How can I get a job on a race team? "Getting in the Game"
Such are the harsh realities of the industry, particularly within small teams that comprise the majority of the front line of the sport. But it is particularly tough on graduates who have been told to get a degree if they want to play with the big boys and then find there are still no jobs. That said, I have little sympathy with any engineering graduate who moans over his pint that he's written to every Formula 1 team and every major racecar manufacturer and has had nothing but rejections. Are the limits of his aspirations to become no more that a CAD draughtsman turning out textbook designs to a tight brief for the machinists to whittle from solid? True engineering is a creative task and requires imagination as much as intellect. Once you start designing things to a set of rules everyone comes up with the same solution. Start using imagination and it becomes possible to come up with ideas that short circuit the rule-driven approach and provide a solution of breathtaking simplicity. To do this, though, takes experience. In order to see the problem from every angle, you need the knowledge of the real-world environment in which it lives, not a spec sheet or textbook problem interpretation of it. To think outside the envelope you need to know what lies outside it. That applies whether it is designing a bell housing or searching for a set-up under the pressure of qualifying.
Wander around the paddock and get chatting with a few of the drivers - at this level he is usually the main man. Particularly try to hook up with someone local to where you live. This will give you your first piece of practical experience, developing interpersonal skills - essential in a team under the pressures of competition. At the end of the day approach the person you get on with best, explain your situation and ask if you can help with his racing effort. Yes I know it is not Formula 1, but don't expect to be analyzing 64 channels of data each lap either. What that competitor will need is someone to fetch and carry, to help pack and unpack, to check pressures and polish bodywork. Put your engineering hat to one side for a while, the skills you are looking to develop are ones outside the theory you picked up at university. And before you protest, yes it is very relevant, more so than you can imagine. When did you last work under pressure with a small group of people? Are you able to suppress your ego enough to smile every time you get stuck with the crappy jobs? Can you work fast while missing nothing? It's not just a pass mark at stake here; it could be someone's life. If they trust you enough to get involved, you should be flattered.
In time, as you gain their confidence, you can start tentatively making suggestions based on your theoretical understanding. Don't be offended if they are rejected at first, but the time will come when they can afford to take a gamble on your theory. If it works, you'll be the hero; if it doesn't then it will be twice as hard to get them to try one of your suggestions again. Now you are being tested in a real-world situation on your abilities, something that you will inevitably experience time and time again in a working environment. All this may seem low-level stuff if you aspire to work at the pinnacle of the sport, but it is precisely what will make the difference between you and a graduate with nothing. The very fact that these amateur competitors do not have the systems in place that the big teams operate is why you can make a difference and learn so much. Also, if it seems a long-winded process that's because it is, but don't wait until you graduate, make the best use of spare evenings and weekends while you are studying. It is a process that, even at the highest levels of the sport, most of the employing managers have been through, so seeing it on your resume' will do nothing but raise their opinion of you immeasurably. Don't underestimate how much it will benefit you directly either. Whether you intend to be a designer or a race engineer, first hand practical experience of motorsport in invaluable. Also, working with a small under funded amateur operation will give you a breadth of experience that you would struggle to get in a more professional operation. Just don't expect to get paid. Finally the best bit of advice I can give anybody is to always show up when you say you will and always do your best.
HELPFUL HINTS TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT WOULD LIKE TO BECOME RACECAR DRIVERS
1. The first thing you need to do is get educated about racing. Read, read, read. Read everything you possibly can about racecar driving. If you haven't read very much in this regard, start with Carroll Smith's books. He has a number of books that are all very helpful. This will lead you to many other books. If you need any other suggestions on reading material, just ask me, and I'll forward you more suggestions. Here are a few good books to read: 1) DRIVE TO WIN By Carroll Smith 2) GOING FASTER By Carl Lopez 3) WINNING By George Anderson 4) THINK TO WIN By Don Alexander 2. Go to racetracks (checkout our racetrack links). Talk to drivers. Talk to teams. Talk to crewmembers. Talk to anybody that you can about racing. You will learn a lot, and you will also find that racing people love to be asked questions and love to tell you everything that they know on the subject. You will find that you will make many new friends, and this will aid in your evolution to becoming a driver. 3. Volunteer to work in any aspect of racing that you can. Even if you have to, sell tickets at the racetrack or be an usher. After that, try to get onto a race team. Volunteer to wash engine parts or polish the racecar and run errands. Do whatever you can. The more you hang around racing, the more you will know, and the more opportunity you will have to get your lucky break at driving.
6. If you are ready to go racing and have a small budget or a limited sponsor, you may be able to start racing some of the school race series. Schools like Bertil Roos and Rotary Rockets have their own series, and it's fairly economical relative to expensive pro racing. It is generally very competitive at the front of the pack, and you will learn a lot. 7. Seat Time - Once you are ready to go racing, remember that seat time is everything. Get in a racecar every chance you get. Whether it's a go-kart, a streetcar on the racetrack, or a made-for-racing racecar, do everything you can to get as much seat time as possible. That's all there is to it. Unless you happen to have a rich uncle or a very big pile of money, this is generally how most folks go about becoming a driver. I hope this proves to be helpful to you. You are also more than welcome to send back specific questions to info@racingschools.com if you would like, and the experienced representatives there will answer them promptly. Good Luck |
Why does it seem impossible to find work in any specialized field when you are starting out, but equally impossible to find good staff for when you move up and start recruiting staff yourself? It may well be because employers are always looking for specific experience. The attitude of taking someone on from a generally appropriate background and then developing their skills for the specific role is not usually an option. Generally this is thanks to the pressures of the motorsport world where the opportunity and resources to allow an appointee to be trained do not exist. 
So experience is quite rightly essential, and students reading this are feeling their hearts sinking. How can they get experience needed to secure a job if they can't get a job in the first place? It's that Catch 22 situation again. But if you are a student thinking that way, let me reproach you immediately for failing to exercise the very skills I've just explained you will need as an engineer. Where's your imagination? 
See if they will let you help with preparation. This is where being geographically close is important and not getting involved with a team that is too big and puts the preparation out to the experts. Once you start doing this, you can offer to create a component log for the car, keeping records of hours on the consumable parts against life predictions. They might not always be able to afford to follow your recommendations, but the information might be well received all the same. 
I would like to give you some information here that may be of some help. Over the course of a year, I receive many requests for information on how to become a professional racecar driver. First, you must realize that this is a very long and tedious process and only those who are very dedicated will survive and be able to actually achieve the status of professional racecar driver. Don't give up, though, because with perseverance you can make it. There are a number of steps that most people go through on their way to becoming a racecar driver. Many of these you can do very inexpensively, while some begin to get more costly as time goes on. 
4. Now that you are reading and getting smarter, talking to racing people, and understanding what the race game is all about, you should be saving your money and trying to get into some kind of race school. There are a number of great U.S. based racing schools. You can find most of them on 
5. You could start attending driving days available through car clubs. Check your local area. If it is in the U.S., Sports Car Club of America has a national office in Colorado and regional offices in most states as well as a web site. They offer programs for a few hundred dollars if you bring your own car. Oftentimes, you can bring a streetcar and get some sort of training as well. This can be very cost effective and also get your feet wet with regard to getting started in the race game.