<p>I’m no genius and definitely not what you would consider to be passionate about engineering. I was never involved in a lot of technical things as a kid and I couldn’t handle the rigors of a top engineering program either, but I finished my degree (MechE) at at another school through lots of hard work and effort. Most of the guys in my class weren’t gifted but we put in the time and effort that was needed to succeed. And the hard work and daily grind trains you for some real world jobs. I am a power plant engineer and the job is very demanding but having been able to plow through hard work before lets me know that I can face what is ahead of me. But instead of an exam grade pressuring me to do well, I have a manager on my back.</p>