Most people would love to pursue their passions at the same time/place they pursue their careers, however, many find a “job” in their field simply means something that pays their bills and occasionally leaves enough to fund the passion and/or hobbies that they have. We personally don’t believe this a healthy or good lifestyle, but we also know one’s passion(s) have a large influence on whether it’s something they can be simultaneously pursued as a career or not. The good news is if you’re a car person and your true passion is cars (which many of us at Automotive.com are, hence the writing of this article), there’s a pretty good chance you will be able to match your passion with you job. The automobile and truck industry is huge, and marketing, sales, engineering, racing and the specialized fields within are also huge and are nowhere near shrinking like the media and the pictures from Detroit would make you believe. Some grew up working on cars as a hobby, but may have fallen in love with autos later in life, in one form or another. Cars as a career may not have been seen as a traditional route for you in the eyes of your parents, and this is especially true of women, and many are told that they need to grow up and that a childhood passion cannot support them, let alone a family. In this day and age though, that can hardly be said to be true. With millionaires and billionaires made from social networking sites seemingly everyday, there is certainly hope for you if you wish to pursue your passion of cars—cars are something that most of us use everyday, just like, say, Facebook. As such, it’s obviously a very important field. One of the most obvious of course to consider for car lovers is car/auto racing. While this daring, edgy sport was done simply for fun in the past, it is quite lucrative nowadays and there’s billions of dollars involved and whole company reputations at stake. We can’t even begin to list the number of career opportunities that exist in auto racing, but trust us there’s a lot. The key to getting in though is to be involved, and be knowledgeable. The racing community is tight-knit, and it’s hard to b.s. your way into a job. For instance, if you were interviewing for an assistant marketing coordinator position at Red Bull Racing, do you think they’ll take you seriously if you don’t even know that Red Bull won last year’s Formula One season? Or say if you want to apply as a Jr. Mechanical Engineer at Toyota but somehow let it slip during your interview that you think Toyotas are boring, do you think you will be hired? Heck no! Of course these are pretty extreme examples, but it goes to show that in the automotive industry hiring managers are usually looking for someone like them—someone that actually enjoys the products they build and/or sell. Another high-paying field is automotive design and model development. If you love cars, mechanics and want to develop your design and computer skills to the max than this career path may be right for you. Car companies always employ a design team to work on creating the design of future cars and even to create physical models so a car’s shape can be seen in real life (BMW for instance creates a full-sized CNC-machined aluminum version of each car before they build it). These designs and even print-outs or digital version are highly prized and top-secret until release as they can directly impact the reputation and image of the company. Auto designers are in fact among the top earners of all designers, and also one of the most prestigious. However, the top earners on average have almost twenty years in the business. This shows it is not impossible but it takes time, hard work and patience just like in any field. Marketing, public relations, business development, human resources, and finance are also key in the auto industry, just like elsewhere. If you wish to bond your love for cars with a career in one of these fields, you’re in luck but remember that your earning potential is directly linked to the size of the company and the demand for your skill. For instance, a company that has global operations certainly needs a strong and diverse human resources team. All companies need accountants and finance people, and what better than if they like cars themselves? This has historically been rare in the auto industry, but is getting better. A developing business will also see the need for business development and will need to hire many operations and management personnel. There are many opportunities for management roles in the automotive industry, more than most would think. While some are in a factory/plant setting, most are in an office environment, which is also good. In summary, the automotive industry and all its specialized sub-industries provide the opportunity for a great mix of one’s passions with their desire for a great income. The decision to become qualified for a job should be accompanied by the knowledge of wherein lies the potential. Opportunities range from highly specialized fields such as design and mechanics, to on-the-job acquired skills such as racing and sales. One may also pursue a skill indirectly applicable such as electronics or civil engineering/design. Whatever you choose, know that dedication and hard work is what will help you earn your high-level salary. But also know you’re already ahead of the curve and ahead of other job seekers simply because you already have a genuine, legitimate and monetizable passion... a passion for cars. Car passion career image from Shutterstock
It's a whole different world when you're in high school… we remember it. One of the main parts of growing up is getting your first job. Landing your first “real” job is a good idea for many reasons, best of which is to help you get your first car, and to help you afford things that come once you’re a driver (think drive-in theaters, road trips, etc). It’s a bit tougher to get a job in this economy, but it’s still readily possible.
Our fast-track guide to getting a job? Look where your friends and peers aren’t looking. Skip the movie theaters or the fast food joint jobs, and go instead to all the local mom-and-pop shops, stores and business.
(Remember: They DON’T have to be an open-to-the-public business, just knock, smile, introduce yourself, state you’re local and looking for a job, and ask what they do and if they need any help.) They may just need some help out in the back or would like to hire a cashier, etc. You never know, and you may be surprised at their response!
If you’re already semi-decided on a career, don’t hesitate to look at local companies and corporations in your field, go on their website and try to find the contact information of the most relevant person that could hire you.
Then, send them a short but nice e-mail and explain why you’re looking for a job - including what you’re good at. Tell them you want to just get your foot in the door. They very well might hire you, or at the worst will offer some advice and tips on job hunting, or send you to another place looking to hire. Don’t send a resume or anything at first, just e-mail.
Now since we’re car people here at Automotive.com, the main reason we think you’ll want a job as teen is to be able to afford your own car. Right? This is a very important time of life, and there are many things that will factor into your decision.
You parents will likely be most concerned with safety since you won’t have as much driving experience as them, and will want to make sure that you get a car that's equipped with standard safety features such as air bags and anti-lock brakes (though once again, in our day we didn’t have these and we’re still fine), but safe is always good.
Another factor that should help determine your ideal first car is its fuel economy. You will be driving A LOT, trust us, and especially in a few years when you start driving to college, so mileage is important. Buying a mid-sized or smaller car will definitely help save on gas. (Here's a list of fuel efficient cars.)
However, sometimes bigger cars/trucks are cheaper upfront to buy for the same reason (less people want gas hogs, and there’s less demand for these cars so they’re cheaper), therefore it’s a bit of a trade-off.
There are also certain features that would be quite helpful in a first car, or any car for that matter. A GPS or navigation is great in case you get lost while driving.
You’d be quick to point out the iPhones and smartphone’s of today all have GPS-enabled maps, but remember fumbling around on a phone while driving isn’t the safest thing in the world, and it’s best to try to minimize it as much as possible. For ourselves, we much-prefer a turn-by-turn voice driven GPS unit over our iPhone’s Google Maps anyway.
When buying a car, one of the biggest decisions is whether to go the new car route or pick up a cool used car. It's typically not a good idea to spend a bunch of cash on a new car or hound your parents for it, unless the price is right and you get good financing (0-3% is ideal, your parents or relative can co-sign for you to achieve this rate).
However you may want something older so you won't be that upset if it gets banged up a little bit—think fender bender, or someone at school banging their door into you in a busy parking lot. If you’re getting a used car though, make sure to check if it’s reliable or not. IntelliChoice, Consumer Reports and other resources can help you with this.
If the car is a gift from someone though, like your parents, don’t worry about it. A car is a car. Unless you can talk them into buying a newer car because it’s safer.
Anyway, another thing to keep in mind that will really stink for your parents (or you if you have to pay it) is car insurance. Insurance for teen drivers is high, there’s really no way around it. Companies are taking a big risk insuring rookie drivers who don't have that much driving experience, but they still need to grow their future client base so they have to give out reasonable rates.
Plus, most teens are actually great drivers, it’s the few out of the many who wreck their cars every year that jack up everybody’s rates! But the type of car that you will drive plays a large role in insurance. Faster cars will cost you more to insure, as well as expensive cars. So keep that in mind.
We hope we were able to help you with landing a job if you don’t have one, and we hope we were able to give you some useful and actionable advice for buying a car. Feel free to visit us online (click the link below) or drop us a line on here.
Teens got job car image from Shutterstock