<p>I'm going into the first semester of sophomore year this fall, and I don't know which class to take: electrical circuit analysis or mechanics of materials. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>What is your major? You more than likely have to take them both for req’s anyway. I can just pick one for you if you want. </p>
<p>I’m a mechanical engineering major.</p>
<p>As an ME, you should take mechanics first. In nothing else, it is something that you are going to be interested in. </p>
<p>Let the EEs take their intro EE classes, then they can help you. Return the favor when the EE needs help with ME stuff.</p>
<p>Mechanics of Materials is actually a fun class if you have a good textbook say, Timoshenko, and lab and a good prof. It was more useful to us Civies but required in Mech Eng too. I took Circuits too later in life and it was not as much fun, not any more difficult, just different concepts. </p>
<p>I took it (Solids) through the aerospace dept at my school, honestly one of my more interesting classes and is a good follow up to statics.</p>
<p>I had a similar situation. I ended up taking circuits in the fall and mechanics in the spring. Honestly I had a good time in circuits, but it was way more demanding mathematically than mechancis of materials. That said, I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of that circuit analysis class in other classes and at work (which deals with EE stuff). They’re both important (using mechanics in an upper level structures course now, believe I’ll see circuits again in at least two more upper level classes).</p>
<p>I guess my advice is optimize teacher choice, then optimize schedule. If both still the same, flip a coin.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I’m really torn on this one. I really want to take mechanics of materials because of one of the professors, but I want to take circuits to see how challenging it is for me.</p>
<p>You have to take them both eventually, right? If so, then it probably doesn’t matter so much which one you take first. Take whichever is the more pressing prerequisite if you are determined to only take one of them. I suspect that is probably mechanics of materials, which should work out especially well since that is what you want to do anyway.</p>