Career question
 

Hmm..does anyone know what the career for building cars is called?

umm line worker? you do mean building right?

Like building up a whole brand new car ( engine,body, etc. ) is it called mechanical engineering. Theres so many damn careers meaning different things so im lost.

Well it really depends on what you want to do.. If you are interested in the conceptual idea, the design and the analysis of cars, then it would be a mechanical engineer. More specifically it would be automotive engineering (normally a specialization within Mechanical engineering)

As an engineer you most likely would be working with CAD models and Mathematical models rather than getting dirty with the Line workers. Just to let you know.

To further complicate things, you can focus on the fluid flow (aerodynamics) and how the shape of the car affect the drag/fuel efficiency. Or you can focus on the Thermal issues and power delivery. Or you can work on the structural integrity of the car.

I guess what I am saying there are a lot of things a mechanical engineer can do. He/She is really flexible as most schools will give an adequate background in each of these areas.

actually, you can get involved in the auto industry through various paths if you're not technically inclined. learn japanese or german really well and you're that much more marketable.

engineering - mechanical, electrical, industrial engineering. too many options to list. PM me if you want more info.

art design - go to art school and you can design interiors or exteriors of vehicles.

finance - not 100% sure but there's probably the vehicle program side of the business, as in you're involved in the financial analysis of whether a future program will make money or not. or Ford has Ford Credit and you can do that, GM has GMAC, etc

business/marketing - marketing of current and future models, consumer research, PR, etc

manual labor - mechanic with anything automotive (even small component manufacturers I'm sure) or assembly line operator. don't laugh because some of the line operators with overtime can make $100k a year. don't you love the UAW?

Yeah I have a masters in computer science and some line workers make more than me... go figure.. but hey, got to love those unions...

What percentage of cars bought or parts made in foreign countries sell here now? Damn, it's pretty high.. gotta love those unions though.. LOL

RotaryStalker

I concur with Julian.. There are many other ways to get involved.

Other avenues could be aftermarket shops or design studios. There definately are some really neat things that some of those guys can do.

But as my profile says yeah I am an engineer.. So obviously I would direct you in that direction.