I am already in college, I just started my freshman year at the California Maritime Academy. I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a Coast Guard 3rd Mates License option. That means I can work in the engine room of ships and make oodles of money. However, spending 6 months a year at sea will make it hard to have any kind of a family let alone work on cars. My current plan is to spend a few years at sea, earn about 200-500 grand, go back to school, and get a job doing research and development. As a part of the Coast Guard license, we have to be able to weld and operate some machine tools such as lathes and mills, so the school requires us to take those classes to graduate. I start plant operations next semester where I will learn how to service and run marine diesels, and I will learn to weld. And my sophomore year we start the ME courses such as statics, diff eqs, calculus based physics, etc...