What Is Automotive Engineering?

In the modern rapidly changing society, the world of automotive engineering is one of the locomotives of many state economies and, at the same time, “the crucible of our technics.”

However, only a few are familiarized with the notion of “automotive engineering” and with its components. So, what is automotive engineering? Let’s find out it.

What Is Automotive Engineering All About?

The automotive industry or automotive engineering is a separate branch of the modern industry that specializes in designing and building vehicles that do not use a rail base, in which an autonomous engine is installed, setting the entire car in motion. Usually, an internal combustion engine is used, but recently alternative motor power sources have become increasingly popular.

The automotive engineering itself includes several subspecies of production processes:

Engine design and manufacturing

Production of consumables and components necessary for the replacement of a car

A separate branch of mechanical engineering that produces industrial types of machines, such as machine tools and robotic technologies .

The main source of expenditures in automotive engineering is the cost of capital goals, as well as workers who, despite the substantial automation of production, are still an indispensable part of any production.

Automotive engineering is the area in which new information technologies are widely used. The development of maximum speeds, the achievement of a high level of comfort, the provision of vehicles with advanced information technology – these are the priorities of the modern automotive industry.

What Is an Automotive Engineer?

The training of specialists in this area is aimed at a deep study of the modern cars design and their mechanisms and methods for their design. Students widely use modern computer technology and participate in research work. Modern laboratory facilities allow testing of vehicles and systems, which contribute to improving the knowledge of future specialists.

The scope of activity of the specialist is:

• enterprises, organizations in the field of design and production of cars, their units, mechanisms, and parts
• testing
• car diagnostics

When we hear the question “What are automotive engineers,” more often than not, we do not have a clear answer. Such a situation is related to the fact that there are too many various specifications with which we couldn't be familiarized. But, let’s present details which refer to the question “what is automotive engineer.”

So, the professional activities of the specialist include:

• control of the work of the electrical systems
• developing technological processes for the assembly of automobiles, basic units, connections and gears using computer-aided design (CAD) systems
• performing laboratory and road tests of cars
• making suggestions for improving designs
• diagnosing and maintaining cars
• calculating and designing individual parts and components of cars

Types of Automotive Engineers

There exist 3 kinds of automotive engineers. Let's look at them in more detail:

• Design Engineers

Such professionals deal with the design aspect of a vehicle. In short, design engineers make the transport look good. All their efforts are primarily directed toward designing the visual appearance of a vehicle as well as the concept development.

• Development Engineers

They are responsible for optimizing the performance of existing vehicles as well as building new ones. Amongst others, development engineers arrange activities like vehicle level testing, its audit, and certification. These specialists mostly explore and create solutions to engineering issues.

• Production Engineers

They are concerned with ensuring the manufacturing process goes seamlessly. Production engineers participate in the design, implementation, exploitation, maintenance, and supervision of all procedures in vehicle manufacture.

Steps to Becoming an Automotive Engineer

Acquiring a role as an automotive engineer possesses certain requirements based on the jobs you’re qualifying for, involving as follows:

• Education.

Junior automotive engineers should possess an undergraduate degree. But the point is that only a few universities deliver undergraduate education in automotive engineering. So, students mainly major in mechanical engineering as automotive engineering belongs to that category. Moreover, the coursework is identical at this level.

Several mechanical engineering programs include automotive courses in their curriculum. Here, trainees can take courses in physical/life science, mathematics, robotics, environmental science, heat transfer, manufacturing processes, and thermodynamics.

Beginners in automotive engineering should get a graduate degree in case they plan to continue an advanced specialty, for instance, examining the features of mechanical engineering or dealing with hybrid transport.

• Training.

As a rule, entry-level automotive engineers acquire in-career training from experienced colleagues within their firm. Students can also pass internships however, they will require getting a Fundamentals of Engineering license to be Engineers in Training. The last is the internship categorization in this field.

• Certifications.

Note that certification is not a must-have to become an aspiring automotive engineer, but there exist a number of certifications the future professionals can pass to raise chances to build a good career:

• Fundamentals of Engineering License can be achieved after passing a set of exams that permit you to take an Engineer-in-Training program or internship. As you see, this is a completely different approach for getting employed in engineering compared to other industries, which, as a rule, don’t demand certification to get an internship;
• Professional Engineering License. When entry-level specialists get this type of license, they will enjoy more options to optimize their careers within the field as well as get promoted through the ranks. You will require satisfying the state demands regarding work experience. The last is typically 4 years to acquire this license. As far as you get a PE license, you can control teams, confirm projects, and deliver services that directly influence society;
• Certified Reliability Engineer is considered a type of certification for engineering specialists that have deep knowledge in the principles of how to assess performance in this field. Additionally, engineering professionals with this certification can forecast the security/stability of mechanical parts and assess how they may be serviced as time goes by. Previous (solid) work experience is a must to pass Certified Reliability Engineer. Specialists must pass testing /oral exam.

Average Salary of an Automotive Engineer

The majority of automotive engineers work in offices. They attend worksites when challenges are presented to them to handle. When it comes to the sums automotive engineers earn, they usually vary based on education, experience, and geographical area. According to Indeed, for the most up-to-date salary information from Indeed, in the US, automotive engineers earn 95,200 US dollars per year (on average). However, some salaries start from 30,000 US dollars and can grow up to 172,000 US dollars.

Modern Automotive Engineering

Nowadays, everyone can choose a suitable car. It is not a secret that there is a huge number of brands and models of cars that are produced by the largest auto companies in the world. Modern technologies allow producing high-quality and fully automated cars. Thanks to this, it has become easier for consumers to drive their vehicles. New models of cars are largely improved. Manufacturers take into consideration the shortcomings of previous generations of cars and fix them in new models.

In the modern world, cars are equipped with various systems that can be useful for every car enthusiast. Car alarm systems, air conditioning systems, and many others are among the key advantages of modern cars. They perform a variety of functions.

So, what does automotive engineering mean? Modern automotive engineering means a developed area which brings many advantages to humanity. After all, a huge number of new types of equipment, components and much more are being produced for this area. Today, Italy, France, Japan, the USA, Germany, and many other countries are leading car manufacturers. They are very popular all over the world.

The importance of automotive engineering and its development prospects are determined by the place of motor transport in the transport and energy infrastructure, and its overall role in the national economy of a particular country. Leading countries in the automotive industry occupy the first positions in the global economy as well. The automotive engineering directly affects technical progress, and it speaks about the solvency of the population better than many statistical calculations.

The automotive industry is one of the most vivid examples of the formation of a truly global “super-industry.” In world proportions, 1% of growth in the automotive industry gives 1.5% of GDP growth in the country as a whole.

All this together brings automotive engineering to one of the leading positions in the global economy.