Matty W
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Registered: 31st Jan 11
Location: Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester
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bit of background info first. left high school in 2006 with 6 C grades ( 1 english, 1 maths, 4 others) and 2 B's in science. Went on to do a level 2 & 3 VRQ ( vocationally related qualification ) in light motor vehicle maintaince and repair. Started a 4 year apprenticeship in october 2007 in a garage and qualified a level 3 NVQ in light vehicle maintainace in november 2010.
My aprenticeship finishes this october and so far, there are no signs they plan on keeping me on.
(they've already accepted a new apprentice to start in october)
a while back, my girlfriend mentioned a course at her university in motorsport engineering. had a look into it and realised it was what i wanted to do. but never did anything about it because i never get round to planning anything.
on wednesday, i called the university out of interest to find out if my qualifications would allow me onto the course. after a bit of confusion at first, finaly got through to the senior lecturer of the motorsports course. after talking through all my qualifications and work experience he said he would be quite happy to offer me a place on the foundation course this september. told me to apply in the normal way (through ucas) so i went away and had a look at the ucas website which happens to be one of the most confusing websites on the internet and it said that the course registration had closed in january. i was really confused by then but the ucas helpline had just closed so i couldnt get an answer untill this morning, when i found out that as of midnight tonight, ucas registration closes and my aplication would go into clearing. i obviously cant get a personal statement and reference from my college before tonight so i figured i was screwed. spoke to the senior lecturer again and he said not to bother with ucas now because as soon as registration closes, he can send me a "clearing offer" (which i dont know much about) that seems to guarantee me a place on the course.
my main worry is leaving a payed job and not having student finance to help me untill atleast november.
a lot of people have told me that i'll regret leaving my job and its stupid but i think i'd probably regret not going to univeristy more.
sorry for the rant.
anyone else left employment for education though?
[Edited on 30-06-2011 by music1990]
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Ian
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Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
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Does rather depend on whether you can support yourself while at uni, whether you're likely to complete and whether there are jobs afterwards.
It's non-traditional degree which would usually make it of questionable value but I do also know of a few people who have graduated and done well. You hopefully will get some first hand advice from the people who this concerns.
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Ian
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Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
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Just looking now, one guy from here did it at Hertfordshire and now works for McLaren.
Can't think off hand who else did it.
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Shell
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Registered: 14th Oct 08
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Do it and still work part time. If it'll qualify you for better jobs etc, then just do it. Have you looked into wether there are jobs in that field just now etc? If not, it's maybe not the best idea.
Clearing is where you can apply for a place on courses that have got spaces left as people haven't met the conditions of the offers they were given, or whatever. This usually is done through the actual university, most have a clearing section on their website. I do believe clearing usually starts on June 30th so that sounds about right!
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sand-eel
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Registered: 15th Mar 07
Location: carluke/braidwood--IRNBRULAND
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I have done a motorsport degree...its unbelieveably hard to get into motorsport unless you know someone or you have done weekend work experience for them for free or something, but in the end I did get a degree so I'm more appealing to businesses.
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Matty W
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Registered: 31st Jan 11
Location: Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester
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quote:
Originally posted by Ian
Just looking now, one guy from here did it at Hertfordshire and now works for McLaren.
Can't think off hand who else did it.
the lecturer i spoke too ( Liam Humberstone ) was telling me how one of the graduates now works for williams F1 in the wind tunnels
beats changing tyres all day
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sand-eel
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Registered: 15th Mar 07
Location: carluke/braidwood--IRNBRULAND
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Mine was actually Product design with motorsport so it has the design and setup and its still hard to get into the design side as well.
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Gary
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Registered: 22nd Nov 06
Location: West Yorkshire
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I did motorsport engineering for a year at Uni. Didn't find it relevant to anything motorsport and jacked.
Might be different in Manc. Rob (used to be p3boy) did the same thing in Wales and seemed a lot better.
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Jed D
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Registered: 15th Mar 11
Location: Durham
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i wasted years at college and have many qualifications but if im honest i wish i went strate into work, i look mint down on paper but have a shite part time job
id imagine a degree would be a different case however
best of luck whatever you decide pal 
[Edited on 30-06-2011 by JedDy]
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Matty W
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Registered: 31st Jan 11
Location: Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester
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the university seems to have good ties with the motorsport industry. it also has its own formula ford race team that compete at oulton park and angelsey
course info here http://www.uclan.ac.uk/information/courses/beng_motor_sports_engineering.php
( although i will be starting a foundation course. so 4 years )
[Edited on 30-06-2011 by music1990]
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Ian
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Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
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Are there no other garages taking on? Main dealer experience has to count for something.
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Matty W
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Registered: 31st Jan 11
Location: Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester
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quote:
Originally posted by Ian
Are there no other garages taking on? Main dealer experience has to count for something.
I honestly havent looked. i enjoyed my time as a mechanic at a dealer, but theres only so much you can learn, and when it gets into the same routine of prep this car, service this one, tyres on this one, day in & day out, i get home and im sick of the sight of cars and thats not what i want. i dont mean this to sound big headed but i know im capable of more. i just need the oppertunity to learn which my current job doesnt give me
[Edited on 30-06-2011 by music1990]
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Especially on here, most people find out that motorsport doesn't mean you get to go and play with race cars.
You probably get to sit in a room doing maths which isn't quite the same thing.
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Ian
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Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
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You could distil any qualification in that way though John.
I've lost count at the number of people who apply to computer courses because they like computers.
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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I made that mistake, I like computers, I hate maths, nobody explained the course content to me before hand (I wasn't caring enough to check at the time).
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Matty W
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Registered: 31st Jan 11
Location: Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester
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quote:
Originally posted by John
Especially on here, most people find out that motorsport doesn't mean you get to go and play with race cars.
You probably get to sit in a room doing maths which isn't quite the same thing.
i know that might sound boring to some people, but i actually want to do that. after all, it is an engineering degree, i dont expect it to be plain sailing but i want to be able to gain those skills in maths so that i can put them into practice at a practial level
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Fair enough, good idea if you know what it involves then.
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spencer88
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Registered: 6th Oct 08
Location: cornwall
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How smart are you?
Honest question.
Because sometimes it gets very hard at Uni. VERY hard.
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Don't necessarily have to be smart for uni, just spend time studying.
Depends on the uni and course though.
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Jake
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Registered: 24th Jan 05
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i would say youre better off getting an apprenticeship at a engineering company. hands on experience. John is right i was told by tutors when i did engineering that its hardcore maths
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Matty W
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Registered: 31st Jan 11
Location: Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester
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quote:
Originally posted by spencer88
How smart are you?
Honest question.
Because sometimes it gets very hard at Uni. VERY hard.
ive never taken an i.q. test so i couldnt give you a figure
im fairly smart at what i do, diagnosis wise and being able to problem solve relatively easily.
im aware its going to be very hard at uni but im actually willing to put the effort in
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spencer88
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Registered: 6th Oct 08
Location: cornwall
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quote:
Originally posted by music1990
quote:
Originally posted by spencer88
How smart are you?
Honest question.
Because sometimes it gets very hard at Uni. VERY hard.
ive never taken an i.q. test so i couldnt give you a figure
im fairly smart at what i do, diagnosis wise and being able to problem solve relatively easily.
im aware its going to be very hard at uni but im actually willing to put the effort in
I wasnt having a dig or anything, just a general question.
The thing is, sticking with it.
I do Uni and work. Its hard to manage everything but you get used to it.
Worst thing you can do is do it and not like it 
Better to regret something you did, than something you didn't do.
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Matty W
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Registered: 31st Jan 11
Location: Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester
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quote:
Originally posted by spencer88
I wasnt having a dig or anything, just a general question.
diddnt think you were . i know plenty of people who've dropped out because they simply couldnt be arsed anymore. im willing to see it through though
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antnee
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Registered: 30th Dec 07
Location: Cov Drives: Clio 197
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I've just finished my first year at Coventry doing Motorsport Engineering (BEng). I have noticed that the people that have come to uni from college courses doing 'motorsport' or mechanics, struggle alot when it comes to the core engineering parts (the maths). We haven't done anything particularly hard maths wise, more just lots of formulas and using a few formulas because of limited data/many unknowns.
As with a lot of jobs now, employers are looking for experience, so a placement year in industry is vital (or summer placements).
Money wise, Im sure there will be a local garage that needs some extra help on a saturday, and the odd time during the week.
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antnee
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Registered: 30th Dec 07
Location: Cov Drives: Clio 197
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Also, we haven't really touched actual cars this year, we were in teams and built nitro engine RC cars. It will mainly be 'classroom' work, lectures, etc. Hands on work will be very limited, usually only on the Formula Student cars, as any other cars are usually looked after by post grads.
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