<p>I really like the engineering field - I really do - but lately, some comments I've received have really gotten to me.</p>
<p>For example - I was working on assembling an antique cabinet the other day and had a lot of trouble with it, I was so frustrated because it took my hours to disassemble a relatively simple device. Does this indicate a lack of technical "know how"? Isn't this "mechanical intuition" absolutely necessary for the engineering field? Should I kiss my aspirations of being a great engineer good bye because of these failures?</p>
<p>Please answer, I'm very depressed and don't know what to do anymore.</p>
<p>With that kind of thinking, yeah, you definitely should. You're going to find much greater and deeper frustrations as an engineer, and such little tenacity is a horrible characteristic.</p>
<p>There are problems you can solve, and problems you can't solve. I wasn't especially good at algebra in middle school, but I'm good at calculus. If you have the drive, you'll be able to overcome these little problems. True, you may not invent the next huge innovation, but with a fine enough intelligence and a whole lot of drive - why the hell can't you be a part of it?</p>
<p>I was amazed at how few of my friends had the engineering "touch" when dealing with actual mechanical systems. But, then again, for most engineering jobs you really don't need to have the hands-on knowhow. I mean, if you're designing parts in CAD all day, it doesn't really matter how good you are at taking apart a radio, fixing it, and putting it back together.</p>
<p>Remember that there are people who are naturally gifted at mechanical/spatial connections, but not all engineers have to excel at that. Also remember that some people who are good at mechanical assembly, etc. have watched experienced elders do these sorts of things before they tried it on their own. Have you ever watched someone assemble a piece of cabinetry?</p>
<p>No, you do not need to have elite assembly skills to be an engineer.
No, you do not need superior brain power to understand {insert engineering course}.
No, you do not need to do calculus on your free time.
No, you do not need to have spent your childhood taking things apart then putting them back together.</p>
<p>Don't buy into the stigma that <em>certain</em> people can be engineers, and no one else. It is true that some people just have that skill set, natural talent, whatever you want to call it. But for anyone who doesn't mind working hard on a problem or thinking logically to find a solution (whether it be checking fluid levels for a car that won't start or searching through each shelf in the fridge to find the weird smell), engineering is completely doable.</p>
<p>Engineering can frustrate you, but it is worth studying.</p>
<p>I did not spend hours taking apart and putting together electrical appliances as a child. That was my younger brother's schtick.</p>
<p>I acted. I wrote poetry. I liked kitties. I liked playing with Legos, but people would never buy 'em for me. I used to get teapots and pretty hats. (You've got to be kidding me, family.) I played with Barbies, but Barbie wouldn't bake muffins in the kitchen, she'd be an entrepreneur, or go to med school, or be an astronomer and discover aliens.</p>
<p>That "I can put things together" mentality is one that can be developed, it's not something that has to be innate. In the four or five years you're going to spend solving all those engineering questions in college, you're going to find that you've developed a certain way of looking at a problem. You'll learn to look at all the factors involved, you'll determine what can be changed, you'll figure out what systems are affecting the problem and what ones you can rule out as not being the cause of the problem. </p>
<p>Then suddenly, you'll be on a construction site with a bunch of architects and contractors hanging from the side of a building trying to do a window water test and wondering why they're not getting any water pressure. They'll be on their walkie talkies, radioing down to the ground level frantically asking for pressure readings, and everyone will be in a snit, and you, the lone engineering professional, will look down and notice that the garden hose they're using is doubled over. You'll reach down, unkink the hose, and everyone will get sprayed with water except you. Embarassed, they will radio down and claim that they've solved the problem, they'll mumble a "thanks," and that's when you'll know you're an actual engineer.</p>
<p>If it's what you want to do, then do it. You'll develop the "mechanical intuition" necessary. It's not something you have to be proficient in from birth.</p>
<p>haha... if only engineering problems were as simple as putting together an antique table. You're comparing apples to oranges here. This is a common fallacy, and its utterly wrong.</p>
<p>Being able to easily (or with difficulty) put together an antique piece of furniture has no bearing on how good or bad of an engineer you will be. Engineering problems are incredibly complex and no one is really good at them. People in my family all have a knack of taking apart and fixing things... tables, beds, furniture, appliances, toasters, microwave ovens, computers, printers, you name it. I, on the other hand, suck at all these things. I have a hard time screwing a bolt most of the times (thank you, righty tighty lefty loosy!)... but the fact of the matter is that no one else other than me is on the path to becoming an engineer.</p>
<p>The thing about dexterious jobs is that they become exponentially easier the more you do them. Take apart a few different types of things and put them back together and you will get really good at this type of thing. Engineering OTOH is not that simple. Each problem is different and you have to learn to think and solve problems rather than be able to put together something with your hands. You can always get someone else to do that for you if you're really THAT bad at it. The important thing is being able to solve problems with your head.</p>
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" I was working on assembling an antique cabinet the other day and had a lot of trouble with it, I was so frustrated because it took my hours to disassemble a relatively simple device. Does this indicate a lack of technical "know how"? "
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<p>That's what the low paid assembly technicians are for. The highly paid engineers do all their work on computers and in conference rooms. ;)</p>