| JBen:
If this is how someone feels about engineering they don't do it for four years I would imagine... either they fail or they drop out (I'd guess). That goes back to the high percentage of undergrad engineering majors that drop the major (>30%?).
That said, I think the OP has exaggerated the effort. I go to a school of only engineers, so I can't say I can compare how much time is spent working in engineering as opposed to other majors, but I almost like it. Sure it gets tiring, it's hard, but personally I enjoy the challenge. I'm an Engineering Physics major, so perhaps I am more physics than engineering, but as I finish my 2nd year I have done all the math, I've taken the lower level engineering classes (including the one that I hear at my school a lot of people ignore trying to do well in, they just want to finish... the sophomore glimpse into later courses maybe), and I've maintained a 3.5. At times I've struggled, but there are also pretty relaxed times. I have time for a sport and club, time to drink, time to just hang out...
It's just about knowing when to buckle down and doing it when that time comes. If you let assignments or studying for tests start to slip it all crashes down quite fast, and as you play catchup on some things you get behind on other, etc.
"Everyone says to succeed in engineering you have to work hard, study, don't be lazy and what not...and if you put your mind to it you can achieve. I am sorry to say people but this is complete bull crap." I have to say I disagree. Unlike the OP I was a 3.5 student in highschool, moderate test scores... maybe top 25%... not a "top caliber student". One of my friends was 2nd in his class. Another friend was top in her class and did much better on the standardized tests then I did. He is on the edge of 2.5 I think, she is at ~3.3. What's the only difference I can see between the three? I study more than both, and I pay attention and go to class more than one.
Do engineering if you like it, if you like the challenge, you like the math, you like the physics, you like the concepts... whatever it is. Do it because you like it for SOMETHING other than the salary or something like that. |