Is Engineering the right choice for a "right brained" person? Ft: A Ridiculous Amt of Questions

[Destrxct]

<p>WARNING: I'm about to go into a rant about my frustrations and personal attributes regarding my potential as an engineer, if you want my bottom line questions then just skip to the starred paragraph.</p>

<p>I am currently an upperclassman in highschool. My entire life, I have been considered extremely gifted in the world of creative writing and literature. Words have always come naturally to me, and I learn the best when presented with visual and interactive material. Right now, where others may find things difficult I'm breezing through my AP literature class, it's like a free A basically, and I'm not saying all of this to try and sound braggy but just to establish where my strengths are.</p>

<p>Now, I decided to opt for as many AP/Honors classes as possible so all of my core classes are equally rigorous, but math is just not my strong suite. It's never been my strong suite. I'm currently in the 80s in my Pre-Calc class(straight As or high Bs in the rest), and I'm that person whose usually the last to finish tests and understand concepts without a lot of practice, and it just makes me kinda sad. Math has always been my most frustrating subject.(A side note, I enrolled in Honors Chem this year and I actually have a high A, which is weird as science also does not come super easily to me. I kinda enjoy chemistry though)</p>

<p>I want to have a job that contributes something huge to our society, I'd love to be the kind of person that leaves a legacy. Of course, it's been proven many times in history that words are a powerful thing, but we're living in a society where those who prove to be great at mathematics and science strive way more academically and are given far more merit. I stumbled across a site called EngineerGirl, and it made me realize that engineering fits my dream job description nearly perfectly. I've been kind of obsessing over engineering quite honestly, doing a lot of research(in the form of Youtube videos and a few articles) on the quality of life that one has as an engineer and how much self-fulfillment it produces. Since everyone is different, the results were, of course, equally as mixed.</p>

<p>However, I haven't been able to find any accounts from anyone like me interested in this field. </p>

<p>****** I guess the point of all of this rambling is, how would a creative/visual girl that has to work a little harder in math do in engineering? Which branch of engineering would allow me to express my creativity the most? If I got into this field, how would I be treated as a girl, especially one who might have to look to her classmates often for help(Would I be scorned and trambled over in this field)? Is there a big chance I'll get shoved in a stuffy office where I'll slowly slip into a sea of depression and self-loathing?
To those who are engineers, are women in your field often harassed or ostracized?(I'm not as concerned about this, and trust me, I'm used to being a minority but just out of curiosity). Chemical engineering sounds pretty interesting, but of course it turns out it's one of, if not the hardest, branch of engineering. So why is this so and is it true? What to do chemical engineers do? Do you like the branch of engineering you choose? Why or why not? How easy is it to switch between the various branches? Which branch seems the most stressed out all of the time? Do you have time for relationships/a social life? Are you able to invent things and see the awesome satisfaction of robots that you built walking around and doing things? Does immense knowledge in math and science make you feel like a superhero since you understand how the world works and can figure out ways to manipulate it?</p>

<p>Finally, based on what I've said, if you honestly don't think engineering is the right fit for someone of my description, what is a job where I can express myself creatively, have job stability and a good salary, and feel like I'm contributing majorly to society?</p>

<p>p.s. I really don't ever want to end up as a teacher. Also, when I intially looked into engineering, money didn't even cross my mind although it is an enormous plus.</p>

[Destrxct]

<p>I realize that those are a whole lot of questions, so if anyone could answer at least one of them I’d really appreciate it</p>

[Seirsly]

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<p>How would a person who has to work a little harder in math do in engineering?</p>

<br>

<p>Just fine as long as he/ she works harder in math. </p>

<br>

<p>If I got into this field, how would I be treated as a girl? </p>

<br>

<p>I’m a girl studying civil engineering in a civil eng school that is 22% women. Don’t try to use your gender as an excuse or a special honor and you’ll do fine. </p>

<br>

<p>, especially one who might have to look to her classmates often for help(Would I be scorned and trambled over in this field)?</p>

<br>

<p>Define “often.” As a college student, you should become more independent and try to find answers on your own or use the school’s many resources (office hours, TAs, tutors). It might be my competitive-ness, but most students wouldn’t enjoy holding your hand through homework assignments. I do study with a small group of friends, but people who can never seem to find answers by themselves are a bit of a dead weight…</p>

<br>

<p>Is there a big chance I’ll get shoved in a stuffy office where I’ll slowly slip into a sea of depression and self-loathing?</p>

<br>

<p>That’s a bit… dramatic. If you don’t like office work, find a major with field positions. Most design (imo,the creative bits) occur in the office. </p>

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<p>To those who are engineers, are women in your field often harassed or ostracized?(I’m not as concerned about this, and trust me, I’m used to being a minority but just out of curiosity).</p>

<br>

<p>I’m a co-op, but no. We’re equals. </p>

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<p>Do you have time for relationships/a social life? </p>

<br>

<p>Yes, I have an electrical engineering boyfriend. A lot of civil engineers enjoy drinking it seems. A lot of my coworkers are married with kids. </p>

[xraymancs]

<p>

Chemical engineering sounds pretty interesting, but of course it turns out it’s one of, if not the hardest, branch of engineering. So why is this so and is it true? What to do chemical engineers do?

</p>

<p>Basically because Chemical Engineering, like most other engineering disciplines is heavily based in physics (don’t let the title “Chemical” fool you!). A lot of Chemical Engineering involves process control and thermodynamics and it touches on physics, chemistry and even biology. The AICHE has a [url="<a href="http://www.aiche.org/community/students/career-resources-k-12-students-parents/what-do-chemical-engineers-do"]definition[/url"&gt;http://www.aiche.org/community/students/career-resources-k-12-students-parents/what-do-chemical-engineers-do"]definition[/url</a>].</p>

<p>

How easy is it to switch between the various branches?

</p>

<p>What you get your degree in and what you do as a profession may be very different. You can find All different types of engineers in the Aerospace and Petroleum industries.</p>

<p>

Which branch of engineering would allow me to express my creativity the most?

</p>

<p>There is a lot of room for creativity in engineering. Many universities are looking for engineering students who are more than the stereotypical “nerds” and a good fraction of new inventions come from engineers. In fact is it very important for a successful engineer (any STEM profession for that matter) to be a good writer and communicator.</p>

<p>So if you are willing to put in the work and you have a passion for engineering, go for it.</p>

[Colorado_mom]

<p>There is a lot of variety in Engineering jobs. But… you have to survive the rigorous college academics first. See how your pre-calc and calc studies progress before deciding. </p>

[ItsJustSchool]

<p>Sure, the creative ones have the most fun! You are at the vanguard of the new STEAM movement, one which values creativity and artistry, and puts that Artistry in the middle of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)!</p>

<p><a href=“The STEAM Journal | Current Journals | Claremont Colleges”>http://scholarship.claremont.edu/steam/&lt;/a&gt;

STEAM is a new acronym that has emerged over the last decade and has a multitude of definitions and approaches. Some of the main themes of STEAM are fostering innovation, the need for twenty-first century skills, and divergent and convergent thinking.

</p>

[fractalmstr]

<p>

To those who are engineers, are women in your field often harassed or ostracized?

</p>

<p>Not in the least. In my field (Aero Engineering), women are very much given equal respect. Perhaps ‘back in the day’ male engineers were more chauvinistic, but that’s not really the case anymore, at least not in my experience. </p>

<p>

Is there a big chance I’ll get shoved in a stuffy office where I’ll slowly slip into a sea of depression and self-loathing?

</p>

<p>There are plenty of engineering jobs where you can be out on your feet more often. You just have to make it very clear to your employer how you feel about this so that he/she can find you work that you will enjoy. </p>

[Destrxct]

<p>Thank you, I appreciate your honesty. When I’m presented with new mathematical content, for some reason it just doesn’t quite sink in as quickly as it does with most of my peers. I often look at things from multiple different standpoints, aka “overthinking”, and confuse myself instead of the straightforward “this is the right way and everything else is wrong” mindset that most math-oriented people seem to naturally posses. As far as the asking for help thing, anyways, I honestly find myself in the position of that person in the group who is last to work out problems, the “dead weight”. I’m ridiculously easily distracted.</p>

<p>Is there a way I can change the way my brain is wired and approach math/science from a more efficient standpoint?</p>

[Destrxct]

<p>I’m very grateful to everyone who has replied so far, thank you all for your input </p>

[Colorado_mom]

<p>" I’m ridiculously easily distracted." - Well… that could be an entirely different issue. Does it only happen in math class? </p>

[Destrxct]

<p>No, any time I listen to a lecture honestly. Even if I try to intensely focus my mind will always wander.</p>

[chaoswithinthed]

<p>I’ve never bought into the idea that a person can be “wired” for a certain task. It’s a popular saying to say “I’m not a math person” or “I’m not good at writing”. No, anyone can be good, you just need to practice. In your case you probably haven’t worked as hard at math as you have some of your other courses, you can easily change that. Success in college has nothing to do with how smart you are or if you’re naturally good at something. It’s how hard you work. You can easily become an engineer if you want, you just need to put your mind to it.</p>

<p>I don’t buy the easily distracted or ADD stuff that everyone seems to have either. It’s a mind set.</p>

<p>I’ve had a few friends who dropped out of engineering who blamed their failings on, not being a math type person and getting easily distracted. Stuff they said they couldn’t do. Bogus man, they didn’t work hard and didn’t want to work hard. </p>

[fractalmstr]

<p>

I’ve never bought into the idea that a person can be “wired” for a certain task. It’s a popular saying to say “I’m not a math person” or “I’m not good at writing”.

I think when someone says “I’m not a math person” what they are really saying is I don’t like math and therefore I don’t want to do math. They are not necessarily saying they are genetically predisposed to not do well in math.</p>

<p>I agree entirely about the ADD thing though. What a bunch of hooey IMO… I know that the condition exists for some people, but there is a lot of research out there that suggests it is way beyond over-diagnosed these days. It’s kind of like Celiac disease… only 1% of the population actually have it, but 20% pretend they do just to say they eat “gluten free”.</p>

<p>

Success in college has nothing to do with how smart you are or if you’re naturally good at something. It’s how hard you work.

</p>

<p>To some extent, yes… However, if you don’t have at least a moderate foundation to start college on, your boat is going to sink. In theory, the moderately prepared student will have time to learn new material while occasionally re-learning old material to fill in the gaps. If a student is grossly underprepared though, he or she likely wont have enough time to fill in all of the gaps in order to catch up. However, given two students, one moderately prepared and one very prepared, I think both can accomplish the same level of success, but student #1 is going to have to work a little harder at it.</p>

[boneh3ad]

<p>

@fractalmstr

I think when someone says “I’m not a math person” what they are really saying is I don’t like math and therefore I don’t want to do math.

</p>

<p>The human brain is rather well-suited for math in general. Personally, then, when someone says “I’m not a math person” or “I’m bad at math” it just means to me that they had a bad math teacher and were not properly inspired or motivated in some way, leading to a dislike. I would guess that most people could be proficient in at least basic mathematics if they desired to be. That’s what sets us apart from the other great apes.</p>

<p>

@fractalmstr

It’s kind of like Celiac disease… only 1% of the population actually have it, but 20% pretend they do just to say they eat “gluten free”.

</p>

<p>This is being generous for two reasons. I’d bet that is an overestimate of the percentage of people who actually have it, and you are giving “gluten free” people an awful lot of credit for actually knowing what celiac disease is. I’d guess at least 90% of them don’t know what it is and just jumped on the bandwagon because of some viral website.</p>

[threeofthree]

<p>This sounds familiar - my full IB Diploma son who’s peers all went to Liberal Arts schools is in Aero Engineering and loves it now that he’s into the major courses. He did feel like he probably worked harder/longer than most of his Aero classmates in the straight math/physics courses but he didn’t mind because he’s a bit competitive and wouldn’t let something beat him (even when he should). </p>

[Colorado_mom]

<p>“No, any time I listen to a lecture honestly. Even if I try to intensely focus my mind will always wander.” - OK, so if it is not just math, then I think you may have challenges in any major. </p>

<p>In college you probably won’t be able to breeze through any class. But based on what you are saying, Engineering could be more of a struggle than other majors. </p>

[simba9]

<p>Being a successful engineer is mostly about persistence. I’m not a natural math whiz, but managed to get degrees in CS and IE. In fact, I had a math block (C’s, D’s, and F’s in high school math classes) until I took an Applied Calculus class at the local junior college when I was in the Air Force. I got an A in that one because it was such a revelation that math could actually be used in the real world. That’s what let me know I could be successful in something like CS or Engineering.</p>

<p>I also preferred humanities and social science lectures to hard science and engineering lectures, but humanities and social sciences weren’t where the jobs were.</p>

<p>You might look into Industrial Design. That’s a mix of artistic creativity and engineering.</p>

[KF7LCE]

<p>Are you a junior? If so, take calculus and calculus-based physics next year if your school offers them. Those are the two courses that colleges use to weed out freshmen engineers, and AP calc and Physics C are actually pretty similar to those intro courses. If you can cut it in those, then your math skills are probably good enough to make it engineering.</p>

[purplepiano]

<p>I have a similar situation - I’m also a female upperclassman looking to major in engineering. Although I enjoy math and science, I also love music (played piano for 10 years) and considered majoring in music performance for some time. I’ve actually found that having a “creative” background has given me somewhat of an advantage in math and science classes among my hard math-brained classmates, so do not be discouraged. I think you have as good of a chance as any at succeeding in the field.
I don’t want to list too many personal details on this public thread, but I’d love to bounce ideas back and forth with you, as I think we have a lot in common. PM me if you want. </p>

[Destrxct]

<p>A continuous thank you to everyone who is giving me advice and personal accounts, this is all very helpful >:D< </p>