<p>I have decided to study civil engineering, but I am a little concerned because my math is not too good (I am currently in 10th grade) in your opinion, how difficult is engineering math and what are the themes and subjects it covers? if i am 80/100 in school in math and physics how good or bad do you think i will do in college? should I pick another major?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>You will actually use advanced math in your job as an engineer in the real world. To get to that point you need to master, or at the very least, have a good working understanding of advanced mathematical concepts. Just to get into a decent engineering program you should shoot for 700 or above in math on the SAT and 30 or above in math on the ACT. These are minimum numbers and anything greater than that will be a big plus.</p>
<p>(1) You need to start looking forward to math and not fearing it. Look at math like a foreign language that just needs to be mastered and your goal is fluency. As an engineer, you do not need to “do” math well, you need to “converse” effectively in it.
(2) Relax, hire a tutor that is passionate about math, and get busy. Just like you need to memorize vocabulary for a foreign language you need to memorize concepts and formulas for math. Remember the goal is fluency and the ability to communicate to others and solve problems in numbers. The more difficult a mathematical concept is the more things that you can “talk” about later when you master it.
(3) If you want to be a civil engineer, go for it. Do not give up on your dream because you are not good a math. There are mathematical geniuses that can’t build a bridge or an airport. And there are accomplished engineers that aren’t that great in math. But you must have fluency and be able to converse in math or your future in any STEM field is limited. </p>
<p>For you the goal is to be able to communicate well and draw conclusions with mathematical concepts. Just like any language, it takes time, effort and repetition. If you think of math like a language you will have it licked in no time with the right support and effort.</p>
<p>You need good math skills in engineering, but they don’t have to be great. After all, you are not planning to become a math major, and developing abstract theories of conceptual math or something like that.</p>
<p>But engineers do work with numbers; there is no getting around that.</p>
<p>If math and numbers scare you, or you are no good with them, it would be better to go into a field that doesn’t use them, like English Lit, Sociology, or something like that.</p>
<p>Thank you very much, ill do my best to get ready for college.</p>
<p>Where you will have trouble is in your college engineering classes. Many engineering classes rely heavily on good math skills. After all, what is engineering but describing a physical system mathmatically and then operating on that math model. Engineering is difficult enough with good amth skills. </p>
<p>Work on your math skills if you really want to be an engineer. Remmember that math skills build from math skills. Learn the material well enough that you could teach it to someone else. Don’t just learn enough for the test but learn the reason why. It is the reason “why” that becomes critical in engineering.</p>
<p>Working in the Civil Engineering field you will find jobs that are analyitcally based and those that are not. Once you graduate, you can then choose your career path.</p>
<p>PS. My wife has soemwhat poor math skills but has had a successful career as an engineer. She works more on the regulatory and inspection side of the field so she doesn’t use very high math skills in her work.</p>