CHOOSING A CAREER CAN SEEM A daunting task. Naturally, you want to get it right. Don't let the importance of this decision intimidate you, however. Do just the opposite. Use its importance to bolster your enthusiasm for doing the research to help you make the right choice. The fact that you are taking the time to read this report is a good sign. Start by considering what you like to do. This isn't the only question you should ask yourself when starting your career search, but it's definitely the most important one. Money, work environment and your own natural aptitudes are all important, but nothing is worse than choosing a career based on something other than personal satisfaction. Determine what you would be happy to do for free, and then figure out how to get paid for it. Cars inspire more emotion than any other manufactured product ever made. In fact, it's easy to forget that they are, indeed, manufactured products. Cars are larger and more complicated than, say, can openers, but they are made out of the same materials and in similar factory environments. Automobiles inspire so many emotions because they embody and express those emotions. For most people, their car is the second-most expensive thing they own, after only their home. Cars are an outward reflection of income and status, taste and personality. Cars are the main manifestation of the personal freedom of movement that we take for granted. For most of human history, most people never ventured more than a few miles from the place where they were born, making the ability to go anywhere at any time a powerful self-esteem builder. Cars are fun to drive. They enable people to get to work and pursue their ambitions. Automotive designers are the people who add the emotional component to the pieces of metal and leather assembled by the mechanical engineers who design the engines and associated running gear that most people never see. In fact, most people choose cars based on a combination of looks and price, with performance coming in a distant third place. Engineers and marketing executives play roles in taking ideas off the drawing board and bringing them to life, but designers are the automotive professionals who make cars appeal to the people who will buy them, and drive them.
