pitt isnt really hard at all, i mean i do a good bit more work then people i know in say buisness and communications, but i still have plenty of free time to be an alcoholic
ok, thanks guys for all the input. i will probably take ME as my major and see where it goes from there.
what kind of grades did you guys have in high school when you got into Pitt?