Are you interested in becoming a mechanical engineer in the automotive industry?
Mechanical engineering degrees have a lot to offer for those who want to venture on professions where a lot of industries would need the services of mechanical engineers.  Graduates of mechanical engineering can essentially get the best jobs that deal about ventilation, automotive, air conditioning, manufacturing, heating and design. Mechanical engineers can work on various fields that is why they have bigger responsibilities and tasks wherever they are employed.
Some people think that mechanical engineering is the same as automotive engineering in a sense that they both deal with automobiles like the mechanics. However, this is not actually accurate although a mechanical engineer can also cover the job of an automotive engineer while both can be good in designing and fixing cars. But the thing is they have very special details in their jobs.
A mechanical engineer is what we can call a generalist in the study of mechanization and can apply his education to various industries. He can be in the manufacturing industry, aeronautics, robotics, petroleum industry, and many other types of industries that utilize machines.
So mechanical engineering in the automobile industry is much like the parent department of different branches of engineering science that concern the use of machineries like automobile engineering, design engineering, production engineering and even vibration and noise engineering. In short, mechanical engineers study extensively about the workings of the machines.
An automotive engineer is specifically dedicated to automobile industry and that includes cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses and each of their engineering subsystems.
They design products in whatever the vehicles can cover, do research and development to solve automobile engineering issues and are also into production that covers planning and designing of automobile parts. In other words, they are the professionals fit for the automobile industry.

So What Do Mechanical Engineers Do in the Automotive Industry?

What are the roles then of the mechanical engineers in the automotive industry if the experts are already there? A lot actually. Since mechanical engineers are also good at designing machines, its components, systems and processes, they can be in-charge in evaluating designs created by automotive engineers to ensure safety, efficiency and reliabilities of the vehicles being produced.
Like for example, they can refine automobile models and its components so that these can pass safety standards and be viable for commercialization.
The skills of mechanical engineers can also be applied in the calculation of the needed power for cars, dimensioning the cars’ mechanical parts, calculating the required cooling system for specific automobiles and studying and conducting crash absorbing devices.
They are also capable of designing steering devices and anything that involves pneumatics, hydraulics and the automobiles’ energy saving features. So the calculations of the processes that take inside the automobiles can be handled by mechanical engineers.
The production of automobiles is a multi-billion dollar business so there should be a close coordination of engineers to make everything perfect with their jobs. So in essence, automotive engineers and mechanical engineers closely work together in the automobile industry to develop frames, engines, gears, braking system and other components to make them come up perfect.  They must ensure that every component will be designed to meet the right specifications before finalizing the end product.

Why the Need for Close Collaboration?

The automobile industry is always a challenging, interesting and yet profitable industry. However, it is the type of industry that needs innovation everytime that’s why we see that newer models of automobiles are continuously introduced in the market to meet customers’ needs.
Old models are redesigned to be up with the trends while their parts are enhanced and special features are added just to upgrade models to create solid specific brands for the consumers.
So without innovation, an automobile company would go down the history as consumers would feel bored with the design of the automobiles the company makes. And when an innovation or the production of new vehicles is at hand, this is where the mechanical engineers can greatly help.
This is why mechanical engineers have very challenging and interesting careers. They do not cater only to manufacturing and production industry but can also be in the automobile industry which is a very interesting business.
Mechanical engineers can also work in the administration department of the automobile industry especially those who have their Master in Business Administration (MBA). They can be responsible in inventory management, sourcing out materials and in overseeing quality assurance. So although automotive engineers are doing great jobs to make the automobile industry alive, they still need the help of mechanical engineers because mechanical engineering also covers many technical aspects that are within the automotive courses.
If you are anticipating taking a mechanical engineering degree but want to venture on automobile industry, you can take this as your major course or have it as your specialization. You can also take your internship in the automobile industry once you earn your mechanical engineering degree.