Job opportunities in the Electric Vehicle Industry

Meta description: Learn how you can build a thriving career in the EV industry by taking up the right courses post your engineering education. 

Title:1 Get ready for a thriving career in EV  by taking up the right courses

Title:2 Career opportunities for graduate engineers in the EV industry 

Every engineering student aspiring to progress his/her career into advanced studies would want to tread lightly, and choose only the most promising fields of the future. When it comes to electrical engineering fields, one of the first options that would pop in your mind would be renewable energy! It’s capturing a big market and the world is inevitably moving towards it. 

So, what about engineering jobs in electric vehicle industry? For many students, EV seems like something that is still being tested and tried, especially for students living in India, as you barely get to see any EVs on the road.  Well, the scope for building a career in EVs could be huge for you, if you understand the opportunities that are brewing around the world.  

Analyzing the scope in EV industry

Tech advancements in EVs

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Being from a technical background, it would behove you to begin judging your career scope in this field by the various tech advancements happening in it. This will truly give you a perspective on your interests and inclinations. 

Lithium-ion battery:

The unmatched performance of today’s lithium-ion batteries compared to lead-acid batteries is what motivated Elon Musk to venture into the EV space. Lithium-ion has made EVs highly viable for mass commercialization, as it offers a plethora of benefits like;

1. Higher Cycle Count: Can be charged several times more as compared to other batteries. 

2. Safety: Lithium-ion batteries are extremely secure against inflammation, leaks, and overheating. 

3. Cost savings: Lithium-ion batteries have a longer lifespan and are up to 30% more energy-efficient than lead-acid batteries. 

4. Higher Sustained Voltage: Lithium-ion batteries maintain optimum charge and face no issues in losing out voltage or power, until drained. 

Electric Motors:

Rapid advances in electric motors over the past few years have translated into significant improvements in the performance and cost-effectiveness of EVs. This has led to an increase in the vehicle range by as much as 20 percent. Out of all the advanced motor concepts, 2 of them are showing promising results;

• Electronically commutated motor: Commonly known as DC brushless motors, these motors are known to revive our interest in EVs after our first foray into it in the early 1900s. DC brushless motors have proven to be up to 95% more efficient than the other 2 motors (Brushed DC and AC induction) commonly used in EVs. Apart from that, they are easier to maintain due to lesser parts and are simpler to control in regards to speed control and reversing. 

• Permanent magnet motor: While AC induction motors are known for producing high power in some of the top-end EVs, like the Tesla Model S, permanent magnet motors offer significant advantages in economical EVs. As the magnets in permanent magnet motors are created from earth materials, they don’t require to generate additional magnetic currents. Along with that, they are easier to control, easier to cool (as the windings are only on the outside) and lighter, and can be used as generators for regenerative braking. This makes permanent motors the go-to option for all upcoming EV makers around the world.

Autonomous Vehicles

Even though autonomous vehicle stands as a separate field, EVs are strongly contributing to the widespread advancement and adoption of autonomous vehicles because:

• It is easier to implement autonomous features on EVs as they have fewer moving parts

• Wireless charging technologies used in EVs integrate seamlessly with autonomy

• Easier to program and control EV drivetrains. 

Incentives sanctioned for EVs

Apart from the advancing tech, one of the main reasons compelling auto-makers to foray into EVs is the incentives and subsidies offered by various governments around the globe. This has led to a worldwide transformation in the automotive industry and the creation of highly-skilled jobs in large volumes.

Incentives around the world

• China: EV adoption offers exemption from purchase and additional taxes ranged between CNY 35,000 and CNY 60,000 (USD 5,000 to USD 8,500).

• Norway: Norway plans to ban the sale of petrol cars by 2025. EVs are exempted from the 25% value-added tax (VAT) on car purchases.

• USA: The Federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers a tax credit for $2,500 to $7,500 for every new EV purchased for use in the U.S

Incentives in India

The government of India has launched a scheme called FAME--Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles which aims to subsidize the purchase of over 1 million electric two-wheelers, 7,000 electric buses and 55,000 electric and hybrid passenger cars over a three-year period. 

EV production across the world

The electric vehicle market is currently dominated by established players such as Tesla BYD, BMW, Volkswagen, and Nissan. These auto-makers are fostering a conducive environment for cutting-edge innovations in EVs and creating thousands of job opportunities. The Electric Vehicles Market is projected to reach 26,951,318 units by 2030 from an estimated 3,269,671 units in 2019.

EV production in India

EV is a nascent industry in India as compared to the rest of the world, as the infrastructure is still being set up. The only major player in the EV market is TATA motors. But this is good news for EV students, as they have the opportunity to get on the ground floor of developing a sustainable EV charging infrastructure across the country. TATA has announced plans to set up 500 charging stations, while the Indian government has planned to set up a total of 15000 units.

Highlights from major EV manufacturers

• Tesla Motors: The company has made a deal with Panasonic to produce lithium-ion batteries at its Nevada Gigafactory, with an initial investment of 1.6 Bn Dollars. 

• Mahindra Electric: It offers a range of electric vans, electric autos and e-three wheelers like Mahindra E2o, and Mahindra eAlfa Mini.

• BMW: The manufacturer has announced a new vehicle that will offer a maximum range of 435 miles per charge

• Porsche: The company will be soon launching its first electric sports car; Taycan, that can generate up to 560 kW / 761 PS

• TATA: The company has lately unveiled the Nexon in electric version, that has been introduced with ZIPTRON technology.

Job opportunities in EV

Even though electric vehicles are still in a very nascent stage, India serves as a humungous market for the development and growth of EVs. Just like the existing plants for conventional vehicles, many foreign auto-makers will be seen setting up EV operations in India. The government has chalked a plan to aid its electric mobility mission by creating a specialized workforce, which aims at generating over 10 million jobs.

While in the rest of the world, the EV industry is already thriving! By 2030, the U.S is expected to witness an employment gain of 130,000 to 350,000 jobs in EVs alone. The popular EV manufacturer Tesla has launched an education program to train a new generation of electric car technicians that will be employed at their 100+ centers across the globe.

What kind of job can you go for?

Being a young and developing industry, there are no defined profiles for electric vehicle engineer Jobs. Electric vehicle companies ideally look for graduate engineers with proficiency in domains related to EVs, like EV safety, software, motor calibration, power electronics, and mechanical design.

To understand what kind of an EV approach you can take as an engineer, you can review the table below that highlights various EV fields associated with popular engineering branches;

Engineering Branch	Associated EV Fields
Chemical Engineering	Manufacturing of Lithium Ion cells, Battery pack development
Computer Science & Engineering	Developing algorithms for Battery Management System (BMS), Making IoT Modules for sharing real-time data generated by EVs.
Mechanical Engineering	Vehicle and Parts Design, Thermal systems
Electronics & Communication Engineering	Power electronics in drivetrains, Developing firmware for Battery Management Systems
Electrical Engineering	Motor technology and design, Charging technology

What does it take to become an EV expert?

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An engineering degree prepares you to develop a vision for EVs. But to follow that vision and become successful requires specialized training, that takes you through the intricacies of EV technologies. It’s true that the course work used in EV courses are derived from traditional electronics and electrical engineering curriculums. But to understand the core concepts and develop practical thinking, it’s important to master the specifics of EV technology. 

You need to specialize in drivetrain tech, battery management systems, and power systems. Combining this with advanced training in physics, parts design and mathematics makes fully qualified for a career in EVs.

Emerging fields in the EV sector

• Hybrid vehicle design

• Computational design 

• Drivetrain design and analysis

• Mathematical Simulations 

• Thermal Management Systems

Why Indian colleges don’t provide courses in EV?

To effectively teach and train students, courses for EV design and manufacturing need to explore every aspect of EVs, like drivetrains and battery management systems. Students need to be provided hands-on training for the latest software products used, in-depth tutorials of various materials used in EV parts, and expert sessions on the fundamental concepts that EVs operate on.

Indian colleges clearly lack the basic infrastructure to facilitate the above-mentioned requirements, let alone specialized courses. As the EV industry is ever-evolving, students need to be on the pulse with the latest trends and innovations. The only way to this is to engage students in various industry-relevant projects that create a proper exposure to the inner-workings of the EV industry. The only way to develop a competent workforce is to develop EV talent simultaneously while developing new EV technologies

How is Skill-lync transforming the EV education scenario?

Skill-lync is India’s first training centre that provides specialized courses in EV for graduate engineers. From hybrid electric vehicle design courses to courses for EV Design, we offer  a variety of courses that will set  you up for a thriving career in the EV industry. Students at Skill-Lync get to work on the latest tools and software products used across top EV auto-makers, along with the opportunity to participate in projects that are based on developing technologies in the EV field. 

Some of our EV specialization courses are;

• Post Graduate Certification in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Design & Analysis

• Master's Certification Program in Electric Vehicle Design & Analysis

• CFD Engineer Master's Certification program

• Introduction to Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) using MATLAB and Simulink

To learn more about Skill-lync's specialized EV courses, you can check out more information here.