Case studies: Aerodynamics engineer: Ross Crowder

Ross has a Masters degree in mechanical with aeronautical engineering from the University of Strathclyde and works as an aerodynamics engineer for Jaguar Land Rover.

I have always been interested in how things work, in particular their mechanical operation, and have always had a love of motor cars. At secondary school I enjoyed subjects such as mechanics, physics and mathematics, so I went on to study for an MEng in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde.

During my time at university, I found the lectures on automotive subjects enjoyable and interesting. However, I also gained an interest in aerodynamics and thus transferred on to the mechanical engineering with aeronautical engineering degree course.

During my final year at university, I applied to a number of automotive companies, Jaguar Land Rover  being one of them. There are a number of different business areas that an engineering graduate can apply to within Jaguar Land Rover. I decided that I would like to continue and extend my knowledge in the engineering field and so I chose to apply for a product development role. During the application process, I expressed my interest in working in the aerodynamics division, and after successfully completing the application and interview process, I was offered a position on the graduate scheme with aerodynamics as my home department.

A degree in engineering is required to apply for a product development role and I believe having a degree tailored to the role I wanted helped me to secure the position. Not only did my degree equip me with the necessary technical knowledge and engineering skills, but it also developed my transferable and soft skills sets, which I believe are critical in industry.

My role as an aerodynamics engineer is to support the overall aerodynamic development of current and future products by providing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and supporting the programme attribute team leader on wind tunnel, climatic and water and dirt management testing. Along with my main vehicle aerodynamic development role, I have a number of CFD development side projects which look into the development of our CFD capabilities and techniques.

What I like most about my job is that I am genuinely interested in cars and aerodynamics. I believe I have a good balance between office work and physical testing. Getting to see, test and drive the products that I have had a hand in designing is also very fulfilling. My skills have developed hugely during my time at Jaguar Land Rover and I wish to continue to progress and build on my responsibility foundation within the company, where I would ultimately like to move into a management role.

My advice to other students and graduates looking to enter the automotive industry is to consider developing your transferable and soft skills sets. These skills are just as important as your technical knowledge, if not more so. Developing these skills in a relevant way to the automotive industry, through involvement in Formula Student  or something similar, would be particularly useful.