Help with job title.

Ok for school were doing our little section on jobs, and all my life ive always wanted to eather be a doctor or a roller coaster designer. My question is what would you classify someone who designes roller coasters? Would they be civil engineers, mechanical, or an architect? I have been meaing to ask this question for a while so please help me if you can.

You can be a Structural Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Electrical Engineer, basically any kind of construction related engineering job would qualify you to build a roller coaster. The basic principal is that you have to be an engineer to design a coaster, unless your really smart.

I like taking things apart and wondering how they work....oh and Im a whizz at Hyper Rails!

Am I a coaster designer yet!? ;)

Yeah i played Hyper Rails from my library, it was ok but i think im getting No Limits for my birthday (march 31)! Thanks for the answer Bootz3456.

So in college you would most likely study eather mechanical, electictal, or structual engineering?

Shouldn't Drafting and Design Help as well?

And I always thought it was under the "Civil" engineering category.

I'm taking CAD and Mechanical Engineering classes at my college and since the first semester we learned about different things it takes to build roller coasters, but this semester we are learning more of what goes into designing it. So I would say take engineering, CAD, math and physics classes. Major in Mech. Engineering and Minor in some type of CAD study or vise-versa.

I am in the civil engineering program at my university because you can practice structural engineering with a civil engineering degree. I would say civil is the best way to go because it leaves more room to study and practice different types of engineering.

It really depends what you want to do. You don't have to have any degree to do the conceptual design behind a ride. A design goes through many stages before it becomes reality. The engineers could be present at the beginning (as they should be), but they don't have to be. If you want to do the actual mathematics behind the ride and draw each section of the ride, then yes, you need to be an engineer. Usually a ride has architects, engineers, and a slew of designers (theme, story, lighting, etc...) present on the job.

When I first started asking about it as freshman in high school they told me Mechanical engineer. So that what i plan to major in next year in college. Along with that, the drafting and/or CAD classes, lots of math, and sciences go into it. A Structural course couldn't hurt but i wouldn't say it totally required. There will be other people around you to work out the logistics. *** Edited 3/15/2007 12:47:57 AM UTC by FluffyliketheForce***

I'm really interested in designing large buildings/structures such as coasters. I've been looking into mechanical engineering at a place in Flint, MI, where my brother currently goes. I'm planning on taking up to AP Physics, AP Calc, AP Chem (probably unnecessary, but consists of playing with chemicals :) ), a CAD class, and then a mech engineering class.

Sound good?

Yay for Flint... interesting city... defenitly not the best place to grow up...

in flint? hopefully youre not talking about baker college.

No no no, not Baker. What gave you that idea? :)

I'm still growing up, in a much better area than Flint. West Bloomfield/Walled Lake/Commerce/etc. is a wealthier, populous area in suburbia Detroit. Walled Lake Schools (where I go) are actually among the best in the state, if not the nation, as far as I am aware.

Kettering University (http://kettering.edu/). Formerly GMI (General Motors Institute), now a separated university. It's a cool engineering school. The year is divided into four terms. One work, then a co-op, then work, then co-op.

Only problem with going there is that it greatly cuts down on the time I could spend working at CP :)