college help
 

I am just looking for input on college choices particularly UNOH. I am looking for a career in anything motorsports. I love racing and odds are I wont be a driver so im looking forward to opportunities to stay in the lifestyle for a profession. I am an "advanced" student and have been told that motorsports might not be my greatest choice. Would a college like UNOH really help secure a profession in motorsports? Any other great colleges for motorsports or should I look into other professions? The main thing is Job availabilty shortly after school (1-2 years) and good pay (50 k +). Thanks for reading! :23:

Re: college help
 

You would be much better off to go into Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, etc. Plenty of $50k - 70k jobs offered before you ever graduate.

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A couple of things. Since you said that you are an "Advanced" student, I would suggest getting an engineering degree from a traditional school. If you have an engineering degree you will have options. You can use your engineering degree on most race teams. You can also use your engineering degree in a normal professional setting. If you find life on the road a pain, you can always trade it in for an office cube.

Second, you may want to revisit your expectations. I not sure that there are many jobs in the real world paying 50K for someone with no experience with a two year trade/technical degree.

I have talked with people that did the motorsports deal at UNOH and they have had really tough times getting jobs in the motorsports field. If you wanna just be a wrench turner for a NASCAR team then the NASCAR school (NTI I believe) in North Carolina would be your best bet. Other than that I'd encourage you to think about mechanical engineering.

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I love Indiana Wesleyan Adult Programs! They help you get your degree in the quickest way possible online or on site!

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My son is a I.U Bloomington sophomore and just loves B-town as I do to.

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I am an IU grad and absolutely love bloomington:6::32: , as for the thread ,I would definitly look at Mech. Eng because of the job possibilties if the racing thing does not work out.

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I'll give you the same advice I've given my grandchildren, three of whom are in college now.

1. Get away from home. It's time to grow up.

2. Go to a 4/5-year school to get a BS degree. Nothing less will get you a solid income in the current years. I'm a big believer in co-op programs in which you work while studying. If you can't find one of those, work your tail off to get some kind of summer job in your field.

3. Look around for the best state school program in the field you want. There are lots of good Mech Eng programs. One of my grandsons is a sophomore in one now. You don't want to go too deep in debt. However, your income with a BS degree will be worth some level of debt.

4. All engineering programs are tough. In a state school, you will be surrounded by kids who are at college to play. Some will flunk out, some will squeak by. You have to develop the discipline to ignore all that, because you are going to be working hard. Most state schools plan on a significant percentage of their engineering students dropping out. Don't be one of them.

Good luck.

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Since your an advanced student get the best degree you can get. Then get a non racing career and start a team on the side. That way you get to do want you want to do and are not at the mercy of the volatile motorsports job market.

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My son is attending IUPUI. They offer a 4 year BS degree in Motorsport Engineering. To my knowledge they are the only Univ. in the country that offers such a degree. If you are an advance student and can handle the hours they offer a program where you can receive a BS degree in Motorsports and a seperate BS degree in Mech. Engineering in five years. If you wish to talk to Colin or any of the professors send me a pm and I'll get you all their numbers. Two years ago they had twice as many job positions to graduates. Can't beat percentages like that in todays job market. Good luck where ever you go and like your additude concerning school.

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Thanks for all of the replies! Colin25 i have your sons number i will give him a call sometime. Thanks for the input I will definately look into an engeenering disciplined degree.

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Purdue or Rose Hulman. With either one of those schools on your sheepskin, with an engineering degree, you can do pretty much anything you want.

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There is always Kettering fka General Motors Institute.

the fellow who owns http://www.roehrigengineering.com/

went there. https://www.kettering.edu/me It is a coop program.

I'd recommend rose hulman, but I'm a little biased.
They have been rated #1mechanical engineering school in the country for 14 years in a row. The work load is extremely tough, but that's what makes them a well respected school. They also have some cool programs like formula SAE (racing deal) that you can join and it will teach you a lot about chassis design.

That would probably be your best bet to get a job in Motorsports. Teams want engineers. And of you decide you don't want to work in Motorsports, being an engineer will help your personal racing program.

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Re: college help
 

My advice to you would be get a degree that gives you options, not one that is only good for your first choice of careers. Your first choice in careers might not work out how you'd like it to so having options gives you a backup plan. My other advice is, once you're in college, go to class. It's really tempting and easy to skip class but from personal experience going to class makes a difference. Good luck and I graduated college less than a year ago so if you have any questions about college in general feel free to PM me.

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I graduated from UNOH Oct 2012. You will learn alot of stuff about cars, some you will find very helpful some you will have 0 use for. while there i met some very smart people.
last week during the 24hr of daytona i seen students i graduated with on tv working on team sahlen prototype.
Unoh also places alot of students on NHRA teams and arca teams, i know several doing that and are living there deam job.
AS far as my education, im not the worlds best Student, i have a hard time focusing on home work and other school work, UNOH is almost fail proof, show up everyday do your hands on work and you pass.
you can get a business and others with you rmotorsports degree, if your advanced student and can stay focused do both while there.
I will agree with others, engineering will be helpful also, but i know some that degree and cant find a job.

The number 1 thing you must have is a class A CDL! with out that you will be waisting your time looking for a job in racing, dont care what degree you have. UNOH has CDL class, that where i got mine.
hope this helped, good luck

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I was also an advanced student, in a very small school with few advanced classes. We did have a math teacher who to this day remains the smartest man I have ever met. I had him 2 hours as a sophomore, 2 hours as a junior, and had him scheduled for Calc and Physics 2 hours as a senior. He would turn me loose on stuff way ahead of the rest of the class and challenge the hell outta me to find a way to apply it to my interest (motorsports). He helped me decide that mechanical engineering was my way into a motorsports job that paid enough that I could also play as a driver. This was back in 1990-91. 6 years later every NASCAR team had an engineer, as well as multiple on each Indycar team, F1 team, Indy lights, etc.

This teacher died in a farm accident 2 weeks into my senior year. The only replacement the school could find was a newly graduated basic math teacher. I actually taught my physics class the rest of the year because I was more qualified than her. She was horrible at calculus. I felt like I hadn't learned anything my senior year so even though I had already been accepted into Missouri Rolla (excellent engineering school) I was afraid I would be in over my head and went to a normal university thinking I could get caught back up then transfer.

Wrong!!!

I was bored outta my head. Only had to show up on test days and was still setting the curve in my math classes. Could not stand the fact that they were making me pay them to take fine arts credits and physical ed credits and literature credits when that had nothing to do with what I wanted to study. I decided to quit school and took a job that paid 30-40K per year. Great money for a 20 year old in 1993 right?

Fast forward 20 years...never went back to school..still in that salary range but married with a child. I am lucky enough to get to drive other peoples racecars off and on but that falls short of my life's aspirations.

I was on track to be kissing the bricks with the rest of the team while Hornish or Marco or BC was thanking me for the setup I gave them that let them run qualifying speeds on old tires. A freak twist of fate caused me to make a couple bad decisions regarding school and I wiped out any shot at that. Although I am very happy with my life, my family and everything we have been blessed with I still can't go one day without thinking "What if".

My advice to you would be....GO TO SCHOOL!!! Go to an engineering school. Take classes that make you work your butt off. Challenge yourself to finish in 4 years. (Most people with engineering degrees end up needing 5 plus years) Stay home and study on nights/weekends. Studying doesn't cost you a dime. If you need something to do unrelated to school find a local raceteam that will pay for your pitpass that you can help on the weekends. Be willing to live in poverty for a few years now. Baloney sandwiches and Kool Aid instead of beer and steak. Don't let a short term job opportunity take you away from school. 4 years of sacrifice now will sure make for a much cooler 60 years to finish your time on earth.

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I’m a Purdue MET (mechanical engineering technology) grad. So I’m biased but engineering is for sure the way to go in your shoes. Once I learned about the school of technology it made for a perfect fit, it is more hands on and less theoretical i.e. you will have lab classes where you run a lath, mill, and weld also pour castings. Helps to make you very well rounded, Purdue West Lafayette also has several student groups that are involved with some type of motorsports. I know the IUPUI motorsports deal has very similar class to that of MET.
At my current company we are looking to hire an engineer …. It will be a Purdue MET grad if I have any say.

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Thanks everyone! I am looking into several colleges for engineering related topics. Dad recommended nuclear engineering but hes a tad bit biased :3: Also has anyone ever heard of Forsyth Technical Institute?

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I am not a big Purdue fan. But if your going for an engineering degree I would recommend Purdue. Most of the engineers I know come from Purdue that work in the automotive side.

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If you want to work in motorsports, as an engineer, go to a school that has programs associated with motorsports. I got a degree in mechanical engineering, thinking that the degree, combined with my loads of racing experience, would get me the job I want. It didn't, the lack of specialized work in college killed me.
I went to my state school because it was cheaper. The school had no Formula SAE program, and no faculty involved in high performance automotive work. I tried to start a Formula SAE program but met with faculty push back.
When I graduated and tried to get a job in motorsports, I found out that I had not punched the right tickets and I was dead in the water.
So before you go to school, find out before hand what you need to do, make some connections in the industry, stay in contact with these people and make sure that the winds don't shift while you are in school.

On the plus side, my degree did get me a job that pays enough that I can race sprint cars.

Re: college help
 

Rhody's last sentence says it all. If you want a profession that could generate enough money to race on, engineering would be one of them. Big time Race teams do not hire snot nosed kids fresh out of any engineering program for their operations. They want ones that have had several years in the automotive industry with a proven ability and expertise. The 50k job in professional racing for an engineer just out of school is not there. The jobs that are there for the new guy are the long hours and low pay ones. They want you to pay your dues and that does not include a 50K pay check. If you want a job with these guys find an ARCA team or Indy Lights team and sign on as a no pay goffer. Then if you are good you might start to progress up the ladder. But it sure won't be instant and maybe not at all. It is still a crap shoot.

Now>> Engineering. It ain't like in the movies, an engineer is a guy that sits around and crunches numbers all day long. They very seldom get a chance to get out in the real world. The engineering tec is the go between for the engineer and the guys in the field. A pretty good job for many of us. This guy takes all the glittering bull produced by the engineers and translates it into language that the guys actually doing the job can understand.

A good mechanical engineer should love math and be very organized and enjoy mechanics. The first two years in any Engineering school or for that matter a Medical School are all pretty much alike. Lots of math, physics, chemistry and oh yeh humanities. This is the hardest part of your college experience. My advice here is don't get in too big of a hurry to get out of school. Work on about 12 credit hours the first couple of semesters and learn the ropes. Them old college prof's are not your high school teachers. That three credit hour class may only meet two and a half hours a week but that prof expects another 6 hours work from you back at the dorm per week to pass his course.

You are about 2 years late for getting into Rose Hulman, however since you live in state you can still get into Purdue and the other state schools. We did all that looking around several years ago.

The school we chose was "J.B. Speed School of Engineering" here in Louisville. They have an excellent reputation in the engineering world. They have a 4 year all year long program that ends with a Masters Degree in Engineering. They have a co op program that puts the student out in the real world for several trimesters during their schooling. This gives them a hands on experience to allow them to decide if they have chosen the right discipline, allowing them to change directions if needed and also adds some real time pay checks to help pay for their schooling. I think by living in Indiana you are also granted in state tuition there. The first two years are really hard, they use their math programs to slim down their classes.

Good luck, get all the education you can. You will keep your education for all your life. Enjoy racing but don't get snake bit and drink all that "KOOL-AID" that's out there.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

I'm not sure how old the questioner is, but I don't see any reason why he couldn't get into rose if he has the required grades. Ive seen people up towards their 30s at rose. I would strongly recommend giving rose a call to talk about your situation. My originally application to rose was denied because I didn't take physics in high school, but they let me take it online and then they accepted me (currently a junior ME).

Now if you are serious about a job in racing then try to get into rose and joking Formula SAE. Work hard, make decent grades, and be active with Formula SAE and you will probably have a great shot in Motorsports. I know a kid that was on SAE my freshman year is now the lead engineer on Denny Hamlin's team. See him on tv all the time. This is all after he worked as an intern for Andretti's Indy car team. So your dream isn't too far off if your willing to work hard for it. Give rose a call, or message me on here if ya have any questions.

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Re: college help
 

Rose Hulman is a super school for mechanical engineers. I guess times have changed in the last several years. Back when My son was getting ready to start college, I think Ryan Newman was going to Rose Holman at the time, we made the trip down there and were told that there was about a two year wait to get in.

If your parents can afford the tuition, if you are really driven and if they would let you in Rose Hulman would be my choice. They do have a Formula SAE team at the time Purdue did not have one.

Keep up the good work Hotshoe it's all downhill from here.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

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Once again thanks everyone! I am still in high school and trying to prepare for college appliations within the next semester or so.

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DAD, FYI Newman is a Purdue grad

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Best I can remember I think he started his education at Rose Hulman then switched to Purdue.;) I took that welcome tour at Purdue but had to give up 5 miles into the darned thing and had to wait for them to come back and get me, BOY that place is big!!!

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

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I am a Mechanical Engineering Technologist, which is a three year program at my local crackhead community college.

There is a lot of good info in this thread, but I am more impressed that a kid in high school is asking adults for advice. I was an adult in my late twenties before I actually cared about anything besides partying.

I work as a machine designer, which means I sit in front of a computer and basically draw shapes around car parts for 8 hours a day.
I currently have been working on fixing a Chinese designed welding cell in China for an American company (I live in Canada) who is selling parts to an Italian car manufacturer since the first week of December. Nothing as exciting as racing may be! I make a good living and really enjoy what I do. I usually work on the same project for 3-4 months at a time. Some projects take a year or longer.

I would go to a University for Mechanical Engineering and definitely look at one that specializes in motorsports. I have been fortunate to get my racing fix through photography, but would love to work in the industry for my 9-5'er.

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Now is the time to do your research on schools, the sooner the better. Write off get info and arrange for tours. In the end you are the person that has to decide what you want to do. But don't put it off till the last second, like I said we went to Rose Hulman in the fall of our senior year and were already too late. I guess demand has gone down in recent years.:D

Take every math and physics class your school offers!!!!

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

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Can an MET become a PE?

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In Canada, and I assume the US, you would need a bachelor's degree before becoming a PE

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I have twin sons and they were interested in cars from a very early age. They decided early on that they wanted to study engineering and work in the automobile industry. They are both extremely smart (certainly didn't get that from the ole man:19:). They went to a state school and studied hard and also were fortunate enough to get summer employment in their field of study.

Both of them decided early on that they were going to college to get the education needed to secure a good job. They also took an additional year to study speciality engineering that helped them during their job search. When they graduated they had mulitple offers to choose from.

By them doing the extras, summer employment in their field of study and the extra year of school, they were able to land jobs with major corporations in their chosen field of research and development.

I am proud to say that they have become very good family men and also leaders in the companies that they work for. I still struggle sitting there listening to them talk about what they do.:18: However, they absolutely love their work and I thank my lucky stars that they worked hard to achieve their dreams.

Good luck with your choices and remember no matter what, you decide your future. Study hard and continue to dream.

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Check the Ohio State University Automotive Research program (http://car.osu.edu/student-teams) - focused on graduate level mechanical engineering studies but always looking for undergraduate engineering student volunteers to handle hands-on work for LSR electric car 'Buckeye Bullet', SAE formula or Baja. Also closely affiliated with the Honda Test track in Marysville Oh.