Brent W. Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Hello everyone. I've been a long time reader of the forums but this is my first post. I'm currently learning at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Engineering in my freshman year. Like all first year engineering students I am as of right now, "discipline-less" and at the end of this semester I will apply to be enrolled in one of the college's multiple disciplenes (civil, mechanical, etc...). The problem I'm facing is that I'm unsure of which to choose. This isn't to say that I've come into this without direction or idea of what I was going to do. Quite the contrary, In my later years in high school and leading up to university I had every intention and certainty that I was going to study to become an engineering physicist. This was for the reason that my high school classes really hooked me on the subject, that it was all about getting into the guts of what the universe is made of, how it works and how it can be used to do extraordinary things. That said, engineering college has been... well, a humbling experience, as I'm sure anyone here who has ever attended an engineering college or is an engineer can attest to. I came from being at the top of my classes in highschool to being beaten up regularily by my university courses. I am surviving, and adapting to the new changes as I know I will continue to do. However, the most major area of struggle I'm with is in my calculus classes. I am good at math, hell I have to be to survive in this school, but in all honesty I'd say my ability in this new environment is about average. That's where the problem is, Engineering Physics is by far the most calc heavy discipline the college has to offer and generally draws the mathematical elite of the engineers. It's important to note however that, while EP is my first choice, that's not to say that it's the only disciplene I could enjoy or love. I find Geological and Mech-engg to also be very fascinating and enjoyable. So your thoughts on the matter would be much appreciated, I'd just like some other brains to bounce my thoughts off of. I will be making the decision on my own, needless to say, I wasn't raised to be a second-hander anyhow thanks for your time and my first post is complete. *also, it's not like this is an imminent decision that needs to be made on the double, I have literally untill the end of the semester before I'm given the opportunity to apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 *also, it's not like this is an imminent decision that needs to be made on the double, I have literally untill the end of the semester before I'm given the opportunity to apply. Well, you'd better make that decision then. Ooh, and welcome to OO.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake_Ellison Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 However, the most major area of struggle I'm with is in my calculus classes. I am good at math, hell I have to be to survive in this school, but in all honesty I'd say my ability in this new environment is about average. That's where the problem is, Engineering Physics is by far the most calc heavy discipline the college has to offer and generally draws the mathematical elite of the engineers. Calculus in engineering college is hardest in the first year. Learning math is so different in the college format (there's so much more material/hour, than in high school), that it takes a lot of getting used to it. It should be way easier the second year, and maybe even the second semester, especially if you managed to struggle through the first semester with some knowledge and improved methods of studying to build on. You should at least check with some of the teachers (or teachers' assistants who have recently graduated), to see what they have to say about it, before letting calculus weigh on your choice too heavily. I bet the actual engineering courses will also be quite hard (in my experience, they might be easier to follow, but they definitely require more ass in the seat time than calculus), and you'll wish you picked your favorite specialization when faced with that, in later years. Calculus gets easier, everything else gets harder, in later years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grames Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Freshman math courses for engineering and science majors are used to weed out the weak and unworthy. If you make it through, you will not face another similar stress test. Once you do declare a major, that specialty will tend to want to keep you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert J. Kolker Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Follow your strongest talent. If you don't like it, you can always switch later. Bob Kolker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMeganSnow Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 I disagree with Kolker completely, because I don't think "talent" amounts to anything in this world. "Talent" is shorthand for saying "the amount of prep time and focus you put into a particular pursuit". No one has a talent for anything short of actually pursuing whatever it is. Decide what you WANT to do and then DO IT, no matter HOW hard it is and no matter whether you're in the top 5% or bottom 2% of your chosen profession. Don't ask "do I have the ability to do this?", find out what is necessary to do it and then do it. If that means you need to study 50% more than your colleagues, so what? A degree is really a means to an end, anyway. What is it you're planning to DO with this degree once you have it? Are you going into academia? Independent research? Education? What? That will help you decide whether this particular degree is getting you where you want to go without expending a bunch of pointless effort on spinning your wheels. I know that sounds kind of contradictory to the advice above, but it's part of the same issue. If 50% more study is REALLY necessary for you to be able to do exactly what you want to do, then don't decide that it's too hard and give up too easily. There are times when putting that much extra effort in REALLY is impossible, but not as often as people think. But don't switch majors SOLELY because another major might be easier. You're just cheating yourself if you do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent W. Posted January 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2010 Thanks everyone for your input on my little dillema. I'm sorry for this much time to respond on my own thread, awfull forum etiquitte I'm sure. Been really swamped this past week. As I stated before I've got a lot of time before I have write anything in stone. That, and a lot of hoops to jump through and bridges to cross before I get there. However, a bit of great news. Yesterday I got my first math quiz of the semester back and believe it or not 100%! this was easily the proudest moment of my university career thusfar considering last semester I failed more often than not on my quizes. The effort is paying off and maybe this EP thing might just work out after all. I bet the actual engineering courses will also be quite hard (in my experience, they might be easier to follow, but they definitely require more ass in the seat time than calculus), and you'll wish you picked your favorite specialization when faced with that, in later years. Calculus gets easier, everything else gets harder, in later years. Interesting you should say that, the general response that I hear is that math courses are "the one thing" that will always get harder as one progresses. I do agree that the engineering classes are easier to follow and that they will undoubtably get more complicated as time goes on. Also, thanks everyone for the warm reception to the OO.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboimpala Posted January 27, 2010 Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 I have a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering. I took AP Calculus in high school and finished Calculus 3 and differential equations in my first year of college. I didn't find the math difficult until my 3rd year of college. "Advanced Engineering Math" and the math built into the other more advanced engineering classes, like heat transfer and strength of materials was difficult. But I don't think the difficulty was related to how advanced the material was, or any kind of natural talent. I think it was related to how interested or passionate I was about the subject. In high school and early in college I enjoyed math and science very much so it was easy to focus and work hard at learning. But then I started playing electric guitar and my interest and passion switched from engineering to music. That made it very easy to focus on practicing the guitar but very difficult to focus on learning math and science. I didn't get very good grades in my last year of college but I graduated and I've been working as an engineer for almost 15 years. Are you still interested in math, science and engineering? Or are you more interested in something else, like music or philosophy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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