tl;dr: i’m stressed because i am a first-year with no direction in life or any particular skills that will make employers want me.
I am a first-year mechanical engineering major. I am considering a business minor and a computer science certificate. My adviser is telling me not to do both, since it’ll be overwhelming and that many students said the cs certificate was not worth it but I have this irrational fear of never being able to get a job unless I am super well-rounded. I also wanted to do a semester abroad or a maymester. I want to go to the McComb’s Summer Institute but I think the best time would be this year. But I want to go to a maymester in Japan this summer, which means I would have to put off the Summer Institute to next year, which means I won’t have time to intern my sophomore year and I feel that like puts me behind everyone else in my class.
Sorry, I know I am ranting right now but I have a calculus exam in t-5 hours and I don’t understand anything and I just feel like I might as well drop out LMAOOOOO. I love my professor but I think he’s too smart for me. idek why I am an engineering major tbh, I am extremely bad at physics and extremely bad at math.
Should I pursue a certificate in cs? Is it worth my time?
Am I just stressing myself out? Do I even have to worry about this stuff? (I went to EXPO and it was hard to see recruiters look at my resume and realize that I am literally USELESS to their company)
I am sorry. I hope midterms are going well for y’all. uwu xd i hate school.
If you want to be an engineer, don’t do the certificate or minor. Take more engineering design and analysis classes instead. That’s what employers want. They could not care less about someone being “well-rounded.” They want a new employee to be as ready as possible to hit the ground running. Even if you take a LOT of engineering classes, you will still have a ton to learn on the job.
If you don’t want to be an engineer, major in something else.
Do what you want to do, but whatever you choose, your study habits need revamping. Being up at 5am before a test (really any day) is a sign of inefficient, disorganized studying.
Worry about what’s in front of your right now - getting through exams successfully. You don’t need a bunch of certifications. Spend your summers productively and you will find a job.
Listen to these other adults. DO NOT try to think about your entire four years all at once. Right now you need to get your study habits and the courses you are taking under control. Go to math tutoring, your professor’s office hours, whatever it takes to make sure that you are understanding and learning your current calculus course. One semester at a time. Don’t worry about minors or certificates if it is too much. Keep abreast of any applications that need to be done in advance. Otherwise focus on the now and take one day at a time.
Rather than cramming for an exam, I always thought a good nights sleep was important. Cramming when exhausted and tired only mixed up your undersatanding about the subject. A good nights sleep gave you the clear mind to figure things out.
As pointed out above; I always was more interested in hiring college applicants who had more depth in the field rather than breath across subjects, most of which were not applicable to the position offered.
In my engineering program, there were plenty of kids smarter than me. I still graduated with honors with this method - do ALL the homework (whether graded of not) and reading, study for exams … then get a good night’s sleep.
I was taking an evening grad class while I was working. I kept up with all the assignments and reading. I made sure I understand it as it was being presented. That makes it much easier to understand the next lecture. I was planning to do some review the night before the final when my wife’s car broke down a ways out of town. Took all evening and into all my planned study time to get it working enough to get home. There went my study time. I worked the next day as I had many meetings and a lot of other work to do. Rather than cram after work I went and did some Christmas shopping at the mall and just cleared my mind. All my previous work paid off and I aced the final.
You’re a first year. Worry about getting through the first year in a mechanical program. It will get harder.
I graduated as an AE. Lots of fluids, with a pretty good smattering of mechanical minus all the gears. I then decided against entering the military, as I was offered a stipend to attend grad school, where I expanded into environmental engineering, mainly water quality.
In short, every job I ever had, I never really planned to go for. After a few years experience, headhunters will track you down. You might even find yourself working a career that excels with an engineering degree, yet really minimizes the engineering work. I know it sounds hard to believe but basically the only job I ever worked where I was performing a lot of calculations was right out of school. Three years after that, I found myself working as a sales engineer, a career I had no idea which even existed. Not only was it rewarding, I found it lucrative, as I typically made twice what most engineers my same age did while working fewer hours. Thirty years later, I can look around at the fruits of my labor and smile. I perform some calculations from time to time, but they’re usually very easy - pump selection, basin sizing.
To give you an idea of the backgrounds I have worked with, they include water treatment and conveyance products, automation and controls, hydraulics and pnuematics, and now mining engineering products. I’ve been able to travel all over North America on someone else’s dime while taking it all in. I’ve met some great friends and contacts all over the U.S. over the years in these positions.
For now, don’t stress about a job. Get through school, it’s stressful enough. The dropout rate for first years is about 60%. Discipline, determination and a willingness to ask why are more important than GPA at this stage. And it won’t get easier next year. Most students find year two of the BS the most difficult. A lot of people have provided very good advice above. Sleep and focus are important. Your social life will take a hiatus until you graduate. Just enjoy these years! They seem impossible now, but in 20 years, you may look back and realize how much fun and rewarding they really were.