I am a computer information and electronic student.How do I fit in a company that manufacture cars??

[Martizen]

Do I have to know about car in order for me to apply my knowledge of computer engineering??I got a scholarship from a car manufacturing company and since it is pretty hard to get job over here, i hope to work in that particular company. But i just dont see how my knowledge is related with what the company needs..

 

[TheForce]

We are seeing an evolution in the auto industry, at least here in the US. Car owners here today want better communications at their finger tips and even fingers free while driving. For years now we have had cell phone blue tooth connectivity in the car. but in the next decade you will see dash board touch screens with not just GPS but internet access to stuff like DOT highway traffic cameras, warnings of upcoming traffic jams, weather reports, news flash, and IPTV. This stuff will have little to do with automotive engineering, so designers in this technology will need to be specialists in mobile internet communications, voice command operating systems and touch screen technology. There will be tie ins to the automotive operation monitoring and trouble shooting too but this will not be the major thrust in the evolution. All the major car manufacturers are headed in this direction, with the lead being by Ford.

 

[mdram]

or maybe they just need a new it guy

 

[jayn_j]

Personally, if I were in your shoes, I would go to the engineering department offices and find out about their co-op and SEED programs. Most good engineering schools have this sort of thing as a partnership with industry. You either alternate semesters or simply spend your summers working for a company in the industry. You get paid, and most companies will also grant you engineering experience equal to the time you spent. It is a big leg up. If you can get into Ford as a co-op, you will have a BIG advantage in getting hired on full time when you graduate.

Don's suggestion is also right on the money. Every industry has its own flavor and automotive is very different than my own (aerospace), but embedded electronics is emerging everywhere. The question is no longer if you stuff a micro in a system, but rather how many get embedded. That leads to a lot of work handling protocols and communications. If you can build a specialty, say in built-in-test, voice recognition, image processing, etc you will find yourself more desirable as well.