Need Your Help

We are registering for school next year, I will be a junior in high school, and I need your guy's help/advice on what classes to take.

When I was little kid and saw my first roller coaster, I fell in love. And I still love them today. I was really little when I was younger and didn't meet the height requirements for the bigger ones so I had to stay back while my older siblings and dad went on the rides. So I watched the roller coasters for hours and hours with my mom and took a different perspective. I looked more at the "science" and "geometry" part behind the roller coasters instead of the riding them and getting the big thrill. I still love to ride them, but I think I get more out of just watching them. So I decided, when I grew up, I wanted to be a roller coaster designer.
I have hundreds of notebooks of roller coaster drawings that I have done since I was little. (Most of the earlier ones; not possible for the human body to withstand :) )

I think I meet the requirements for designing them; I love Math and Science.

Now I realize........theres what..less than 40 or something of them in the whole world? It almost seems to be an impossible field to get into...and I'm not sure I'm up for that risk. I know "you can do whatever you set your mind to" but if it's that slim of a chance, then I'm not sure I want to invest my TIME, and my Money studying it.
Say I don't get to design the roller coasters....what else can I do after spending thousands of dollars at college? I don't want to design buildings or bridges.

So now I am debating on going into the Engineer field.....or..some type of Medical field (which seems smarter cause I doubt people won't need medical care in the future).

I'm asking you guys...what do you think? If I do go into that field..what classes should I take? What do I have to do to become a roller coaster designer?

Thanks. Drunkin-Monkey

It's a better bet to try to get a job at the park, and not designing coasters. Believe me, Ive looked into it, and it's a very narrow field. I'm majoring in Mechanical Engineering, so hopefully I can do something with that, but if not, I'll find something else.

hey im in the same exact same position as you except im a senior... i talked to people at arrow dynamics (at the time) and they told me mechanical engineering... im majoring in that next year

I am a Junior now and the classes you want are Physics and Geomatry. Our physics class take a yearly trip to kennywood and they ride rides and record the effects on them.
*** Edited 1/8/2007 12:45:19 AM UTC by kidcoaster***

I would hope you would be taking physics and geometry even if you didn't want to go into roller coaster design...

Yeah I'm for sure taking Physics Honors and I'm already taking Geometry Honors.

If you like geometry and math and such then mechanical is the way to go, but you can also look at electronics specifically controls.

These are the things that make the coaster work, sure mechanical is always being pushed to the limits with new designs, but there is always new technology coming out that make these new design milestones possible. I have been working with controls for about 7 years now and I love the challenge that comes with new technology. There are so many things that you can make a machine do or interact with the machine via touchscreens and laptops that you just cant do with mechanical. Remember that all machines are PLC controlled now and that is what makes them work and I think that it is the coolest thing in the world to de-bug a machine and make it flow.

But who knows maybe its just me.

If you want to design coasters your best bet would be some type of engineering. Mechanical or possibly surveying or civil to work on the construction site and build them. A good start to get into the highest level of math you can. Calculus if possible - you would defenatly need to take that in college if you go for engineering. Also take as much physics and chemistry as you can. Finally, if it is offered at you school take drafting and or CAD. Most students don't get any of this until they get to college so you would be ahead of the game. Good Luck. Someone has to design the coasters - why can't it be you?