<p>I dropped out of high school due to multiple hospitalizations and health problems. Though the school couldn't legally support my dropping out, they did supported it. Please don't think I was lazy or a slacker. I've been on the honor roll my entire life and have certainly never failed class or come close to it.
I started community college and did my developmental math courses and college algebra. I got A's in all of them. I learned that I liked math. I took a physics class and I liked it, but I dropped the class (last I heard there were only 10 people left and they were all struggling for C's because the teacher was so crappy) to keep my 4.0. I liked the physics material itself, but I don't know about physics as a whole just because of the teacher.</p>
<p>I know that engineering is mainly physics and math. I've been admitted into a university and will start precalculus this semester. I'd like to be a mechanical engineer, but I doubt everything because of my past. Can anyone please offer advice? When will I know if I will be able to become an engineer? Is there a certain course or anything?</p>
<p>I don’t see anything particularly damning here to make you question things.</p>
<p>Is it because you’re a few years behind? You’d be surprised how many students are only starting their degree in their mid-20s. At my university, it might well have been at least half of them.</p>
<p>Is it because you fear recurring health problems? That could be a problem, but I hope that you have figured that out by now, or else a long-term school commitment will put a strain on your health. If you think that you can’t handle stress without severe health damage, you’d be well-advised to find some other path.</p>
<p>Is it because you’re starting with pre-calc instead of calculus? This is somewhat normal, although you might have to take a semester of Calculus and Physics over the summer in your first year to stay on track.</p>
<p>Is it because you’re not certain of your ability to commit to the program? This is one only you can answer. But let’s just say that dropping classes because you don’t like the teacher (whether or not they do really, truly suck) is not the right way to go about things. Don’t do that. Some professors are difficult in a way that would be hard to appreciate until you’re further along, and some are just plain incompetent teachers. Either way, either pick a different session of the class or suck it up and slog through it. That’s the only way to get through things.</p>
<p>I am a few years behind and it does make me think twice. Thanks for the encouraging words.</p>
<p>To be honest, I am doing the best I’ve done in the past 11 years, but the stress does make me question it. I’ve heard engineering is incredibly difficult. It does make me rethink my plans, but I still want to do it. Do you have any advice on how to handle the stress?</p>
<p>I’ve already got all of that planned out. I’ll take precalculus 1 this semester, precalculus 2 wintermester, cal 1 in the spring so I can get into engineering courses.</p>
<p>No, I know I can commit to it. I just have a lack of self confidence.
You make a very valid point about the professor and me dropping the class. In my defense, I dropped until the last day I could (I wanted to get all the information I could) and teacher was truly incompetent. I liked the guy, but he just wasn’t a good teacher. Like I said, over 15 people dropped and the remaining students were struggling for C’s.</p>
<p>Well, you’ll never be able to fully avoid stress, but having a stable sleep schedule is a massive benefit. It’s usually better to wake up early to finish an assignment you’re running late on than to do it when you don’t have the strength left to think clearly.</p>
<p>Though you shouldn’t drop a class just because you don’t like the teacher, it might not be a bad idea to drop one if you bit off more than you could chew (especially if it wouldn’t delay graduation). You absolutely shouldn’t make a habit of it though, because not only does it look very bad on your transcript, but also it’s not very good for completing the degree.</p>
<p>A lot of succeeding in engineering and physics is working hard at the courses. If you have good study habits and the maturity to know when you have to put in extra effort, you will have a good chance to succeed.</p>
<p>Not everyone would agree, but one of the most helpful things to do is this: Learn to figure things out for yourself rather than learning from a group (or from asking TAs and professors for help). The material sticks better that way.</p>
<p>“Real life” may be group work, but you’re not learning the fundamentals for the first time in real life either. </p>
<p>You have to learn to do it yourself, but working in a group is still incredibly useful if done properly. Groups are great for working on the parts of problems and concepts that are just absolutely a sticking point for you, especially since your peers who do understand are often likely to be able to explain it in ways that are wholly different from the professor or a TA. The goal is to not let that become a crutch, however, and let it help you develop your own understanding such that you can move on with learning independently as needed.</p>
<p>Well, I like to give my students the following advice (not that they always take it) for the physics classes I teach.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Attend all the class sessions and sit in front. Faculty members notice you if you are in the front and it does make a difference.</p></li>
<li><p>Take notes in class. I know that this seems a bit antiquated as a practice but there is something about writing down what you are seeing that helps you take the first step in learning the material. Plus it forces you to concentrate on what you are hearing.</p></li>
<li><p>Read the book. So many students just go to the chapter summary and try to do homework using that. It really is not a good idea. As part of this, close the book and do the derivations and sample problems you have just read about on your own. This is the same idea as taking notes.</p></li>
<li><p>Try to do the homework problems with the book closed first. If you can’t get it, then open the book and get help.</p></li>
<li><p>Go to office hours. Faculty members have them for a reason and it is very frustrating when students who need help don’t reach out and come talk about it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Working in groups works well if you have a good mix of people. You want people you can learn from and people who you can help too.</p>
<p>The hardest part of Engineering is after you graduate and hit the real world, I would take going back to Engineering school any day over the daily drama, politics, bickering between departments, those who are hung up on their degrees thinking they are holier than thou, seeing interns sit at their desk and look around with nothing to do because they are not being given any work, direction or challenge.</p>
<p>The last one is the biggest, favoritism and delegation of work being given to the wrong people. Nothing harder then sitting back and watching others fail and not listen to your suggestions. I have seen some Engineers in my department struggle with problem for months, that I could have solved in a week, but Management doesn’t seem to push team work or pulling resources from the right spots. </p>
<p>Yes, I got a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Chemistry (yes, I know that I have been outspoken about not getting 2 degrees but in my defense, it only took 4 years total), then a Ph.D. in Physics. My research is on the interface between physics, chemistry and materials science.</p>
<p>Ha, ha. I knew I wanted to have a career in research and preferably at a university. There are lots of people smarter than I am and most of them aren’t university professors. It is simply what I wanted to do and i was fortunate enough to be able to achieve my goals.</p>