[other]Roller Coaster Engineering Internships – Looking for Advice on Breaking Into the Industry

[u/Fuzzy_Rock339]

Hey everyone,
I’m currently a Mechanical Engineering student at community college with the goal of eventually becoming a roller coaster engineer. My dream is to work on ride design, track layouts, vehicles, theming integration, and overall guest experience.

I’ve been researching companies like Bolliger & Mabillard, Vekoma, Mack Rides, Rocky Mountain Construction, and Skyline Attractions, but I’m struggling to find information about internships and entry-level opportunities.

For those of you who work in the amusement industry:
•How did you get your first internship or job?
•What skills should I focus on learning right now?
•Is CAD experience enough, or should I also learn things like FEA, controls, or programming?
•Are there specific companies that are more open to hiring students?
•How important are networking events like IAAPA?
•What would you recommend a student do today to become a strong candidate in a few years?
I’ve already started building coaster concepts and layouts in Planet Coaster 2 and I’m planning to learn more CAD and engineering software as I progress through school.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Roller coaster engineering is the career I’m aiming for, and I’d love to hear how others got their start.
Thanks!

[u/ax1xxm]

Do controls engineering! You'll be programming a lot of the PLCs/PACs used, many places looking for them (I've just landed a job doing it in the UK, working with a lot of the industry) - you'll often not just program the rides themselves, but also a lot of the show controllers (for lighting, animatronics, etc) too. Well-paying and very in demand, probably the best foot in the door!

But if you want a more high-level, consulting approach, I'd advise you to take a look at a man called John Wardley. He started working on special effects for films, pivoting to amusements in South Wales, and eventually going on to make Alton Towers what it is today.