What should an inventor minor/major in college?

Got any ideas what you’ll be inventing? I think engineering will be most important, but there are many types of engineering. Electrical, mechanical, computer, chemical, biomedical…

According to Wikipedia, it seems Steve Jobs never finished college.

Technology-type devices. No matter what I invent, what the use of the product is, etc. it will definitely find itself along the lines of a modern, technological, device. As I mentioned earlier, Steve Jobs is a great role model for me. Other than the not finishing college part..

Alright. That’s pretty broad. You’ll probably want to do some research into different engineering degrees and see which one best suits the devices you have in mind. Good luck.

Hundreds or thousands of people come together to build those devices.

Is there a particular part that appeals to you beyond just being impressed by the work? Do you just want to be known as a great inventor and the area doesn’t matter?

What Steve Jobs did well was pick an area that he believed in and got in very early. It certainly wasn’t about what he majored in (one semester of general studies) or where he went to school (Reed College).

If I were you, I’d figure out what you love about those and other devices and start there. Your natural passions and talents will lead you better than following someone who came before. The target has moved since the 1970’s when Jobs got his start.

You need to learn some field very well. It could be some branch of engineering, but it could also be physics or chemistry or biology or computer science or education. People invent devices and processes in all the disciplines. You have to figure out which discipline appeals to you the most. Which one makes you want to work 24 hours a day in it? That’s the one for you and that’s what you major in in college.

Also, if you want to take your inventions far, it helps to go to Stanford or Harvard.

Based upon the information posted so far, it sounds like focusing on electrical engineering degrees is the best option. My cousin is an SVP for a technology firm. He travels around the world to talk to companies about their technology needs for about five to ten years from now. Then he goes back to his team of engineers and puts together a plan of how to develop a product to meet these needs.

His degrees are: BSEE from VPI, MSEE from Purdue, and PhD EE from MIT.

I would think about computer engineering. I’m in college right now, and some of the smartest and most inventive people I know have that of a major. Some of them have already invented things and programs that have been bought by major companies.

I agree with something that the other flutherers have brought up in their answers. You need to be more specific in your goals. Being an inventor isn’t really a goal, it is a dream. I’m assuming you are in high school, and there is no need to know exactly want you want quite yet, but you do need to think a little bit more short term. You need good grades to get into a good school. You’ll need good test scores, AP classes in the Maths and sciences are great for you. The classes you take now will create the foundation for the classes you take in college your first year or two. If you remember things, doing really good in college will be easier.

I think Steve Jobs majored in getting people to do what he wanted them to. I think his personality and drive had more to do with his success than his programming skills. He also had an idea about keeping things simple looking that drove the aesthetics of the products, which drove innovation and user interface development that didn’t happen at Microsoft.

I look at guys like Adam Savage, who come up with some great ideas and concepts, and he is an artist, a sculpter and not an engineer. Jamie has a degree in Russian Literature.

Engineering and business are fine, but if you want to really create new things, study art.

If you are a true inventor, you will learn whatever you like. You may find that a standardized degree will impede your inventiveness. As @cazzie said, study art. Add philosophy, good reading and math skills and people watching. Take the engineering courses if you want, not because they are required. Consider law courses as well.