What kind of engineer builds roller coasters

But remember, the possibilities are endless! Maybe one day, roller coasters will be designed as an alternative to urban public transit. Will you be the first? No specific major exists for roller coaster engineering, but students interested in designing roller coasters are encouraged to consider additional physics, mathematics, and drafting courses in their curricula.

Mechanical engineering programs include courses in math, life sciences, physical sciences, engineering, and design. Some important qualities that an aspiring mechanical engineer should have are creativity and listening, math, mechanical, and problem-solving skills.

Employment of mechanical engineers is projected to grow by 5 percent between and Employability amongst roller coaster engineers will depend on additional factors like the amount of new or renovated roller coasters at amusement parks and the financial success of amusement parks in general. So, what would the job be like? Would you be stuck in an office for eight hours per day, or is being a roller coaster engineer more of a thrill ride?

Mechanical engineers who design roller coasters mix it up a little, splitting their time between the office, lab, and on the actual job site. Roller coaster engineers will work on a design team for each project, often either as a contractor or as part of a larger roller coaster design agency. Your main job description will involve determining how to build a given track, where to place the supports, developing the control and safety systems, and ensuring the safety of the final ride.

You'll also have to engage some creativity in the design to ensure that the final ride is actually exciting for the passengers. Since you won't actually be able to experience the ride until it's completed, you'll need to conceptually understand what makes roller coasters fun.

This usually involves knowing where to place loops on the track and how to lay out the natural scenery to create a good overall experience.

The design teams you will work on as a roller coaster engineer will have engineers from multiple disciplines, all usually in the structural, electronic, and mechanical fields. Depending upon the project budget, you might have to work in different disciplines or roles on the team as well. Meaning that there might not always be enough budget to hire an independent electrical engineer and mechanical engineer and that one person might have to do the role of both.

Safety is the biggest factor in the entire design process. If the final design isn't safe, well, then the entire project has to be scrapped. You'll have to accurately model the final coasters speed, weight, and forces, all before it's ever built to ensure that no one's limbs are ripped off or you're not building a roller coaster of certain death, as explained in the video below.

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New posts. Search forums. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Hixee Flojector Staff member. Social Media Team. What do you mean? For design?

Mostly mechanical engineering, if not all actually. There is some civil based aspects of projects, but the 'true' roller coaster design is mechanical engineering. I will say as a word of warning though looking at your age , don't pick your career based on wanting to design roller coasters. Cancel Flag Question. Preview of the email that will be sent on your behalf: From: You. Phone Number.

Cancel Follow. Glenn S. Arche Mechanical Engineering Manager Belkin. Los Angeles, California. There will be a lot of engineers that support the design and installation of a rollercoaster; ME with the car and rail designs, structural engineers for obvious reasons, electrical and software for the controls, safety engineers, manufacturing engineers for making the parts and cars, construction engineers during the build, etc. Flag for review. Cancel Accept. Cancel Flag Answer.

Sandy Thomas Engineer. Miami, Florida.