You want a challenging career path that could spur you to do something that requires enough dedication in the engineering field? You want something spectacular but do not know which area of specialization you should base your expertise. Well, It is high time you gave in to that thought about Automotive Engineering.
Automotive engineering has various majors that could fetch you a good sum. Why don’t you let us walk you through the highest-paying major and also, intimate you on how to make the right choice for yourself in 2024?
Take a quick peek through the table of contents below to satisfy your curiosity while we take you through the article step by step.
Table of contents
- What Is Automotive Engineering?
- Who Is An Automotive Engineer?
- How To Become An Automotive Engineer
- Required Qualities To Be An Efficient Automotive Engineer
- How Much Does An Automotive Engineer Earn?
- How Much Does It Cost To Acquire A Bachelor’s Degree In Automotive Engineering?
- Automotive Engineering Major
- What Is The Highest Paying Major In Automobile Engineering?
- Schools Offering Automotive Engineering
- Conclusion
- References
What Is Automotive Engineering?
Wikipedia says automotive engineering is the branch of engineering that brings together elements from mechanical, electronic, electrical, software, and safety engineering to apply them to the design and production of automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles.
More so, this engineering field is research intensive encompassing direct application of mathematical formulas and models.
Additionally, when one designs, develops, constructs, and test vehicle units from the ideation stage to the production stage, the person is said to have studied automotive engineering.
The three major functions carried out in this engineering field are development, production, and manufacturing.
Who Is An Automotive Engineer?
An automotive engineer is one who does design of the systems and devices of cars.
This professional makes sure that the automotive designs he has prepared are in tandem with the standard and cost specifications.
Similarly, just as mechanical engineers analyze yet-to-be-seen problems in the designs and endeavor to correct those problems, so does the automotive engineer oversee the production of automotives.
However, below are some of the job responsibilities of an automotive engineer.
- Carrying out research, formulating, and producing vehicles and components
- Preparing cost estimates and design specifications
- Preparing plans and drawings
- Monitoring energy, environmental and safety aspects of the planned project
- Making predictions of vehicle or component behavior under different conditions using computerized models
- Amplifying testing procedures
- Studying product failures
- Examining, evaluating and reviewing technical data into reports
- Overseeing technical staff
- Working closely with other types of engineers
- Working with professionals from other occupational fields.
How To Become An Automotive Engineer
Here are the following steps to take if you want to choose to become an automotive engineer.
- Enroll in a Bachelor’s Degree Program
- Participate in an Internship
- Look for Employment Opportunities
- Participate in Continuing Education Opportunities
- Become Licensed
- Consider a Master’s Degree
Required Qualities To Be An Efficient Automotive Engineer
- Communication skills
- Mechanical skills
- Mathematical skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Ingenuity
Communication skills
To work effectively as or with a team, the automobile engineer needs to communicate well.
Additionally, the ability to listen and also analyze different approaches made by the team members and other experts to complete a particular task is necessary.
Mechanical skills
This skill is required in applying basic engineering ideas and mechanical processes to the design of automobiles.
Mathematical skills
To analyze and do some troubleshooting, prior knowledge in some advanced calculations such as statistics and calculus are paramount.
Problem-solving skills
Automobile engineers need good problem-solving skills to use scientific principles and discoveries to design and build automobiles.
Ingenuity
The fascinating designs we see today in automobiles are actually products of someone’s ingenuity. If the creativity isn’t there, we won’t have such an amazing sight.
How Much Does An Automotive Engineer Earn?
The amount an automotive engineer takes home as his or her pay is variable and differs based on the level of experience acquired in the field.
Therefore, a brief analysis will be given for some years of experience.
Those who are said to have been experienced for 1-4 years earn an average salary of $74,299 annually while automotive engineers having experience of 5-9 years earn $81,210 annually.
Also, those who fall within the range of 10-19 years of experience earn about $91,104 annually. It is however important to note that this is presented to you as projected by Payscale.
On the other hand, the Bureau of Labor Statistics records that the employment of automotive engineers is projected to show little or no change from 2018 to 2028.
For clarification purposes, let’s walk through the analysis gotten from some automobile employers and how much they pay their automobile engineers.
- Chrysler Group LLC. – $88k
- FCA Corp – $77k
- Ford Motor Company – $91k
- General Motors Corporation – $85k
How Much Does It Cost To Acquire A Bachelor’s Degree In Automotive Engineering?
According to CollegeCalc, the average yearly cost of tuition for international students in the automotive engineering major is $31,798.
That is to say that, an estimated average of years spent acquiring a degree in automotive engineering is summed to cost $127,192.
Automotive Engineering Major
Basically, most schools do not offer a straight bachelor’s degree program in automobile engineering.
What most students do is enroll for a mechanical engineering program with an automobile engineering.
So, let’s have a look at the typical courses taken in an automotive engineering major.
- Automobile dynamics
- Automotive electronics
- Engine parts
- Diesel engine theory
- Alternative energy sources
- Ergonomics
- Dynamics and control
- Fuel cell systems
- Powertrain dynamics
- NVH(noise, vibration, and harshness) engineering
- Safety engineering
- Corrosion engineering
What Is The Highest Paying Major In Automobile Engineering?
Basically, automotive engineering does not have a major per se. Since it is already a major in mechanical engineering, it is a worthwhile investment making a career out of it.
However, in some states like Alaska, an automotive engineer earns the highest at the rate of $98,790 while in places like Kansas, the automobile engineer is at his lowest earn point at the rate of $67,580.
This information is as displayed by Recruiter.com.
However, it is expedient to let you know that with the really astonishing and fascinating designs happening in the automobile world, all the major courses under automobile engineering are lucrative.
Schools Offering Automotive Engineering
It is one thing to go for a very lucrative course of study and another to acquire such a degree from one of the best schools.
Therefore, to further help you, a list of the schools where you can obtain a degree in automobile engineering major lays below.
- University of Tennessee
- Bharath University (Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research)
- VIT University (Chennai)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- Tsinghua University
- The University of Texas at Arlington
- Austin Peay State University
- Indiana State University
- The University of Michigan
- Minnesota State University, Mankato
- Ferris State University
- Brigham Young University Idaho
- University of South Wales
Conclusion
Without attending any of the best ABET-accredited schools to acquire a degree in automotive engineering, the breath-taking designs we see today wouldn’t be.
Therefore, I hope the information above helps you make the right choice in 2024.
Best wishes!!!
References
