What should i do?
 

I am at university studying mechanical engineering, I am in my first year but i am unsure if i want to continue. I have been losing interest in the course for a while now and i do not know what else i want to do.

Still have passion for cars etc but do not know what i want to do for a job, but either way it is something car related, i know that much.

I do DJing on the side and produce music (try to) and am still learning the producing side, i want to pursue that but i feel i will just be chasing a dream.

I have thought about trying to get into car journalism but would not know where to start or if its even worth it?

I feel i want to leave full time education and go and make some money, but i don't know how :lol1:

i don't want to do anything on the lines of being a mechanic as it would bore the hell out of me fixing cars, but i would like to work somewhere tuning cars or working with exotic cars, or even on a track or race team but even then i don't know how long the excitement in that would last.

I do have a Btech in automotive engineering so can use that to get into a job/education but i just don't know what to do.

Anyone been in a similar situation?

I don't expect many answers on here but i might aswell try :D

Get a job.

Fcuking students. :mad:

:D

Seriously though, car journalism is one of the hardest trades to get into. As said recently in Evo magazine. Every man want to drive cars about all day, and get paid for it.

Being able to not only write, but translate what a car is doing into a well written and entertaining story is very hard. And by their (Evo's) admission, getting a good job for a good magazine, is more like luck, and being in the right place at the right time.

My advice to you is the same as the advice my elders gave me - and it still holds water.

Stick with it, get a trade and a degree in something of value - and Mechanical Engineering is such. You could be doing a Mickey Mouse degree, like Egyptology or some such nonsense.

When you are very employable, then, take a look and see what you want to do ..... you will have an excellent fall-back position.

3 years will go in no time!

Good luck in what you decide.

I'm with Pete. If/when you get the degree, you don't have to automatically go and work in that discipline. One of my nephews has an MA in Chemistry from Manchester, decided he was bored with Chemistry, and has trained as an accountant.

But DO continue.

"Go out and get a job/earn some money," is a LOT easier said than done, at present, trust me;)

Can you switch to the motorsport degree?

I think Swansea Uni has the most reputable course and the lads I know who have done the course all have very good jobs (Ford R&D - I knew 2 years before it came out the RS was never going to have 4WD and no one on here listened! Another is working for Bridgestone and went to every F1 race last year)

However, current economic climate might make it look unattractive.

+1

I'm fortunate to be doing the same as you but as an apprenticeship. I get to do all the boring classroom work but then fiddle with things, produce things in the workshop.

Is there anything where as you could get some experience in a workshop environment either on your course or as a voluntary thing? May rekindle your enthusiasm :)

Yeah i've thought of this, but The first two years would be just as boring and i'm not sure :lol1:

I am oozing with jealousy choccie, as you can work while gaining your qualification then change to a degree after should you wish to.

I don't get a great deal of time outside of my course. Only day off i have is sunday and 1 in 3 of those will be taken up by work. I have uni every day and work in some evenings and i finish at the earliest at 1 in the week and then i have to do uni work. I also work every saturday so im not poor :lol1:

I know most people say that you need a degree to get anywhere in life but some people can get to the top without even a college degree, i guess its that which motivates me to do it myself, just i don't know where or how.

You have done a year-I think you would do better to stick with it and get the qualification. To do any good after that you need the experience to learn how to use all that knowledge.

You could well wind up in some sort of design situation which would be pretty interesting and satisfying.

I used my experience to design and build my cars as a hobby, I would also find being a mechanic a bit boring, but making something which eventually works is a different matter.

Les

Sounds like you need to speak with the careers advice people at your uni as they will be able to suggest the careers that are open to you with the mech-eng degree. From what you've said, it seems like you don't know the full scope of what kinds of career are open to you with the qualification.

Take it from someone that dropped out after two years and then went back to do a different degree - don't!

Stick with it, persevere, find the career path that gets you where you discover you want to be and work hard to acheive it. :)

Hmmm. I also did Mech Eng, finished in 1983. But it seems the workload hasn't decreased! I remember going to my old house (from the last year) with a mate and a current occupant saying how he had 10 hours of lectures a week for that term. He couldn't work out how I knew he was an economist .... :D

But seriously, keep at it. The job market was a little slack when I finished so I went back to do a masters. All this after the old man had to persuade me to do the degree in the first place as I wanted to go out and earn money rather than do any more studying ..... Employers look not just at the degree and its relevance to the job but just the fact that you got one. The fact that you could study hard and put your mind to the grindstone for 3 years or so. It's a good indicator of how you'll get on at work. Albeit you'll probably be consuming less beer at work .... :nono:

And as has been said, no need to follow the degree with something in engineering. I got into computing at an electronics company then into IT companies. After the first couple of years the degree itself loses its relevance and it's more your experience that counts. BUT it will open the initial doors that much more easily.

Stick at it. You may moan now at working all the hours God sends but remember that you have much longer holidays now than you will ever get again when you start work. Enjoy it while you can.

Dave