Automotive Companies Take Part In Career FEST At Michigan Tech

Some of the best engineers in the world come out of Michigan Tech.

And no one knows that better than people from the automotive industry.

Automotive Day, part of Tech’s Career FEST, saw representatives from eight different companies–including Detroit’s Big Three–come to talk with students and show them what they could be working on some day.

Vehicle Ordering Systems engineer William Frantz works for Ford Motor Company, “We have here with us the GT350R, which is one of our most track capable cars that Ford has ever produced. Brand new, media and dealerships are just starting to get their hands on them, so we feel pretty lucky we brought one of them up to Michigan Tech here to share with students and get people excited about the company.”

Many of the company reps are Tech alumni, so they know where to find the best talent.

Frantz said, “We are all very proud of being Michigan Tech graduates, we’re all very proud of our backgrounds, and we know that Michigan Tech really does produce some of the best engineers, not just in the industry, but in the world. So, coming up here to tap that talent and talk to students is why we come up here.”

Opportunities also exist working for high-tech automotive suppliers. Nexteer Automotive brought a go-kart equipped with their fuel-saving electric power steering.

Product Engineer for Nexteer Automotive, and also a Michigan Tech alumna, Emily Stilwell said, “Instead of running off of a hydraulic pump, we can run off an electric motor that only works when you are actually steering the vehicle. So this buggy is special because it gives students an idea of what steering is with and without that power assist from the motor in the system.”

Michigan Tech will still hold its Fall and Spring Career Fairs, but days like this gives the companies another look at their potential future employees.

Stilwell said, “We like to come up here to show the students our systems in a more informal setting, give them an idea to interact with us before Career Fair, have an idea of what our company does and what they can do and what they can provide for us as a company.”

Career FEST continues with Energy Day next week.