Hopes and Wishes of Life

[MattAvino]

Go into a shop, ask for a job doing grunt work, work hard and dont feel entitled, be humble and stfu. Be consistant, and try to be the best at whatever youre doing.

Put yourself around respectable stand up people. People you want to be like. (racers)... EVeryone you grew up with went to HS with, dont talk to them anymore unless theyre on your exact page.
You will get your oppurtunity.
hope this helps.

Agreed. I think it should be said that I've been working in a top notch body and paint shop since I was 13 or 14. Just me and the boss. (usually). Ive learned a ton of stuff. That job always reminds me that most of my HS friends are completely retarded on every level. I've always been more drawn towards adults. They actually know shit (*this reminds me of my stupid HS "friends" again).

[MattAvino]

Everyone wants to be a racecar driver man

I'm hoping I can actually follow through. That is why I'm asking around and educating myself.
Fortunately, I've got plenty of options I'm interested in and not naively dead set on racing.

[e30jake]

University of Northwestern Ohio. One of the top auto schools in the nation and their high performance auto tech degree is basically an auto engineering degree. Only school in the country to own their own (dirt) track and a collegiate racing team with 6 driver spots and tons of crew member spots. I looked into it but it's the same season as soccer. Also an auto x club and a bunch of other clubs related to driving and cars and shit. Looked good enough when I went to visit that I'll be there next semester

[5Toes]

I am in the same situation as OP. Ill be a senior in HS next year and be well on my way towards my AA at the local junior college. I am so confused what to do with my life, so many options and in the end I cant think of one I genuinely like more than the other

[AsharC]

I am in the same shoes as OP, too. I just graduated HS yesterday. I am going to University of Michigan to study Mechanical Engineering. I also wanted to be a racer, but I decided to keep it as a hobby and I will probably end up doing Spec E30 races and what not. My brother is buying me a track event for my graduation. Hopefully, I will stay close to the automotive industry through ME, but who knows, I am not completely positive yet.

[drumad]

Lol, I remember when I wanted to work on cars or do automotive engineering when I was in HS. It's why I chose mechanical engineering as my major (something I half regret).

I'm 25, a mechanical engineer working on navy carriers, and I still don't know wtf I want to do eventually.

[Sagaris]

Like drumad and others, I wanted to do automotive design and engineering and ended up doing mechanical engineering in something unrelated to automobiles.

3 reasons why I steered away from an automotive focus:

1) I do not want to live in a lot of the places that the majority of automotive engineering jobs are located.

2) The automotive industry is changing rapidly and I personally do not feel that it is the right industry for me to work in with the uncertainty and ways that things are going within the industry.

3) I do not want to do something that I love so much that I devote more time to it than I do to my family.


I have a job that gives me the time and money to be able to enjoy my hobbies and family time and thats all that matters to me.

[drumad]

Like drumad and others, I wanted to do automotive design and engineering and ended up doing mechanical engineering in something unrelated to automobiles.

3 reasons why I steered away from an automotive focus:

1) I do not want to live in a lot of the places that the majority of automotive engineering jobs are located.

2) The automotive industry is changing rapidly and I personally do not feel that it is the right industry for me to work in with the uncertainty and ways that things are going within the industry.

3) I do not want to do something that I love so much that I devote more time to it than I do to my family.


I have a job that gives me the time and money to be able to enjoy my hobbies and family time and thats all that matters to me.

Truth. Even though I do enjoy my job moreso than some people do at their 9-5's, I do wish I chose something else to study when I was in school. Hopefully this grad degree I'm working towards puts me somewhere I want to be.

Even then, these mechanical engineering jobs put you in the middle of nowhere sometimes, too haha.

Along the lines of your last statement, I "suffer/sacrifice/work" a third of my day so the rest of it is enjoyable. I never thought I'd value weekends as much as I do now.

[cale]

Don't make excuses as to why you can't achieve your goals, simply do your best to achieve them. Who says its too late to start a racing career? Not everyone is destined to race in f1 and needed to be born with a helmet on. Maybe you have a proper talent, do some track days to see what you think and then if it's going well buy a used kart. There are a lot of careers to be had as a driver in Motorsport other than the types of racing that earn millions. Every auto manufacturer lpols for compotent drivers. Excuses will always be easier to find than solutions.

[Sagaris]

Don't make excuses as to why you can't achieve your goals, simply do your best to achieve them. Who says its too late to start a racing career? Not everyone is destined to race in f1 and needed to be born with a helmet on. Maybe you have a proper talent, do some track days to see what you think and then if it's going well buy a used kart. There are a lot of careers to be had as a driver in Motorsport other than the types of racing that earn millions. Every auto manufacturer lpols for compotent drivers. Excuses will always be easier to find than solutions.

I have heard it said that the easiest way to become a millionaire as a racecar driver is to begin your racing career as a billionaire.

[z31maniac]

Lots of good "RaceCar Engineering" type schools in England.

[lambo]

Also, look into FSAE if you're considering ME.

[s14pwd]

I think about these things sometimes too. I am 20, doing Mech ENGG with a Minor in business, currently on internship with a consulting company and head of my university's FSAE team.

First thing, FSAE will be the closest thing you get to what you are describing. Anything automotive related in industry is very concentrated, you would handle on very small sections of vehicles, never really get exposure to everything as you think. FSAE is different, its hard and you have to be dedicated but you and a few others get to design, build and drive the whole thing, you will never get a chance like that again.

The world of motorsports seems glamorous, but really thats only for the drivers/owners. The pay sucks for designers, engineers, technicians etc.. because there are always more people who would take the chance, hours are terrible as your always under pressure which means your personal life is up in the air. However if you're willing to give those things up for what you believe is your dream, then its all worth it. Like some one said, get a broad degree and get an internship to try it out, I will guarantee its not what you think.

[Jorgen]

you're 17, make the time. Not trying to sound like a dick, but if you wanna see what having no time is like work 40hours/week and go to college and pull good grades ha. I think back on all of the 'shoulda coulda woulda' moments of my highschool and college career and i wish i had done a lot differently.

What he said. You will likely never have more time than you do now. I just finished my Mech Eng master while working in the field, raising a 2 and a half year old and maintaining a few cars and a house. It doesn't get less busy as you grow up.

[Thizzelle]

So do you want to design how the car looks or all the internals, ie suspension, chassis, engine? If you want to design how it looks you go to graphic design school and draw cool shapes and what not. If the later then you get your degree in mechnical engineering! I'm a mechnical engineer and it's great seeing what you design be fabricated and actually work, I wanted to design how the cars looked but I was so far into the mechanical engineering courses when I found out that I said screw it, all good though. I now work in the plastic industry designing caps (yes those things on top of plastic bottles that everyone has, garanteed if you look in your house you have a cap I designed, alot go to nutrusutical companies. I could name names but I won't, but if you see a logo on the cap I probably put it there.) and all the support equipment in our plant for making them and lining them. It's cool walking around stores and saying look theres my cap, theres another and another, all over. For racecar driver you need to start a team or get a job at the local track on a team and work your way from there.