<p>I just started the second semester of my junior year and am taking am taking an elective that essentially surveys topics in Digital Electronics. I’m the only girl in the class, something I wouldn’t mind if my relative lack of knowledge wasn’t being pegged on my sex. I’m proving an intuitive learner when it comes to concepts such as Boolean Algebra and Programmable logic, however I’ve so far been wholly incompetent with regards to breadboarding and sub-par in Multisim and Matlab. It’s very discouraging, and just yesterday I was told that I’d be better off working in mechanics where I couldn’t ruin lives 
I understand it’s been but 2 weeks in the class and that things could turn around any day, but as it stands, my peers and I are questioning whether I have the capacity to be an efficient engineer even if I make it through a degree program. Are abilities like breadboarding and using drafting software able to be built, and if not, should I just throw in the towel and become a scientist, steering clear of all applied concepts? Advice, thoughts?</p>
<p>don’t be silly. just work harder.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That statement right there should invalidate anything that person ever says to you again. A person is far more likely to die in some sort of mechanical failure than electrical failure. What a m0r0n.</p>
<p>Have you had any experience with breadboarding, Multisim and Matlab? Experience is gold when it comes to things like software, and hands-on stuff. It is probably more that you haven’t had enough practice with those, rather than that you are actually incompetent. Plus, scientists will still need to know how to do those things…</p>
<p>I took a circuits class with a bunch of mechEs once. Breadboards aren’t that hard to figure out, but they still took three times as long as I did to build an h bridge; it’s just a lot easier to do things efficiently when you’ve had a lot of practice. </p>
<p>Also don’t guys discourage you based on your sex. There will always be people like that, but you have to realize they are just ignorant @$$holes.</p>
<p>Bandgeek,</p>
<p>I don’t think you should worry about whether you are a good engineer. I’d focus on what you need to do to learn the material in your class.</p>
<p>Real life engineering is completely different than what you are doing in college, and thankfully, much easier.</p>
<p>Being the only girl, it shouldn’t be hard to put together a study group to work on the homework assignments and review the class material. I usually recommend group study in courses that are hard because it’s much easier to learn material that way than trying to on your own.</p>
<p>bandgeek:</p>
<p>This a hard question to answer, perhaps moreso than you realize. To illustrate, let me ask you a question: do you enjoy breadboarding, multisim, and matlab? If you do enjoy them, then you and everybody else would realize it’s just a matter of time before you “get the hang” of them. I mean, things you like doing are usually pretty easy to pick up. There’s no real intellectual challenge in those sorts of things, so the fact that you’re having trouble with it has probably more to do with motivation than ability. A lack of motivation could betray a deeper lack of interest in your current major course of study.</p>
<p>I suppose you’re pretty far into your degree program, and that at this point it might make more sense to just stick it out and graduate. However, you could always jump ship and switch to something you enjoy more… if it is a question of interest, that is, and not simply lack of ability or time. You might want to look into degree requirements for other majors and see how much overlap there is - you might be well on your way to any of the following degrees:</p>
<ul>
<li>Applied Mathematics</li>
<li>Computer Engineering</li>
<li>Computer Science</li>
<li>Statistics
etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>Depending on a variety of factors, it’s entirely possible - especially if you can still switch classes now and you don’t mind staying the Summer - that you could have 4 semesters to take as many as 24 courses to complete a degree in any of these subjects. Even if it’s too late this semester to change, you could still have 3 semesters and around 18 courses. You’re not trapped.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to discourage you, but if you feel like your major’s not a good fit, you can switch. If you like your major then you’ll be fine, provided that you work hard at it. You don’t say what your grades are like. Do you regularly fail courses? Is your performance good? Is it a mixed bag? Don’t let people make you feel like you’re doing poorly… you know whether or not you’re doing poorly and that’s all you need to know. Also bear in mind that you may have other important skills some of these people don’t have… technical skills are necessary but not sufficient, and a lot of the technical skills that make people great in school don’t necessarily make them attractive to employers. You certainly have more people skills than some of your peers, if their commentary is any indication.</p>
<p>That’s how I see it, anyway. At the end of the day I’d recommend you think about why you decided to major in your field in the first place, and see if those reasons are still applicable today. There’s no shame in switching majors and you may not even be too late to still graduate on time.</p>
<p>If it’s reassuring at all, the electrical engineers that I work with (I’m a full time employee) don’t use breadboards, multisim, or matlab. And most of them would fail misearbly if someone wanted them to do any of that kind of work.</p>
<p>bigtrees, thats interesting. Can you tell me what they do? Because it would be a waste if an engineer doesn’t do what he learned in college or apply it to some extent.</p>
<p>OP- There is a girl 2 years younger than me. She’s a double major( 4 year program ). President of two engineering related clubs. 3.8 gpa. I don’t see how being a girl can make you less of an engineer.</p>
<p>Hang in there bandgeek. Every engineer has been in your position at some point during college, I know I was. An engineering degree is a very difficult thing to obtain. Some classes can be very frustrating. Trust me you are not alone. You won’t understand 100 percent of the material so don’t be so hard on yourself. </p>
<p>Also, I fail to see how working in mechanics doesn’t jeapardize lives. I mean, was this person being sarcastic? Mechanics is the first thing that comes to mind when I think about engineering disasters.</p>
<p>Yeah, a EE screws up and, oh no, your computer/car/lights don’t work! An ME/CivE screws up and, oh no, your bridge is collapsing/engine is exploding/plane is crashing.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that just because you graduated with an Engineering degree you would be actually doing Engineering at work. Most of the engineers where I work work mostly with MS Office, attend meetings, check emails etc. :D</p>
<p>
My own personal rule for circuit classes - find an EE to pair with.</p>
<p>And due to various self selection factors I generally thought the average girl was a superior student than the average male. In ME there was quite a few knowledge handicaps at least initially.</p>
<p>It was funny to see MEs and non-EE majors struggling with the basic circuit course…durr…what’s an opamp? 
good times</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much for the support; I think you misunderstand though. I’m a * high school * junior, not a college one and still have a ways to go before I matriculate, let alone begin taking engineering courses at the collegiate level. I talked to my guidance counselor about this and she pointed out the fact that however far behind my peers i am, I’m still ahead of a lot of kids without the opportunity to take a class like this.</p>
<p>As a high school junior, you shouldn’t even worry. Learn all that you can, and worry about settling down completely with a major once you actually get to college. You have at least 2.5 years before you have to start deciding upon your major. A lot can happen in that time; who knows, maybe you’ll become the best breadboarder/multisimmer/matlabber evaaaar. The point I’m trying to make is that you shouldn’t let a random class as a junior in high school determine your entire career path. Take things as they come.</p>
<p>Oh, that makes a big difference.</p>
<p>Electrical engineering is much more about using equations to solve calculations than breadboarding. Electrical engineers do some breadboarding in labs, but spend far more time solving equations. So - your math and science skills mean much more than your ability to do breadboarding.</p>
<p>You’ll also mature a lot in the next couple years and concepts that are hard today will be easy in 2.5 years.</p>
<p>You haven’t even taken an engineering class yet so why are you doubting yourself? College classes are completely different from high school classes. Right now your view of engineering is very limited. In college you will find that there are some areas within your field that you will like and accel at and there will be other areas that you don’t like and will not be motivated to learn. You can focus on the specific sub-field that you really enjoy. Engineering is very flexible in this way.</p>