It’s been my dream to become an electric car engineer for years, and soon, I’m going to have to apply to Cegep (College). I was hoping to know if any of you would know any specific programs I should get in to. I know that the UOIT (University of Ontario Institute of Technology) offers an automotive engineering program, but some of the courses involved pertain only to gas cars. At the moment, I’m in the International studies program, double sciences (physics and chemistry), 536 Math (advanced) and first language French courses even though I attend an anglophone school. I’m aiming for pure and applied sciences for Cegep.
Any suggestions as to how I can eventually become an electric car engineer?
If you want to do the mechanical design aspect, then go into their auto program or mechanical engineering.
If you want to go into the battery design aspect, go into chemical engineering.
If you want to go into the electrical systems (Battery management, chargers, controllers, LCD dashboards etc) then go into Electrical engineering (Like me).
If you want to get into electric motors, thats a grey area, because its both electrical and mechanical, with an emphasis on electrical/magnetic fields and vectors. Its math intensive.
I’m finding that right now, my motorcycle conversion (blog.evfr.net) is going in a good direction even though I don’t know a ton about mechanical, I have resources I can use to get where I need to go. It all depends on what part of the system you want to get into. My professional job (since college) has been a systems engineer. I essentially integrate smaller peices together (electrical and mechanical) into one big system, and make it all work together. I feel that if you go electrical, you’ll be able to grasp the other areas quite easily. I actually went to school for EE, but focused in Automation (electromechanical), robotics and Power systems. The last couple of years you’ll be able to chose what you want to focus in, and you SHOULD be able to take mechanical classes.
best bet is go to school for electrical engineering, then from there once you got that info down pat, apply at a place you would be intrested in working…
If you want to do the mechanical design aspect, then go into their auto program or mechanical engineering.
If you want to go into the battery design aspect, go into chemical engineering.
If you want to go into the electrical systems (Battery management, chargers, controllers, LCD dashboards etc) then go into Electrical engineering (Like me).
I’d love to pick both. The car program would get me a job a GM (the University is situated right next to the GM plants, and students use GM equipment), and I’d certainly be working with cars, probably not electric though. Furthermore, the car program offers a one year administrative program that would probably be useful in finding out how to set up a company etc. The electrical engineering would be great for the electric gadgets, but putting it all in to one car would require some mechanical engineering knowledge. If only there was such thing as an electric car engineering program.
I’m leaning towards the car program…