22B
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Registered: 9th Sep 04
User status: Offline
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The thing with these motorsport engineering courses is they are a road to nowhere without a decent work placement, you dont do enough hands on work on vehicles or do enough basic machine shop engineering skills.
How do I know? well I did the course, yes it was interesting and a good experience, but unless you get a decent work placement or build up contact with a company in motorsport you wont really go anywhere. The only other option I found was to get involved with Formula student, being 18 at the time it was the last thing on my mind, I noticed it was the more mature students who tended to get involved with it.
I always wanted to work in motorsport since I was young so the course was naturally appealing to me, but some 5 years on from finishing I have worked as a mechanic in a garage for a couple of years, I now work as a mechanical engineer in the water industry.
Im not saying its impossible to get the qualification and get a job in motorsport but too many people do the course thinking they will get a job for a race team when the reality is you will come out with a qualification that is very limited in use.
You would be better off doing your NVQ level 2 and 3 in vehicle maintenance in a garage/ rally prep tea, as an apprentice, and then going to university if you felt the need for a higher qualification.
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LeeM
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Registered: 26th Sep 05
Location: Liverpool
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Thats the exact reason i changed my mind and went for mechanical engineering over motorsport, I've got nc and nd in vehicle maintenance as well and I still knew Motorsport eng wouldn't get me very far
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22B
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Registered: 9th Sep 04
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by LeeM
Thats the exact reason i changed my mind and went for mechanical engineering over motorsport, I've got nc and nd in vehicle maintenance as well and I still knew Motorsport eng wouldn't get me very far
I sort of wish Id done mech. engineering but it doesnt really matter as Ive ended up in a totally different industry to what I studied in at uni.
I had the chance of a job at my summer work placement (rally prep outfit) and I remember casually knocking them back saying I was busy, I was more interested in my upcoming trip to Amsterdam, and thought at the time once I get this qualification I will be able to walk in to any motorsport job as the lecturers previously spouted.
Always wondered what may have happened had I taken that job, its funny where you end up workwise several years down the line.
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jrdn7
Member
Registered: 14th Feb 11
Location: Ireland
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by 22B
quote:
Originally posted by LeeM
Thats the exact reason i changed my mind and went for mechanical engineering over motorsport, I've got nc and nd in vehicle maintenance as well and I still knew Motorsport eng wouldn't get me very far
I sort of wish Id done mech. engineering but it doesnt really matter as Ive ended up in a totally different industry to what I studied in at uni.
I had the chance of a job at my summer work placement (rally prep outfit) and I remember casually knocking them back saying I was busy, I was more interested in my upcoming trip to Amsterdam, and thought at the time once I get this qualification I will be able to walk in to any motorsport job as the lecturers previously spouted.
Always wondered what may have happened had I taken that job, its funny where you end up workwise several years down the line.
I'm going school work experience in a rally prep shop in 3 weeks time, but I've made enough contacts in the rally world to help me there. Just need to move into circuit racing now I think.
Does the motorsport course cover any forms of motorbike racing?
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22B
Member
Registered: 9th Sep 04
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by jrdn7
quote:
Originally posted by 22B
quote:
Originally posted by LeeM
Thats the exact reason i changed my mind and went for mechanical engineering over motorsport, I've got nc and nd in vehicle maintenance as well and I still knew Motorsport eng wouldn't get me very far
I sort of wish Id done mech. engineering but it doesnt really matter as Ive ended up in a totally different industry to what I studied in at uni.
I had the chance of a job at my summer work placement (rally prep outfit) and I remember casually knocking them back saying I was busy, I was more interested in my upcoming trip to Amsterdam, and thought at the time once I get this qualification I will be able to walk in to any motorsport job as the lecturers previously spouted.
Always wondered what may have happened had I taken that job, its funny where you end up workwise several years down the line.
Does the motorsport course cover any forms of motorbike racing?
I believe swansea metropolitan ran a motorcycle engineering course, not sure if its still going though
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Rob E
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Registered: 1st Jan 06
Location: Madeley, Stafford....I want to live back in Wales!
User status: Offline
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They do. In Swansea, tr Automotive and Motorsport lectures are all together, 99% of the coursework is the same too. I'm chasing jobs in the Automotive sector now as Motorsport industry is not as good money wise unless you are right up the ladder with the top teams. Everyone I have spoken to in Motorsport says you are either young or divorced to work in the industry 
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nibnob21
Premium Member
Registered: 16th May 10
Location: South Derbyshire
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Lol at this thread. Just the fact that the OP is even asking if you need to be able to speak French for an engineering degree is beond me. Bloody Irish
I'm studying for an MEng in Mechanical Engineering with Automotive Engineering at Warwick University. Worth getting the Masters in my opinion, helps give you a leg up on others and it's often a set course at a lot of Unis meaning you get the 4th year funded like any other year, as opposed to other Masters where you have to get sponsorship or fund it yourself.
I studied Maths, Physics and Design Technology for my A-levels. Only other ones that may be useful are Further Maths, Electronics and Chemistry. Different Unis have different approaches to the degrees too. Some are a lot more hands on where others focus more on the theory and technical aspects. It is a hard degree but definitely one worth getting. Engineering is one of the few subjects worth going to University for in my opinion.
Any work experience you can get your hands on will prove very useful too. I had a year out after my A levels where I worked on the workshop floor of a local Engineering company and learning how to use tools properly and different manufacturing techniques as well as learning how to communicate effectively with all the different people in that sort of environment has proven to be invaluable. You just can't teach some things, you have to learn them from experience and the sooner you get that experience the better as it will help you out down the line when applying for jobs/internships etc.
MX5 Project Thread
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jrdn7
Member
Registered: 14th Feb 11
Location: Ireland
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by nibnob21
Lol at this thread. Just the fact that the OP is even asking if you need to be able to speak French for an engineering degree is beond me. Bloody Irish
Oi! We built most of the world we did!  The fact I'm trying to get across is that my careers guidance teacher (the one who laughed at the thought of me designing proper racing cars) told me I needed French to get into any Uni course anywhere. I didn't see it on the entry requirements for the course on the website, so I didn't know whether it was just a given that you needed French or it wasn't needed. And before you say it, I know being able to speak a foreign language is pointless in engineering but it's needed for a maths degree over here!
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nibnob21
Premium Member
Registered: 16th May 10
Location: South Derbyshire
User status: Offline
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Well you definitely don't need a language to get into University in the UK for an Engineering degree so tell your careers guidance teacher to stop chatting bollocks lol.
MX5 Project Thread
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jrdn7
Member
Registered: 14th Feb 11
Location: Ireland
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by nibnob21
Well you definitely don't need a language to get into University in the UK for an Engineering degree so tell your careers guidance teacher to stop chatting bollocks lol.
If only she would! Just maths and physics are deffo needed, then the other results to show your smart!
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Rob E
Member
Registered: 1st Jan 06
Location: Madeley, Stafford....I want to live back in Wales!
User status: Offline
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Colin Chapman started building cars in his shed and look how far it got him 
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