Should I become a mechanic, mechanical engineer, or automotive engineer if I want to work with cars?

A Decision to Make

        Many times I am asked for advice on whether an individual should go to a technical school to become a mechanic, or go to a university to become an engineer. What we all have in common is that we love cars. Where we differ is how we like to work with them. The purpose of this article is to give my opinion of what you should do, giving you an idea of which field you should go into, and why.

        Personally, I chose to be a mechanical engineer because I thought it would be my ticket into the automotive world. I was always excellent with mathematics (and poor in English). I knew early on that I would one day go to college for something relating to math and science. Eventually I turned to mechanical engineering. Automotive engineering was not offered at my school, and I felt mechanical engineering would be more well rounded anyways.

Becoming a Mechanic

        So first, let's take the mechanic's side. Should I become a mechanic, knowing that I want to work with cars? Here are a few questions to ask yourself. Are you a hands on person? Do you work on your own car, and are you passionate about working on your own car? Do you want to guarantee that you will be touching (yes, physically touching) cars at your job? If you have answered yes to these, then becoming a mechanic could be the right choice. It does not mean, however, that you should not become an engineer. That said, if you know for a fact that you want to work in a shop, on cars, and repair/modify/tune cars, then becoming a mechanic is pretty much the option you need to take. As an engineer, it will be much more difficult to get hands on work in the automotive industry.

Advice for Aspiring Mechanics

• First, get some formal education in car mechanics, such as at a technical college, to help secure a job. 
• Working at dealerships can pay better than many chain shops. 
• I think the ultimate goal for anyone who wants to become a mechanic would be to open a private shop on their own. This isn't something that can be done right off the bat, it will take many, many years (and you'll have to save money). 
• It's not easy to fully comprehend all of the systems in a vehicle, and since technology is always evolving you have to constantly adapt and learn. I only trust my car with local shops, people who have reputations that I know I can go to and not get screwed over - others have this mentality as well. 
• By building a customer base, and offering honest service, you should be able to make a great living.

Smart Choice: Mechanical Engineer over Automotive Engineer

        Maybe I should study automotive or mechanical engineering? Now this may sound pessimistic in a way, but I'm just being frank and sharing my honest opinion. Instead of majoring in automotive engineering, become a mechanical engineer. If you are already in the process of becoming an automotive engineer, I'm not saying you've made the wrong choice, but mechanical engineers will likely have an easier time finding a job. The reason being that mechanical engineers are considered more well rounded. They may not know as much about the automotive world, but they understand the complications of engineering, and can apply it to anything.
        I have spoken with an aerospace corporation at the career fair at my university on multiple occasions. Our university has majors for mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering. Yet this company has told me personally that they tend to hire more mechanical engineers than aerospace engineers. The reasoning? This may sting a little for aerospace engineers, so that's my warning. The reason is that if you graduate with a BS degree in aerospace, you probably aren't going to be designing a wing for a plane anytime soon, unless you keep going on to graduate school. But someone hired, who's studied mechanical engineering, could be used for something a little more basic, such as seating arrangements, overhead compartment latches, and so on. Having more general knowledge of structures, strength of materials, and dynamics is more important to companies than if you have a specific four year engineering degree. That's the beauty of mechanical engineering. The number of companies you can have a career with as a mechanical engineer is far greater than the number of companies you can get a job with an automotive engineering degree, even if the automotive engineer is more intelligent!

Is Engineering Right for Me?

        Alright, so now that my opinion of which to choose (auto vs mech) is clear, the question still remains unanswered. Am I the type of person that should be a mechanical engineer? This is the route one should choose if they desire to get into the design of cars. The questions you need to ask yourself are: Are you the type of person that tries to understand how everything works? Are you mathematically adept? No, seriously, are you good at math? This question cannot be strained enough. By choosing to become a mechanical engineer, you are choosing to attempt to understand various extremely complicated mathematical issues that take patience to comprehend. Are you a problem solver? After being shown how to do something one time, can you repeat the process many more times, with variations each time? These are the questions, that if you answer yes to, you should consider looking into engineering.
        You may be thinking, many of these questions don't sound fun to say yes to. Well, you'd be correct. I'm not going to say everything about mechanical engineering is awesome, I don't think it is. I thoroughly enjoyed my thermodynamics classes, my automotive engineering class, and my internal combustion class. But at the same time there are many classes I'd rather never think about again. It's challenging, and you have to be willing to be challenged constantly, to struggle weekly, and of course be ready for plenty of homework. It's not easy, but it is very rewarding. There is a lot of respect that engineers have, and it's for being able to comprehend physical ideas that not everyone can wrap their heads around.

What Should I Expect as an Engineer?

        So what should one expect, if they now know they would like to be a mechanical engineer? Here's how I like to look at it. Feel free to Google any of these courses, and begin to look at what you will be learning about. It all starts with statics. I thought nothing could be more difficult than statics when I took this course. Nothing I had previously done in life challenged me so much. I thought, engineering must only get easier after this; how wrong I was. Indeed, statics was by far one of the easiest courses of my mechanical engineering curriculum.  
        Dynamics was next, one of two classes I could only pull off a C in  while in college. Dynamics was the most difficult class at that point in college, but still didn't compare to others. Solid mechanics was interesting to me, and so I found it easier to do well in. That said, you can expect quadruple integrals and finding multiple constants in the latter sections of this subject. Thermodynamics, which the majority of people will surely struggle with, is simply one of the most fascinating sciences ever if you are into internal combustion and cars. That said, it was extremely challenging. Heat transfer, probably the second most difficult course I took (managed a 55 on my first test) was painful, and due to my student teacher, quite boring.
        The mother of all classes (and my second C), the most difficult of them all, came junior year, in the form of vibrations. Attach a string to two stationary walls, then flick the string somewhere along it. Now, come up with a formula for the vertical location of the string, at any point along the string, at any time after the string has been flicked. Yes, it can be done. No, I cannot explain to you how. I was fortunate to have a phenomenal instructor for controls, and although I was told it would be the most difficult course as a mechanical engineer, it dwarfed in difficulty to vibrations, heat transfer, and even dynamics for myself. What I'm telling you is, you're going to struggle, you're going to be challenged, but with dedication you will be able to get through it, and the knowledge you will gain will be quite impressive.

Advice for Aspiring Engineers?

• Befriend engineers. You will realize pretty soon that as an engineer, you're going to have a lot less free time than your peers if they are not in an engineering major, or aren't involved in clubs/sports. Having engineering friends will keep you on an even workload as your peers, and it will be much easier to put forth the extra effort required. I can't tell you how many countless hours I spent with my two ME buddies, Tom Tom and Kendrick.
• Get involved with the automotive clubs at your school; this can mean Formula SAE, or even an EcoCar challenge. Getting involved with something like this will look great when applying to automotive companies. In fact, some automotive companies will only look at individuals who have been involved in such clubs. Also, being in these clubs will lead to networking opportunities, making it much easier to find a job out of college. This is probably the most important advice I have, GET INVOLVED IN AUTOMOTIVE CLUBS!!
• If you know for a fact that you want to work with design in the automotive industry, my advice is go to graduate school, and form a thesis on an automotive idea. This will show companies what you are capable of, and will be your ticket into the design world. Note: This is extremely difficult to do, and you need to be sure when you choose a thesis, it is something you are legitimately passionate about, because you will own that project for multiple years, and will be totally responsible for it.
• Oh, and if you're fresh out of high school, and are still using a TI-83 (I sadly still do as well), you will find it very rewarding to switch over to a TI-89. Take the time to learn how to use the 89, it will be worth it. That said, scientific calculators will not be allowed on many of your exams. Use it as a tool for completing homework in a more efficient manner.

        I hope this has helped answer your questions, and has given you a better idea of where to lead your future. I wish you all the best of luck in everything you do!