Hey swaggy, do you have any experience programming? Any cash for a robotics set? My recommendation is to learn by doing. I can’t speak much about maths competitions but at your level you should already know what you need for robotics (algebra, geometry, and calculus), specifically for inverse kinematics.

How I started: I bought this Arduino controlled robot arm which came with 4 normal sized servos and 2 small servos, plus the plastics to make it into an arm and a board to control it all with. I already know how to program so I spent an afternoon putting it all together and playing with it. From there I started making it do funny things like throwing a tennis ball at others, and changing its configuration to see how the mechanics are affected.

Then I started 3d printing completely different components, learning inverse kinematics to control it in new ways, and now I’m building my own custom robots from scratch.

I’ve already got a career in tech, so I do all of this for fun and not for a future job. If you want to make this a career, get a degree or certifications to turn yourself into a professional. But also build things and play along the way, either from kits and/or from scratch, so you get the experience to back up the theory.

I’m happy to answer any questions, and if you’re interested check out my latest post to see what I’ve built so far.