Rollercoaster College Majors

[Imagineer100]

I just wanted to know if anyone knew the college major (specialty?) that the designers who do rides like Mystery Mine or Maverick at Intamin and Gerstlauer have in order to prepare themselves for it.

[Carnage]

Engineering, physics, and math mostly.

 

Although pick a career that you enjoy doing outside of rollercoasters. That way if you don't end up in a roller coaster job you will still be happy.

 

Because being a coaster designer is extremely difficult to get into.

[hyyyper]

Mechanical Engineering (or Civil Engineering if you want to stick to support structures) is the way to go. Don't count on getting a job in the scene, but that's the way to go.

[Evan1127]

Specific majors out of those mentioned won't necessarily limit what you actually do for work, since most of the training is on-the-job. But either Civil or Mechanical Engineering will provide you with enough to get started.

[Alpenguy]

There is more and more electrical engineering involved in rides nowadays too, especially with the Disney/Universal big themed rides. (Not necessarily coasters though)

[ebl]

Be sure to learn the major CAD programs, too---AutoCAD, SolidWorks. Even if you don't get into coaster design, those programs will help you in other fields as well.

 

I've been working with CAD for over 20 years, and I've enjoyed it quite a bit.

 

Eric

[thecoasterkid]

^ I've been using AutoCAD at work for the last 8 months or so doing CNC programming. It is pretty interesting and at times fun to use.

 

By getting into civil/mechanical engineering you certainly aren't limiting yourself to the amusement industry. Just make sure you don't mind working in general engineering fields before you commit yourself. It would be very difficult to get into desiging coasters, and you would likely need years of experience under your belt before you could get close to the amusement industry anyways.

[kraken613]

A few days ago I actually emailed GCI and asked what I need to start heading towards to get in the coaster field!

[crazydaveh]

I'd love to design coasters for a living, but too much math for me...

 

I'll just stick to RCT 3!

[Evan1127]

A few days ago I actually emailed GCI and asked what I need to start heading towards to get in the coaster field!

 

What email address did you send it to? Has anyone responded yet?

[Imagineer100]

yah i no i sent e-mails to intamin (IntraRide), Gerstlauer, , GCI, and S&S. No answers yet

[holyblakbelt]

I'd love to design coasters for a living, but too much math for me...

 

I'll just stick to RCT 3!

I'll second that. I'm pretty good at math and science, but I'm not that good at it. I'd rather help people than build coasters even though I like riding coasters!

[steel]

It would definitely be very advantageous to learn German. French would be helpful, too, to a lesser extent. Maybe even some Italian, too. Especially if you're looking at Intamin or B&M. I'm sure they would be able to get around the language barrier, but you might as well save them the trouble (plus you get to know another language).

[SFjunkie2010]

I think Civil and Mechanical engineering would be your best choice

[Airtime&Gravity]

Roller coster designing is a very limited career field and you'd be better off trying to get a job somewhere else in the amusement field. While it would be fun, there are few openings, and I'd advise majoring in a business field if you want to work in the amusement field.

[Jew]

yah i no i sent e-mails to intamin (IntraRide), Gerstlauer, , GCI, and S&S. No answers yet

 

Well, if your e-mails were typed in the same manner as this post...I wouldn't expect a reply. Please make sure to not use internet shorthand (like "yah"), and also be sure to capitalize the letter "I."

[where'smyhotdog]

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