Mechanical engineering to design coasters?

Echo, add me to the list that hated Diff-E-Q. I remember pulling my hair out at 3am trying to get Matlab to model fox-rat populations :) I actually use it now...for stress analysis. Not too heavy though (thank God for cosmos :)

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Lyrically, I'm supposed to represent
I'm not only a client, I'm the playa president!

Add me to the list of former wanna-be coaster designers. I attended IAAPA in 2000 and after speaking with people there I had a good idea of what career path I would have to follow, and it was not for me. I would suggest, as others have, to meet and speak with as many people in the industry as you can. I know that it really helped me make the choices that I have made.

At the time I was majoring in Civil at the University of Kansas. Depending on your department, I would suggets Structural and Aerospace degrees with lots if intern experience.

rentzy17- If your inquiry is serious and you are a student I suggest you contact Thomas Mullinazi, Dean of Civil Engr. at KU. In his intro class he covers the Regency tragedy. I was amazed when I took the class how involved he had been in the study of what went wrong and who to blame. You can get his email from the KU's website.

Go Hawks!
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Answer: A simple pole. (he-he)

The skywalk, a classic study in how uncontrolled field changes can result in disaster.

As for how hard it is to get into the coaster design business. A friend's brother is a recent ME grad. He had 2 years as an operator at CP including working with the Intamin engineers on the MF start up. He then worked for 2 years as a summer mechanic working on the the rides at CP. So far the only job offer related to the amusement industry that he has received is as a full time mechanic at CP.

For those of you who don't already know, the job market for recent grad engineers is terrible right now. I know a worman with a recently acquired ME degree who is working for us in a coop position, because it's the only job that she can get. 3 or 4 years ago she would have had companies fighting over her. Now she's just hoping that she can get a full time job when her coop ends.

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Antuan said:
Echo, add me to the list that hated Diff-E-Q.

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Me too. That was the hardest and worst class I ever took. At times it seemed like the instructor was speaking a totally different language. I just felt lucky that I even got to the end of the class before dropping it - not to even mention how bad my grade was.
*** This post was edited by cyberdman 9/25/2003 11:09:03 AM ***

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Chernabog said:
Don't laugh too hard. ME's straight out of college are very wet behind the ears. College teaches you theory. Jobs teach you application.

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That is why certain colleges (i.e. University of Cincinnati) require a co-operative learning program (internship if you prefer). Add's one year onto the program (so 5 instead of 4 for a Bachler's), you come out with about 2 years of on the job experience. That is what I'm doing.
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Chris Tyson
Photographer
www.pkiunlimited.com

There's another thing to keep in mind if you are truly serious about getting into the design side. Do your homework! You need to prove to these people that you REALLY want this job and that you have done your best to gain the knowledge to earn it. The little details matter....get to know people, realize it may take years, write cover letters specifically to the company you are interviewing with.

There are companies that do want someone who is truly enthusiastic about the work they may be doing. And its a good idea to learn exactly what you will be doing. Walking in the door and thinking you're going to design the next greatest coaster out there just won't happen. Now this isn't meant to sound discouraging or to say anything about those who decided this is not the path for them. Its okie to learn that something just isn't right for you.

And lastly, choose a major you love first. You can always find ways to apply it to the amusement industry if you really want in. I guess I'm just amazed at the amount of people that say they want this, but there's a surprising lack of resumes being sent out. If you truly want it, put the work in to get it.

-Brian