Power Lunch

Monday - Friday, 2:00 - 3:00 PM ET

Power Lunch

I get paid to test drive cars

I get paid to test drive cars
VIDEO1:2401:24
I get paid to test drive cars

Aaron Link's job takes him from zero to 60 in less than six seconds. As a lead development engineer for General Motors, he spends most of his time on the tracks test driving the sixth-generation Chevy Camaro.

"My favorite part of the job is getting hands-on with the vehicles and being able to touch them, drive them, experience them, feel how the parts go together… It's a lot of art with some science." Link said in an interview with CNBC's "Power Lunch."

The cars are outfitted with special equipment that collects data while Link tests breaks, steering, balance, the sound of the exhaust, and even the comfort of the seats.

"I like to view the job as being able to represent the customer," Link said. "I imagine somebody getting in their car in their garage in the morning and going to work or for a drive on the weekend, or going to dinner with their wife."


Aaron Link at work as a lead development engineer for General Motors
Source: General Motors

While customers don't drive cars like Link does, testing for different scenarios and pushing limits results in a greater, and safer, product for the customer according to Link.

At no time was testing more challenging and exhilarating for Link than driving on the famous Nürburgring in Germany.

"As soon as I first set foot on the track and took the first turn I knew why it was unlike anything else in the world. It is unbelievable the positions it puts the car in that no other track can do, and since we've been going there, our cars increased in performance and capability. It's really the highlight of my job," Link said smiling.

But even when he's not driving the Nürburgring, the fact that he drives for a living gives Link great joy.

"I'm very luck and privileged to have my work environment be the Milford Proving Ground which is a 4,000 acre playground in Southeast Michigan. My office is really a giant system of roads…I've always said if I wasn't doing this I would be trying to get paid to do this," he said.