Hey all, I know we have our fair share of engineers on the board, but I was wondering if there were any in the Michigan (specifically Metro Detroit) area. I'm a Mech. Engineering senior at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and I'm looking to find some sort of internship or co-op position for next semester. I only have 2 classes left before I graduate, so I'm hoping I could find a job somewhere to gain some more experience before I graduate. If you work for a company that could use a good Mechanical or Automotive Engineer intern/co-op please let me know!

I'm actively searching through various websites and my school's career center, but I figured I'd post up here to see if any of you guys know of any openings

 

I'm an ME senior at UM-D too. i tried getting a co-op for 2 years to no avail. I'm just going to get it done and graduate in the fall. Good luck to you, it shouldnt be too hard to find something...its just impossible for me for some reason.

 

Try searching the websites of corporations in Metro Detroit you would not mind co-oping for. Many websites have a section for full time/co-op employees that will allow you to submit your resume. They may also have a number to call (call it and start asking questions). Also, go to co-op fairs (they occur many times a year).

 

Yup, I found a Detroit Engineering website that lists a bunch of local companies. I'm checking out their websites and sending resumes and stuff, but it always helps to know someone

Haha! Small world. I was able to get a co-op, but the company really didn't have anything to offer a co-op. I was their first one, they had nothing lined up for me to do. They started giving me some decent work in my second semester with them, but I wanted to try to find something more oriented with my career goals.

 

roush has an engineering intern position posted.

 

I hope you like working for pennies

 

made more at roush than at Ford

 

I'm not sure whether I'd be suprised at that or not. Either way I hope that Ford isnt paying some of their engineers too much. Some of the ones who came into my building when I worked for Roush over the summer were downright comical. Roush isnt going to pay as well as most other companies but I'll be applying there anyway until something better comes along after I graduate. The pay isnt there, but they're always hiring. Every week there were new engineering positions open. At this point for most of us, a jobs a job. Anything is a step up from bussing tables at an ailing Mexican restaurant at least from my point of view.

 

Yes, I've seen an applied for the Roush positions. I'd love to work for them...even if the pay isn't that good. I'm not looking to make a lot of money while I'm still in school, I just want to get some real good experience in the automotive field, since that's what I want to get into after school. Thanks for the heads up though guys! If you happen to hear of something, please post it up

 

Mmmm....there might be an opening at my place (federal government). I'll check tommorow morning.

Just remind me by PM.

I graduated from UMD in 2004 with a BSME. I remember talking to you over PM a couple of times...

 

I'd recommend that you consider working for an engineering consulting company, like Ricardo, AVL or FEV. They have a variety of projects and hire a lot of new graduates. They all have websites on which you can find contact information. I worked at Ricardo for 5 years and just this summer moved over to GM in Milford. One of the projects I worked on at Ricardo was as a design release engineer for the SRT 6.1L Hemi. Did that for about 3 1/2 years and it was a blast.

Another thing I'd recommend is to join the SAE and look on their website for internships and other contacts. They have monthly meetings, and if you attend them, you'd be surprised what good networking skills can get you in any industry.

If you have any chance to choose an area in which to work, the hot areas right now are hybrid, diesel, and controls. If you have any college experience in these areas, make sure it has the proper attention on your resume. GM has hired a huge number of college students from across the country that were involved in Challenge X the past couple of years.

BTW, since I mentioned Challenge X, consider also Formula SAE or Mini Baja. One of the guys I work with is still heavily involved in UMD's projects, and it got him a lot of hands on experience, and yet another chance to meet people in the industry at the competition.

 

Thanks for the input Mike! I have a student SAE membership, however I'm not able to access the careers section of the website. I'm not sure if it's due to being a student or what. I've sent an email to customer service to see what the deal is with that.

 

You may find that calling someone gets you a faster response. I can access the career center at SAE, but did not find any internship positions listed in Michigan under automotive engineering a few minutes ago. I found that very odd, but it is what it is I guess.

SAE has a show here in Detroit each year, around February. If you go to that, there is a corner of the floor devoted to the career center. This year they must have had 40 companies there.

You can also look in the monthly SAE magazines for job ads and company contact information.

The best thing you can do however, is start hanging out where other automotive engineers are likely to hang out. Network. For instance, go to autox events, or Waterford Hills, or Milan, and talk to people.

A lot of where you spend your time should be based on where your interests lie. For instance, if you're interested in being an engine component release engineer, you may consider getting a job helping build up engines or even working with people who do. Way too many people graduate college in automotive engineering without ever having seen the inside of an engine. If you're more interested in doing engine calibration, start tuning your own engine and picking up on what does what.

What I'm trying to say is, don't just limit your search to established engineering companies. When I was going through college I worked for Comp Cams on their tech line and programmed their CNC master lobe grinder. On the weekends I would travel with the NMCA and became their EFI Tech Director. This experience helped me immeasurably after graduating.

 

I'm going to school for Piping right now, but may do piping and Cival Structural also since i've been doing alot of house modification stuff in spare time on my dads house, and grandfathers house. but the petro chemical industry is booming now.

 

Thanks for the input everyone! I'm gonna see about joining formula SAE. I've known about it, but until now I haven't been able to fit it in my schedule. It looks like it's something that a lot of automotive engineering employers like to see.