several of us "auto industry insiders" have commented on this board that FSAE and/or other design experience weighs heavily in the identification, screening, and selection of recent college graduates. while i know from experience a resume stating FSAE moves to the top of the stack, i can't recall seeing it listed in a job posting until today. direct quote from posting:
Preferred Qualifications:
- Participation in college based SAE activities such as Formula, Baja, or Solar car
- Participation in motor sport activities such as SCCA or MX
- Mechanical aptitude with the ability to maintain motor vehicles
FWIW, that helps IF (and note the capitol IF) the school is one of the ones companies go to.
If not, it's more of a crapshoot. Doesn't hurt, but it also does not bring recruiters to small schools.
I saw that job post too :)
The SAE program was scrapped at my school the year before I started. I didn't really realize what I was missing until my friends at the other school in town started their project. Damn - what a missed opportunity.
Thankfully I still managed to claw my way into the industry. I've since written to my alma mater to reboot the program.
I have found Formula SAE is great even in the non-automotive sector which is great since I don't want to work in the automotive sector.
Leafy
HalfDork
5/12/14 11:05 a.m.
Mmm it was great in the non-automive sector when you explain that you designed and built a car from scratch and it worked, in a year. So much interdisciplinary stuff, collaborating in engineering, actually knowing how to machine and weld things, etc. What is this job posting and is it in a part of the country that doesnt suck. IE not Detroit or Ohio.
Looking back, I wish that someone from industry had come to my college's Automotive department and explained how this looked to an HR rep or manager in an automotive company, and showed that it actually had potentially positive bearing on a student's future as he tried to enter the work force. At the time I thought our SAE group was being distracted by the various efforts like SAE Baja or our own student drag car. In retrospect that was an odd stance to take. Only one instructor out of the five or so in our department seemed to really push this stuff which may have had something to do with it.
