Gauri Chhabra
The Indian automobile industry has witnessed a paradigm shift ever since the year 1991 with the 3 word formula- liberalization, Globalization and Privatization and the world shrinking into flat ball. It has been on an exponential growth trajectory since then and even when the global auto industry went into reverse gear in 2009, the Indian industry bucked the trend and is expected to become the world’s third largest automobile market by 2030.
In India, automobile jobs have been a catalyst of exponential growth in employment for quite sometime. It is one or the main sectors to provide jobs to qualified people in manufacturing industries, production plants, service centres, Government transport corporations, private transport companies, insurance companies, motor vehicle departments and so on. Globalisation and robust growth of auto industry have resulted in abundant opportunities for automobile engineers abroad, too. Well, like any other organisation, automobile sector also offers plenty of employment opportunities including even receptionists and office boys.
Eligibility and Skill set:
The eligibility for BE/B. Tech. Automobile Engineering is XII with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics or equivalent. In addition, the students should clear the entrance exam with high grade in order to get admissions in good colleges.
The course duration is 4 yrs normally divided into 8 semesters.
In automobile industry as in other industries, innovation is crucial. So, creativity, out- of -the-box thinking, objectivity and perseverance the skillsets required. For jobs in sales and marketing domain, good communication skills, team work and the aptitude to travel is mandatory.To become a proficient automobile engineer, specialized training is essential and it is a profession which requires a lot of hard work, dedication, determination and commitment.
The major task of an Automobile Engineer is the designing, developing, manufacturing and testing of vehicles from the concept stage to the production stage. This broad field of engineering has many sub sections and the areas of specialization include engine systems, electronics and control systems, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, aerodynamics, supply chain management etc. It involves understanding the mechanism of vehicle chassis, internal combustion Engine, electrical systems, Motor transport affairs, workshop technology, research and design.
College Cursor:
The colleges providing courses in Automobile Engineering(not in any order) are:
* PDA College of Engineering, Gulbarga, Karnataka
* Nehru Samarka Vidya Kendra Trust,Bangalore, Karnataka
* Guru Nanak Engineering College, Bidar, Karnataka
* Impact Polytechnic Hebbal, Bangalore, Karnataka.
* RTE Society Engineering College, Hulkoti, Karnataka
* JMM Institute of Technology, Chitradurga, Bangalore
* Basvalayan Engineering College, Gulbarga University, Bidar, Karnataka
* Basaveshwar Engineering College,Karnataka
* BV Bhraddi College of Engineering and Technology, Vidyanagar, Hubli. Karnataka
* Government College of Engineering, Kottayam, Kerala
* Rustamji Institute of Technology, BSF Academy, Gwalior.Maharashtra
* MH Saboo Siddi K College of Engineering,Mumbai, Maharashtra
* Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune.
* Institute of Road and Transport Technology, Erode, Tamil Nadu
Streams and Specializations:
Automobile Engineers are mainly classified into three streams like Product or Design Engineers, Development Engineers and Manufacturing Engineers. Product Engineers or Design Engineers are those who deal with the designing and testing of the components and systems of automobiles. Manufacturing Engineers deal with activities like how to create and assemble the whole parts of automobiles while development engineers are responsible for connecting all systems in a completed automobile. Automobile engineering calls for specialised training, a lot of hard work, dedication, determination and commitment.
Designer – Automotive designers handle the visual appearance or aesthetics of vehicles and contribute to the creation of concepts for vehicles. Automotive designers create exterior designs, interior designs, as well as colour and trim designs of vehicles. Automotive designers create concepts using sketches and computer-aided design programs for the visual appearance, as well as functional performance, of vehicles.Design schools often require applicants to submit portfolios, or sample bodies of work, as part of the admissions process. While in high school, aspiring automotive designers can choose electives in art, drawing or drafting to help them develop their portfolios, which may include 2D drawings or 3D art pieces. Some design schools also offer summer programs to help high school students prepare for college design programs.
The Road to be taken:
Automobile manufacturers offer internships for students interested in working in the automobile industry. Working as an intern is a great opportunity to develop a professional portfolio, which is critical to securing permanent employment after graduation. Internships may also lead to future employment, either at the company offering the internship or through the development of industry contacts.
The Road Ahead:
Due to the increasing importance placed on the role products play in a company’s business plan, prospective automotive designers with business skills are more desirable in today’s market. These are with vehicle manufacturing and assembling plants in both private and public sectors, in maintenance and service stations, private transport companies and defense. Auto engineers are employed by state transport undertakings and insurance companies. Self-employment is also possible in setting up automobile garages or maintenance workshops.After earning their bachelor’s degrees, graduates may want to consider several forking pathways like :
Master’s Degree:
Pursuing master’s degrees in business administration to make themselves more marketable to employers and as trainees creating new business concepts. Those wanting to further their automotive design knowledge can also pursue post-graduationin Engineering.
Officer-Accounts – If absorbed in this role in an automobile company, you will be required to prepare financial statements, MIS reports, profitability statement etc. You may also need to coordinate with consultants, bankers and statutory auditors.
Sales Executive – If you are interested in corporate sales and retail sales, you can opt for the role of a Sales Executive.
Corporate communication – Corporate communicators and PR executives research, write, plan, edit, design, and implement everything from strategic communications plans, to employee newsletters. They create communications strategies that influence employee attitudes, shift stockholders’ opinions and tell the company’s or a new product’s story to the media.
In India, there are a number of government as well as private organizations which provide a good career platform to the B.Tech Automobile graduates. Several automobile industries such as Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan motors, Maruti Suzuki, and Ashok Leyland are some of the prominent recruiters providing a vast career opportunity to the Automobile engineers. There is a huge demand for the qualified and skilled automobiles engineers in the major automobile industries abroad.
The government sectors, both the central as well as state government, have numerous job profiles for the graduates who have successfully passed their B.Tech in Automobile Engineering. For pursuing a bright career in the governmental sector, one has to attend various exams conducted by the government such UPSC, SSC, for central government jobs and Kerala PSC and similar ones conducted by governments of various states for state government jobs. The pay scale in majority of the governmental organization for entry level engineers will be in the range of Rs.15000 to Rs.20000. Central government organization has a better pay scale as compared to the state government organizations. The candidates can also get promotion to higher posts by writing various competency exams and hence get increase in remuneration.
Apart from the various governmental organizations, there are plenty of private organizations providing career to automobile graduates. Also as compared to the government sector, the remuneration of private sector companies will be high. Performance is the major criteria in private sector for a hike in salary.
A B.Tech graduate specialized in the field of Automobile Engineering from any of the reputed institutions has a vast scope of securing a job abroad. Job experience is a preferred fact in abroad and those having 5 to 10 years of experience in allied fields can easily secure a job abroad. Also the pay scale of foreign countries will be much better than that of India.
So, for those of you who have a flair for either manufacture or design of auto mobiles, career in automotive industry has an illustrious path… ahead.
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