How did you survive engineering school?

Edwards Finance > General Engineering

Q. I am a first year ME student at Oregon state university and earned a 4.00 gpa my first semester. Now, the end of the second semester is nearing and I am still in the A- range in all my classes but feel overextended, and I am only taking 14 credits. The reason is one class: Pro/E solid modeling / graphic design requires 20+ hours per week work outside of class to just complete labs and assignments. This is unlike any other class; most have a credit to hour workload ratio of about 1:4 at the most. How did you maneuver around sinkhole classes like this? There are going to be many more like this for me, especially when the time comes to enter pro school. The worst part is the prof's attitude. I can't believe that myself and the state of Oregon are paying for such apathy from a "professional". I'm 26 and have been in the working world, where such a careless attitude toward clients would get you fired in an instant. If you have any words of wisdom for me regarding surviving this dysfunctional institution, I would love to read them. I expect 100% effort and understanding from myself and it is difficult being graded by what appears to be a liberal arts "guess what I expect you to do" mindset. Is the real engineering world after college this bad?

A. -Sometimes. Like any "job", sometimes you have an *sshole for a "boss". This too shall pass. And you sure don't get the straight scoop on the requirements, either. He might be just toughening you up. -Words of advice - almost every engineering student thinks their university is out to screw them. Your feelings are not unique. However, do not waste your time in this mind frame. Your professor has something to offer. With some hard work, you will understand what that is - maybe not immediately though. Maybe the "apathy" is the students who expect a professor to have some cosmic ability to dump their knowledge into each students eager mind. Maybe your solid modeling course is so vital that no mechanical engineer coming out of school can work without this background. If you have worked in industry already, you should be fully aware that you cannot compartmentalize every project into a predefined effort expenditure on your part. "Is the real engineering world after college this bad?" - I would not describe the "real engineering" world as bad. I would describe much of it as presenting ill-defined problems though. You are the one that will be asked to take a very vague problem description and coming up with a solution. Much of the solution will be your ability to define the problem better. Engineering = problem solving!!! Please understand and accept that now, or you are in the wrong profession.

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