Looking for guidance with a career in motorsports

Hey guys, I've been thinking about posting this thread for some time and I figure I'm not doing myself any favors by waiting longer. I am looking for guidance or suggestions in following my dream and pursuing a career in motosports. A little about myself..

 

My name is Patrick, I'm 25, and I live in Palm Springs, CA. I work as a lab tech at a local hospital. My entire life I have been fascinated with cars and nothing makes me happier than working on my own projects or helping friends in need or spending time at race tracks, especially talking to the drivers and crew about the cars.

 

Every day I come into work a little piece of me dies inside. I do not want to work in the medical field any longer. I am about to turn 26 and am just now realizing that if I really want to be happy in life I need to pursue my passion and that is to work as an engineer on a race team and travel the world supporting my team, car, and driver at various racing events. The SP8/SP9/Cup cars are really want I am interested in building.

 

I know in order for me to accomplish this, I would need to go back to school and get an engineering degree to even be considered for any position. My reason for writing this thread is really to gain information as to what it really takes to be considered a strong candidate for a motorsport team like the ones who run the cars in the classes I have mentioned. What kind of background do you need besides an engineering degree and is there graduate work required afterwards? Anyone with a career or experience in this field who would like to give me some advice? Also should I be looking into some type of entry position in automotive in general? I saw Alex from SP has a position open for technician or sales rep. Just using that as an example but I imagine it would be a good idea to start looking into something like that while I go back to school? I figure this forum might be the best one to post this question on. Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated. Even from those of you who may have experience with changing their careers in their mid-20s.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

Patrick

Big choice to go back to school and make a career change but an engineering degree will ALWAYS be of use. You sure are picking a hard career field to get in to but I wish you nothing but luck! I would look at a school that is involved in SAE racing to give you racing experience and contacts in the industry already. Hope this helps a bit!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_SAE

I think a mix of going to school for automotive or mechanical engineering with an SAE program combined with some working experience would be very ideal. And like Hannibal said, the degree wouldn't be wasted if the racing career thing didn't pan out.

 

My cousin got his BSME from Carnegie Mellon a few years ago and after a few years in a non automotive related position got a job with a startup specializing in aftermarket suspension work. He's into cars like us, but I don't believe he set out from the beginning to actually have a career in the field.

 

Sometimes just volunteering on a race team could be the ticket combined with the credentials. Like support for Ferrari Challenge or something could be useful.

 

I think if you are really serious about this, the path will mold itself on its own with a little luck.

 

 

I know some universities like Oregon State have race clubs where you learn how to set up race cars and drive them. http://groups.engr.oregonstate.edu/SAE/Formula/

Get in with a racing team just to get your feet wet. You will be exposed to the whole scene and it will give you a pretty good idea if you would like to pursue your dream.

Do you have any formal training and or experience hands on? Your asking a fairly broad question, making it pretty difficult to steer you in any direction. Are you interested in working directly w/ a team, series, vendor, track as in ultimately? I was loosely involved with the ALMS series right out of school and while fun I quickly realized it's a very unstable work "environment" granted at that time I was all doe eyed and green horned at the time. Namely that you are likely paid under the table and have no insurance, along with no contract. Starting out the positions I was qualified for as far as on the road were given to friends of the owner who were described as fcuking idiots by the same people who hired them. Pretty cut throat, but obscenely fun and exciting. To be honest I left on my own digression for a position in the automotive field, where normal rules apply. It'd honestly be too long i'd imagine to start at the ground level financially as far as an entry level tech to build up experience wrenching.

Big choice to go back to school and make a career change but an engineering degree will ALWAYS be of use. You sure are picking a hard career field to get in to but I wish you nothing but luck! I would look at a school that is involved in SAE racing to give you racing experience and contacts in the industry already. Hope this helps a bit!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_SAE

 

Solid advice right here. An engineering degree will never be a bad career move.

 

Now as an engineer I will give you my take on your ideas. First being that most engineers don't end up doing any real engineering work at all. My friend is finishing his masters in aerospace engineering and works tech support for the maintenance crews at boeing. . . exactly what he thought 8 years of education would have him doing. Most everyone envisions engineers doing work as mechanical/industrial designers which is seldom the case. Your day to day job will most likely involve a fcuk ton of paperwork and bureaucratic bullshit, it's the world we live in.

 

From what I have seen race teams don't hire a lot of engineers except for highly specialized fields. I have a friend who works for one, he is a Ph.D and is their aerodynamacist. From what I have seen lots of the people they employ have skilled trades type knowledge built from years of experience. And even then, the parts that require significant engineering, say carbon fiber part design and construction, are subbed out to shops which specialize in such things. To those shops it's just another job, it could be a racecar part, Elon Musks office desk, or some gallardo side sills.

 

I'm a huge proponent of people educating them in the sciences. But I will tell you it's a brutal course load and getting into a good school makes huge differences in your career path. But by all means commit and get it done, you'll be glad you did.

 

My advice... If you really want to work for a race team then find one and just start showing up. Offer to sweep the floors, bring them donuts, and just get to know the guys. If that doesn't pan out then get the engineering degree and land yourself a well paying job you can support yourself on. Then buy your own racecar and enjoy the shit out of it as a hobby. (Look at what Webster here did) Computer guy who did his thing, made a little $$, bought a Zonda and then decided racing the 24 Hours of Le Mans sounded fun, so he did it. That isn't a terrible life. And when he's bored of that he can do something else, like stare at his zonda all day.

Solid advice right here. An engineering degree will never be a bad career move.

 

Now as an engineer I will give you my take on your ideas. First being that most engineers don't end up doing any real engineering work at all. My friend is finishing his masters in aerospace engineering and works tech support for the maintenance crews at boeing. . . exactly what he thought 8 years of education would have him doing. Most everyone envisions engineers doing work as mechanical/industrial designers which is seldom the case. Your day to day job will most likely involve a fcuk ton of paperwork and bureaucratic bullshit, it's the world we live in.

 

BINGO! I work with a bunch of Engineers as an Engineer without an Engineering degree. 90% of what I do is paperwork that any half a brain person can do...the difference is doing it correctly the first time and making sure it makes sense when someone comes back in 40 years to review it.

 

It is also why I am planning on going back to school for a Masters in Engineering to legitimize the work I do.

BINGO! I work with a bunch of Engineers as an Engineer without an Engineering degree. 90% of what I do is paperwork that any half a brain person can do...the difference is doing it correctly the first time and making sure it makes sense when someone comes back in 40 years to review it.

 

It is also why I am planning on going back to school for a Masters in Engineering to legitimize the work I do.

 

MA and P.E. will do a lot if you intend to stay in the field. Nearly 10 years in and I'm fcuking bored of it, and I do a good deal of legitimate design work but it's still a lot of the same stuff. I'm exploring the MBA route now and thinking it would be fun to parlay this into the upper level executive direction.

Didnt Jota post something about an internship with his racing team in the ferrari sub forum. It was a while ago and probably already filled but worth a shot.

MA and P.E. will do a lot if you intend to stay in the field. Nearly 10 years in and I'm fcuking bored of it, and I do a good deal of legitimate design work but it's still a lot of the same stuff. I'm exploring the MBA route now and thinking it would be fun to parlay this into the upper level executive direction.

 

Not to hijack our buddy's thread but I plan on going for a Masters in Engineering Management. I don't do design and all of my experience is in Test Engineering/Management. If it works out the way I hope then in another 5 years or so I go back from my MBA (3 years after I finish up the MA).

go to your local track and ask how you can volunteer your time to get track experience.

I want to seriously thank everyone for taking the time to respond with so much information and experience. It's inspirational to be chatting with most of you, to be honest.

 

I spend time at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA and also Chuckwalla Raceway in Desert Center and next time will be more hands-on about inquiring with various shops about starting an internship. I did see Jota's intership post a while back but I believe his team is based in Italy and while that would be an incredible experience, I also think you need to have at least an engineering degree to land something like that. I could be mistaken.

 

I am a good student and enjoy being at school. I'm also good with numbers and have always enjoyed math and physics more than biology, which I have been previously studying. I am excited and motivated to go back to school for an engineering degree. I believe someone mentioned the program at Oregon State; that program looks amazing and during my online search of schools in the past couple months I did come across it, along with a great program in Fort Collins, CO as well. I plan to stay a CA resident to help with tuition costs mostly and would like to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I have to take calculus, differential equations, and two semesters of an entry level engineering physics class that I can take along with my two math classes to transfer with an AA in physics in one year. During this time I would really like to start working in a shop to gain experience and meet new contacts in the community.

 

I do not have any working experience with building cars but I have owned a Supra for almost 8 years now that I have completely torn apart and put back together over the course of the last 5 years. It was a very extensive build and I did 75% of the work myself. I did not have the tools or knowledge to fabricate, wire, and tune the car at the end and had it completed by a shop but I am motivated and passionate about learning everything there is to do with a well-performing car in general and am looking forward to trying my hand at welding one day. I am very meticulous about everything I do and feel like I would be alright at it.

 

Bummer to hear a lot of it is paperwork but then again I can't imagine ever being unhappy with the smell of tires and race gas and the sound of cars running through their paces on the dyno filling the office all the time.

 

Again thanks for the information guys. Good luck to those of you pursuing higher degrees.

 

...And I drool over Webster's Zonda and Agera every time I log on here... I thought he was a professional race car driver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want to seriously thank everyone for taking the time to respond with so much information and experience. It's inspirational to be chatting with most of you, to be honest.

 

I spend time at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA and also Chuckwalla Raceway in Desert Center and next time will be more hands-on about inquiring with various shops about starting an internship. I did see Jota's intership post a while back but I believe his team is based in Italy and while that would be an incredible experience, I also think you need to have at least an engineering degree to land something like that. I could be mistaken.

 

I am a good student and enjoy being at school. I'm also good with numbers and have always enjoyed math and physics more than biology, which I have been previously studying. I am excited and motivated to go back to school for an engineering degree. I believe someone mentioned the program at Oregon State; that program looks amazing and during my online search of schools in the past couple months I did come across it, along with a great program in Fort Collins, CO as well. I plan to stay a CA resident to help with tuition costs mostly and would like to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I have to take calculus, differential equations, and two semesters of an entry level engineering physics class that I can take along with my two math classes to transfer with an AA in physics in one year. During this time I would really like to start working in a shop to gain experience and meet new contacts in the community.

 

I do not have any working experience with building cars but I have owned a Supra for almost 8 years now that I have completely torn apart and put back together over the course of the last 5 years. It was a very extensive build and I did 75% of the work myself. I did not have the tools or knowledge to fabricate, wire, and tune the car at the end and had it completed by a shop but I am motivated and passionate about learning everything there is to do with a well-performing car in general and am looking forward to trying my hand at welding one day. I am very meticulous about everything I do and feel like I would be alright at it.

 

Bummer to hear a lot of it is paperwork but then again I can't imagine ever being unhappy with the smell of tires and race gas and the sound of cars running through their paces on the dyno filling the office all the time.

 

Again thanks for the information guys. Good luck to those of you pursuing higher degrees.

 

...And I drool over Webster's Zonda and Agera every time I log on here... I thought he was a professional race car driver.

 

Also having pursued this path at one point in my life also, start going to race teams websites and checking out their careers sections. Many teams have student intern programs or positions. Be willing to move where ever you have to, and be really flexible, to get your foot in the door. Once there, like a couple people have already said, engineering work may not necessarily require the engineering degree. I too, do a lot of engineering work, technically without a degree ( i have my associates in Electrical Engineering). Getting your foot in the door with an intern program and then showing them you know what your doing is far more productive than trying to get your degree first and then apply with all the other people with degrees. I don't know what your restrictions are (family, money, life in general) but sacrifice what you can to just get in somewhere and then bust your ass, and you'll move up pretty quickly.

 

 

All that said, everyone is right, an engineering degree is never a bad move. It will always be an asset in the future.

I worked with a bunch of race teams, I had hard cards (crew member license) in ALMS, Grand-AM, Indy Car. I grew up racing cars, started in Skip Barber, then did Star Mazda series, formula BMW, and eventually got into racing porsche cup cars. I was always hanging out at race tracks (mainly because I had nothing better to do with my time) and was asked by one of the teams based at the track if I wanted to help them out at the Daytona 24hr race. this particular team ran both the grand am series and alms, running porsches, and won our class championship in alms the following season.

 

We were a very competitive team in both series, but we did not have a full time engineer on the team, in fact there was only 1 full time employee on the team, and that was our fabricator. at some races we would hire an engineer to look over our numbers, but everyone else was just race to race, even the mechanics.

 

if you want to work on a team you need a good understanding of all aspects of racing. 2nd you need to have versatile skiils, sure you can turn a wrench, but can you weld? can you drive a big rig? 3rd you need to be able to live on the road, cant get home sick, cant be worried about whats going on at home. 4th you need to be cool, easy to get along with, the people you work with are the people you live with, you share hotel rooms, eat meals together, there is no going home at the end of the day.

 

 

 

 

3rd you need to be able to live on the road, cant get home sick, cant be worried about whats going on at home.

 

x1000. I was at the Indy Car race @ Mid-Ohio and was chatting with one of the guys at the Cooper Tire truck where they were doing mount/balance work. He worked as a tech there and drove the truck. He spend 38 weeks on the road in 2013! I asked him if he was married or had kids and he said he has an ex-wife. Time on the road was just too much for him.

 

My last position I worked from home and traveled all the time. I averaged about 50% of the year on the road. It is a very hard life and it does get boring after awhile of going city to city and eating out all the time. Eventually you just want to wake up in your own bed and eat your own food.

its is truely life on the road, and its not for everyone, we had several guys break down and get homesick for their wives or families. and that single aspect is the determining factor on weather someone is cut out for this. other then that, its hard work and very labor intensive. teams are always hiring, and its really hard to find someone who is dependable and fits the mold.