Automotive engineer

What is automotive engineering?

Automotive engineering is designing, testing and building vehicles, ensuring they are well built, perform well and are safe. As an automotive engineer you’ll be solving problems while keeping to a budget. You’ll have the chance to work on various stages of a vehicle design and manufacture. Automotive engineers focus on a variety of areas such as performance, emissions, aerodynamics and much more.

What do automotive engineers do?

Automotive engineers design, test and build new vehicles. You could be involved with vehicles at different stages from design to manufacturing. Your role could be focused on looking at the physical components of a vehicle such as the body or engine, the electrical components which run the control system, fuel technology or the aerodynamics of vehicles. 

What makes automotive engineering different?

Automotive engineers are solely focused on vehicles, their knowledge and experience relates to cars, motorbikes and large vehicles. As an automotive engineer you could be working with new, never seen before designs and technologies which are kept secret from the public until released. Automotive engineers use both theoretical and practical skills. The automotive industry is facing big changes; the UK government has set a path to zero emission vehicles by 2035 so vehicle design and manufacturing processes will also have to adapt.

Working life

What is it like being an automotive engineer?

Automotive engineers work either in the office or at a manufacturing or research facility. Automotive engineers use a mix of both practical skills and knowledge in engineering, science and technology to create high quality and safe vehicles. You could be working on various stages of vehicle design and manufacture. You could be turning ideas into 3D models using Computer Aided Design software, overseeing quality control during the manufacturing process, or assessing the safety of designs or building prototypes. These are just a few of the tasks you could be working on in an automotive engineering role.

How do automotive engineers contribute to society?

Automotive engineers ensure the vehicles we use every day, during our commute, free time and at work, are of high quality and are safe. Automotive engineers also research the impact a design could have on the environment and work on new fuel technologies. As hybrid and electric vehicles become more popular, automotive engineering roles will change, creating vehicles with less impact on our environment.

The future

Where could automotive engineering take me?

With experience, you could progress to become a senior automotive engineer or move into team management. It is likely you will end up specialising in one particular area within automotive engineering.

Become an automotive engineer

You can get into this job through:

• University
• Apprenticeship

What qualifications do I need to become a automotive engineer?

You could do a degree or higher national diploma in subjects like:

• Automotive engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Electrical engineering

Some courses offer a work placement which would give you useful real world experience.