Any engineering students/grads here? how is/was college life?

Are the hours you spend solving math problems no different than the hours any other major would spend reading ?

I want to try engineering, I like thinking and math, at the moment im only taking college algebrah but everyone makes it seem impossible

Are the hours you spend solving math problems no different than the hours any other major would spend reading ?

I want to try engineering, I like thinking and math, at the moment im only taking college algebrah but everyone makes it seem impossible

Merc009

Engeneering is one of the most time intensive majors there is. My engeneering major friends have very little free time. None of them have jobs because they don't have time. Let me give you this peice of advice. If you didn't take at least calc 1 in highschool and do well then engineering probably isn't for you.

it's not impossible. though at times it definitely seemed like a lot more work than folks in other majors... if nothing else that perception will lead towards a feeling of camaraderie with your fellow enginerds and bitterness towards other students who aren't really "earning" their degrees :P

fyi. 11 years in the field ( computer engineering ) and maybe 4-6 of the classes i took in school had any usefullness beyond getting my degree...

Senior in Applied Math, Engineering, and Physics here (don't worry, it's only one majorhttp://www.math.wisc.edu/~amep/Site/Courses.html).

It's really not that bad other than a couple classes (vector calculus and thermodynamics). I find I have more free time than a lot of other engineers, even with Naval ROTC, which is about a 10 hour time commitment a week. I did take calc 1/2 in high school so I don't know exactly how difficult it is in real college but they weren't that bad.

Overall, if you're good at math, you'll do fine.

What do you want to engineer? A new weapon of mass destruction? You scientists are all the same.SolidSnake35

Its lonely :(

<- Comp Sci

graduated with a bachelor in mechanical engineering, went and did a master's in occupational and environmental health and safety.

comparing the two is a joke. both of them are time consuming, one is math and applied science intensive, the other a whole lot of research and time spent reading studies and literary reviews. The two demand different kinds of work.

Urban Dictionary itself has some humorous descriptions of my engineering college.

when i was doing my bachelor, i had very little free time. well i should correct myself... i did have free time in my first 2 and half years because i was fvcking around a lot and procrastinating. it was only until the second half did i seem to get my $hit straightened out and started taking courses more seriously.

I excelled in material sciences, themodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer. but for fvck sake don't ask me to program something on Matlab. I can do somethings just nothing advanced could never quite grasp it. but C++? not really a problem.

I did find it ironic though - at least in my experience - the most intensive time was the middle portion of my undergrad. the last year of my undergrad had very little complex mathmatics involved with a lot less intensity as well. Atleast in comparison to the middle courses.

when i did my masters in safety every semester was writing research papers, a ton of reading, following different regulatory bodies. the most math intensive course was industrial hygiene and that was basically measuring the quantities of certain gases using basic algebra equations.

i'll go one step further and share this bit of info.

my GPA going into bachelor : 3.2

my lowpoint in bachelor : 1.99

when i finished bachelor: 2.47

when i did my master's i went in under probation status.

first semester GPA was : 4.0

i finished my grad with : 3.8

yeah..

the only thing i can really offer, and have offered to prospective students and freshmen in engineering is time management is king, and you have to want to be there in the first place, be math and science oriented, and lastly DO NOT slack off in the beginning simply because they're easy courses. every A you earn in the beginning will soften any hit you just have to absorb if you take the harder more intense courses.

At least in my case and quite a lot of peers and friends in the program, we had to take a lot of hits on our GPA from some of our courses.

my worst grade was my one D i have on my transcript, for Design of Machine Components. but the way the professor taught that class you knew your $hit even if you could never get passed his grading. with a bit of scratch paper, time and a calculator i can make you a well meshed long lasting gear box. That was how we did everything, no computers beyond calculator for the long equations. exams took 6+ hours to solve 3 questions and if you were off by .1 degree on a transverse degree your stuff isn't gonna mesh and your results won't make any sense.

to give you an idea on his grading, if you screwed up that .1 degree, you lost half or more of the points possible for it. that's 1/6th or more of the points possible instantly gone for a simple mistake, even if your entire process is right.

when we had assignment packets, same styled questions, take just as long to solve, sometimes ranging from 9 to 19 questions. if you did not number the questions (just numbering it) you could lose as much as quarter of your grade, this isn't even for solving the questions yet. this happened to me, and is only one of two times i've ever yelled at a professor in my life.

but this was the worst experience i ever had at college.

Well I got a physics major. It was a LOT of work, but generally I found it rewarding. I'm glad I did, but I also spent a lot of time doing homework while my friends were hanging out.Acemaster27

You'll have to get used to very little free time...unless you're some kind of magical wonder-child. The payoff is worth it, but you've got to endure a lot of !@#$ for 4-5 years.

I mean, God, some of you are so nerdy. Go have fun for once. REAL fun.

Are the hours you spend solving math problems no different than the hours any other major would spend reading ?

I want to try engineering, I like thinking and math, at the moment im only taking college algebrah but everyone makes it seem impossible

Merc009

as some one with a masters in astronautical engineering im going to have to tell you that if you aren't taking calculas by 12th grade most engineering degrees/programs are closed to you.

even then an engineering major is HIGHLY INTENSIVE you will be doing A LOT and i mean A LOT of realy realy hard math.

It's very time intensive and difficult. Unless you're very smart and can pick up things quickly, engineering is a degree that simply requires more time and effort than most degrees. Don't get me started with those damn 1 unit upper division labs that easily take more than 10 hours every week, and that might not even include writing the actual report lol. Try getting through the lower division math and science courses and see how you feel about it. If you want to switch majors at that point, those courses should cover most of your lower division requirements for other degrees anyway.

I am currently in school for mechanical engineering, and attempting to get a minor in computer science, I feel it can get overwhelming at times very easy.(Also not too excited that my courses have barely, if any, girls, but that shouldnt hold weight in your selection.)

Funny story..when I told my optometrist my selection for my major, compared to my brothers selection in art, he told me science degrees are harder than art, we can't sit around and drink and paint pictures while going through college, which I found amusing. (it was sarcasm, so please dont get offended if your an art major :P.)

I'm going for computer engineering but I've only had 1 engineering class (intro to engineering) and it was moderately difficult (especially for a 2 credit class, that was BS), although I think half of it was because I hated the class and it didn't even cover anything in my major. Toxic-Seahorse

What do you want to engineer? A new weapon of mass destruction? You scientists are all the same.SolidSnake35

Im doing electrical engineering.

I enjoy it lots, Its perfect for me. But its hard. There is lots of maths, lots of practical work that can be time consuming and if you want to do really well lots of reading around you need to do.

On the other hand, you should make friends easy because you will meet people of similar tastes, and therefore you can have fun. You will get less free time than many other subjects, but its the price you pay for doing a REAL course :P

It is rewarding, and you should enjoy it providing you were previously into the content beforehand.

Funny story..when I told my optometrist my selection for my major, compared to my brothers selection in art, he told me science degrees are harder than art, we can't sit around and drink and paint pictures while going through college, which I found amusing. (it was sarcasm, so please dont get offended if your an art major :P.)Shift05

It doesn't matter, all major suck... Engineering, Medicine, Law, Philosphy, ... they all suck.

Screw ilife.

You may not have as much free time as you like to drink, work, socialize or even play video games. That said, I've had plenty of free time, though, especially in the first two years. I WORK MY ASS OFF IN THE SUMMER AND WINTER BREAKS SO I DO NOT HAVE TO DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. THAT IS ABSOLUTELY PIVOTAL. I cannot fathom working full-time while going to school full-time while attempting to get an engineering degree. Your GPA may very well be lower than what you consider acceptable in spite of many hours of studying and working problems. Those are really the only downsides.

If you want to do it, go for it. You'll know soon enough whether or not it "is for you."

I found the liberal arts courses far harder and more time consuming than any actual engineering courses. :/ Give me Thermodynamics over English any time any day. :x

I found the liberal arts courses far harder and more time consuming than any actual engineering courses. :/ Give me Thermodynamics over English any time any day. :x

Storm_Marine

lol wat

I spent, like, a few hours crunching papers for English classes, and showed up to the actual lectures erry once win a while

Got As.

EASIEST CLASSES EVER

all u need to do is write properly, WRT spelling, grammar, content development, citations, and otherwise abiding by THE RULES

Same w/ history, econ, philosophy, music theory, etc.

Granted, ALL WERE LOWER LEVEL, REQ'D GEN EDS

fvck gen eds and "well-roundedness"

I FEEL SO ENLIGHTENED AND EDUCATED

j/k - most my learnings come from the internet

As someone who has been thinking about becoming a Software Engineer, this thread makes me think Computer programmer might just be smarter.

whatever you do don't do biomedical engineering.

whatever you do don't do biomedical engineering.

kingkong0124

why not? I have a brother in law that's in that field. I think he makes decent money.

whatever you do don't do biomedical engineering.

kingkong0124

^

this * 1000000000000

TruFax (TM)

if trying to engie undergrad while trying to get into medical school (LOL, if you do), do chemical instead. Can get $$ if sh!t falls apart that way.

[QUOTE="kingkong0124"]

whatever you do don't do biomedical engineering.

Storm_Marine

why not? I have a brother in law that's in that field. I think he makes decent money.

I suppose that I shouldn't dish biomed on the basis of money since I'm mechie, but biomed is neither $$$$$$$$$ or FUN FUN FUN (which mech is all about)

o

if i were to do a gay major for money

PETROLEUMS

[QUOTE="Storm_Marine"]

[QUOTE="kingkong0124"]

whatever you do don't do biomedical engineering.

kingkong0124

why not? I have a brother in law that's in that field. I think he makes decent money.

It probably is.

whatever you do don't do biomedical engineering.

kingkong0124

Also I never expected so many smart kids to be on gamespot. i thought they were all leftists

fun