Coaster Careers

Civil Engineering or Mechanical depending on wether you wish to design the structure of the ride or the layout (civil) or the systems that make it work and the rolling stock (mechanical). Electrical or Computer could fit in the niche like Consign does if its that aspect that interests you. As one person, you probably won't be able to design the entire ride yourself, but pick your favorite area and run with it. Also, take note of the schools that the Gravity Group went to - everyone on this board always pushes MIT, Harvard, etc and all these bust-your-balls incredible schools to ensuure you get into the field. But these guys prove that its not what school you went to, how high your grades are or any of that. They help to an extent, but your ability to adapt, learn, work well with others and perform your job well is what will get you noticed, not the name of the piece of land where you got your piece of paper.

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1. Kumba 2. Millie 3. Mantis 4. Lightning Racer/Wildcat (Hershey) 5. Thunderbolt (KP)
"The key to a happy life is moderation" -- Jon Stewart

Vertigo, believe it or not, it does really help. So many engineering projects are "cross-disciplined" that pretty much *any* engineering degree could be useful to coaster engineering.
Mechanical Engineering comes to mind first being that coasters are nothing but really big machines.
Electrical Engineering comes as no suprise based on the control systems and posible LIM/LSM systems
Civil Engineersa are most likely to erect the things.
Metalurgical Engineers would be useful in track bending and stress/strain analysis
Aerospace Engineers can supply "skin friction" or "wind drag" data (as well as doing anything a Mech E can do :))
Biomedical and Industrial Engineers can tell you how the rides will affect humans
Environmental Engineers can tell you how the rides will affect the rest of the world.
Chemical Engineers and Material Scientists would be instumental in selecting the materials for bearings, wheels, restraints, etc...

There really is not an engineering discipline that would NOT be useful....maybe "sanitation" engineer =]
lata,
jeremy

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"To get inside this head of mine, would take a monkey-wrench, and a lot of wine" Res How I Do

Most of the engineers working on coasters are either civil or mechanical unless they specialize in controls.

The brother of a guy I work with seems to be on the fast track to a career in coasters. He is majoring in mechanical engineering in college. He is in his fourth year at Cedar Point. The first year he was an operator on Mantis. The second year he was an operator on the start up of Millenium Force. He worked with the Intiman engineers as much as possible on the start up. The last 2 summers he has worked as a mechanic at the point. The mechanical work is mostly night shift and generally less than glamorous, but a great educaiton.

*** This post was edited by Jim Fisher on 9/12/2002. ***

What about the "domestic engineers" they keep talking about on The View, Jeremy? ;)

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http://www.rockandrollconfidential.com

I do agree with 2Hostyl that just “engineering” as a broad term will be beneficial in college. I have looked at several sites and all of the people who are in the roller coaster design field have different types of degrees. Someone had a degree in Civil Engineering while another had a degree in mechanical engineering. These are just a couple that I’ve seen. It’s very difficult because there is no certain “degree” you need to become a roller coaster designer. For anyone on this thread that is a High School Senior you know the question of college is an everyday thing. The pressure is on and no matter whom you talk to (guidance counselors etc.), no one seems to have the answers. I figured the only way to get answers is to ask the people who know best; you. Chitown: I never thought of that. Carpentry would be good to take if I were to go into the field of wooden coasters. CP ismyhome: You’re right. I learned that physics and math are VERY important in this field. Half of the stuff in the physics room in my school has to do with roller coasters. Also, I’ve already contacted arrow through the computer and they have not responded. They said that they cannot answer individual questions about roller coaster design because they get so many questions about it. I understand but it’s frustrating. Jephry: I live nowhere near a coaster company. If I go to college near one I’ll be sure to try to get an internship. 2Hostyl: I’ve never heard of this “Imagineering” program before. Is there an Internet site that might give me more information about it? PittDesigner: I looked into the Gravity Groups site. The profiles on the employees were very helpful. To anyone I didn’t get to I’m sorry. Thank you for the input so far. As for my spelling, I have a few things to say. Although I asked Doug Rowe what I spelled wrong I also asked if it made my English incomprehensible. It didn’t. I wrote this post very fast but still checked over it. Notice that I spelled both business and pursue wrong twice. Those are two of my “common mistake words.” We all have these words. These are the words that I could write over and over but will still misspell eventually. Everyone has these certain words. I know that you Doug Rowe can spell these words but I bet that there are plenty of words that you can’t spell that I can. I’m sure 5 misspelled words is not going to keep me out of college or the field of roller coaster design. If you’re going to write about my topic I would prefer you stick to the issue. I am proud to say that I am the top English student in my class. I do not like to brag but when someone questions my intelligence, I have to defend myself. Please do not write back Doug Rowe.

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"Life is like a roller coaster; there are ups and downs and it's over all too fast."

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2Hostyl said:

Aerospace Engineers can supply "skin friction" or "wind drag" data (as well as doing anything a Mech E can do )
"

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Not to mention our knowledge in lightweight composites. I like to rub it in to the stuck-up Mech E's. The only class they took that we never took were Mechanisms :) :)

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I, am nobody, and nobody is pefect!

"skin friction"....I thought this was a FAMILY site....

In my experience, lightweight composites are very seldom used in amusement rides. The materials are really pretty basic. The composites are standard E-glass laminates with the emphasis on surface finish rather than lightweight. Overall, the composites used are much lower tech than what you would see in high quality boat. The use of composites is usually determined by tooling costs more than a desire to save weight. If you want to get away from standard laminates, you would probably be looking for tough flexible laminates rather than high strength.

Even the steels used in amusement rides are nothing high strength. The need is more for weldability, toughness, and fatigue strength rather than high strength. The high tech in coasters shows up mainly in little bits an pieces such as wheels.

It isn't that manufacturers are crude or stupid. It's just that they use the materials that are most economical and suitable for their needs.

I have some general advice that applies to someone with *any* specific career goal. I see many students. Some are talented. Some are dedicated to learning everything they can about their field. My best students are not always the most talented, but they are always dedicated. The most frustrating are the students who could excel, but float along getting low As and Bs without really putting themselves into it.

As for specific areas: if you are into computing or electronics, you might look for majors that include courses in digital control systems, sensing, fault-tolerant systems, etc. The main application of computer science and computer engineering to amusement rides are in the safety and control systems. There are exceptions, like the Aladdin virtual reality ride that Epcot was prototyping in the mid-90's. Lots of big silicon graphics boxes to run the VR. Very cool to a CS geek; a colleague and I lucked out and visited Epcot during the test runs, and got to look under the hood. I *think* some version of it now lives at DisneyQuest, but haven't seen it yet.

Side note about writing: I once told a high school English professor that I wouldn't need to write well, as I was going to be an engineer. Fifteen years later, I sent him a signed, hard-bound copy of my dissertation with an apology. :-)

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http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~bnoble/

Antuan: It's funny, at U of Illinois, the only difference in the two programs was Mech Es took a Heat Transfer class and Aeros took a Compressible Flow class. Not much difference @ all.

rent: Unfortunately, there is not a really good website that I can point you to. The "offical" page is not worth a whole lot ( http://disney.go.com/disneycareers/whoweare/imagineering.html ) but they *do* provide an address you can write to to get more information. I'd suggest just being honest, say that you've heard about a College Internship program and would like more information. I'd imagine (no pun intended) they'd provide that to you.

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"To get inside this head of mine, would take a monkey-wrench, and a lot of wine" Res How I Do

Antuanini....Happy belated boopie
Anywho, you will not say ill about Mech E's....my man is a Mech E and he'll beat you up LOL

Rent: Actually, here is a *slightly* more informative site ( http://disney.go.com/disneycareers/college/wdi/graduate.html )

Though it does say that they are only looking for college Juniors/Seniors/Grad Students.

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"To get inside this head of mine, would take a monkey-wrench, and a lot of wine" Res How I Do

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sigmagammarho said:
my man is a Mech E and he'll beat you up LOL

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My mechanical Engineer can beat up your honors student....what is this....LOL....:)

Thank you for that site 2Hostyl, that's very helpfull. I also got some information from the S&S website. I was thinking about writing to them.

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Mark W. Baruth said:
What about the "domestic engineers" they keep talking about on The View, Jeremy?

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http://www.rockandrollconfidential.com

Can we get a counsler and medic over here, man down with a crush on Starr Jones, symptoms, too much shevision ;)

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Lake Compounce-So Fresh and So Clean Clean

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If you go to Stanford, a top 4 mechanical engineering program, you can also get interships at one of the many amusement park companys in Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley, and you have PGA, SCBB, and Bonfante right under you nose. You'll need the work, because at Stanford, you get what you pay(a lot) for.

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Lake Compounce-So Fresh and So Clean Clean

I just have to jump in on this one. My dream of having a career in the amusement industry is actually coming true. After many graphic design and communication classes, I decided last year that I wanted to be PR for an amusement park. Next year I move on to major in Public Relations at either Michigan State or Ferris University and then intern at...you guessed it... Michigan's Adventure, in the PR department. Scored this gig last week, and I still can't believe it. Dreams sometimes do come true, I guess :).

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Kara (car-uh)
935 Laps
532 in '02
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer
Proud Co-Founder of the CoasterBuzz Street Team

Congratulations! I am very happy for you. There's nothing like doing what you love. Hey, if you have any advice or know of any connections, you know where to find me!

Good Luck!

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The chances of being a mechanical engineer or "roller coaster designer" are slim. You have to wanna be an engineer because you love math and physics, not roller coasters, and learn all you can, then go to a design company. Im not trying to shoot you down, because i wanna be a designer too. im just being realistic, because you have to have a bit of experience before you jump into roller coaster designing.

to answer your questions about classes, learn all the math you can get your hands on, learn lots of physics, take many drafting classes. thats the formula im using, for now, until college.....then i'll talk to a counselor. a metals or woods class would probably be a good idea to.

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B&M_Lover said:

You have to wanna be an engineer because you love math and physics, not roller coasters, and learn all you can, then go to a design company.

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I don't "love" math, but yet I can't see myself doing anything that doesn't involve math. I have always found math to be easy, as all the work has already been done for you, in the form of a formula.

I have my goals set on a Civil or Mechanical Engineering degree at either MIT or Carnegie Mellon. While I would love a career in the Amusement Industry, I realize the chances of that happening are very slim.

I always have my dream of being a Pro Football coach to fall back on! ;)

*** This post was edited by PhantomLost on 9/12/2002. ***