The Seasteading Institute

While mechanical engineering or genetic engineering may both be useful, looking at the future I expect much of mechanical engineering will be automated. Genetic engineering and the biology involved has the advantage of having some things in common with nanotechnology, which is set tto make big inroads in the near future. Also look at the “raprep” or rapid replication movement (also called fabber movement – other keywords being “3D printing” or “desktop manufacturing”), which looks set to revolutionize manufacturing in the next decade.

Keep in mind that things are moving and changing quite fast now. As others have noted, best to hone your basic math and language skills first, and if possible get some practical experience. By the time you’ve got that done, the prospects may have already changed, but you’ll be ready to tackle them. Best of luck.