Qualifications to Work in Robotics

[cybernerd]

Hi,

I am currently a grade eleven student, aiming for a career in robotics. Ideally, I would like to one day for the Canadian Space Agency's robotics program or other scientific robotics programs; I am not looking to work with animatronics.

Right now, I'm enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Program as a math-science focus student, maintaining an "A" average. I've taken Chemistry and Physics, but not Biology; I'm also going to be taking Introductory Calculus before graduation.

In a few months, I'm going to have to start applying to universities and I'm wondering which programs I should look at. I have an idea that computer science or computer engineering could be a good place to start, but I'm not sure. I know I may need to obtain more than one degree to achieve my goals, but I'm not uite sure where I should start.

Is there anyone out there with any knowledge of the robotics field and how to get into it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Vid]

An electrical engineering friend of mine just got accepted to an internship building robots for the U.S. air force. He also did a ton of programming for the robotics project he did over the past year so computer engineering is probably also a good path.

 

[TMFKAN64]

Since robotics is an interdisciplinary field, there are many options on what to study as an undergraduate. Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science are all good choices. Think about what part of robotics interests you the most, and pick a major accordingly.

 

[physics girl phd]

A number of universities have special robotics groups. I'm not sure about the universities in Canada... but I did have a former high school student of mine (from when i taught HS) work in the Robotics lab at Ohio State University as an undergraduate student. There are a number of similar labs in many different universities. To make yourself appealing to these kinds of groups (as an undergraduate researcher) I'd suggest trying to start building some of your own robots at home. This process would also help you decided what aspect you want to focus on more.