Should I go into engineering if I'm bad at related subjects?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

This sounds like a stupid question, I’m sure, but please offer advice. I’m a rising senior currently.
Initially I wanted to be an architect, but my drawing skills are practically nonexistent (I just started art 1 year ago) and while I love art and am drawing as much as possible, there’s no way I can scrap a portfolio together in time. My parents also don’t support me going into arch bc of the difficulty in finding any jobs after graduation. I would love to design and build structures that protect, aid, and inspire others, so I did more research and would like to go into civil or environmental engineering. My parents are more supportive of engineering bc they believe it’s a more secure career choice.

However, I struggled a lot in math and especially physics this year. I had to put a lot of time into both and while I managed to get As, I had to study more extensively than for any other subjects. I had a tutor for physics 1st sem and a tutor for math about a month before AP exams.
In physics, my teacher did not teach at all. At first I got a 66 on my 1st test and panicked a lot. Then I got a tutor and eventually just used khan academy solely to learn. My grades have obviously improved since then, but each test and lab has been a struggle with no help from the teacher at all. I used to be very bitter about my situation, but when I talked to my cousin about her physics class, she told me a similar story. Are all physics teachers really like this and will I be able to manage this level of self teaching in college? I also didn’t bother taking the AP exam bc she told me at the beginning of the year that I couldn’t manage more than a 2 and to not mess up her scores… I completely understand though because I truly suck at physics…
In Calc I couldn’t understand any of 2nd semester. I am still lost on series and polars even with the help from my tutor. I probably failed the AP exam. Also I just took the sat math II test and flunked it. I’d give the excuse that I didn’t study and my mind is in Calc mode but that doesn’t help me. I will go see my tutor this summer to raise my math score though.

Next year I’m not continuing to the next level of physics; I just can’t stomache the teacher another year and will probably not manage an A. Also the only math class I have left next year is stat. I plan on retaking Calc in college though.
I’m most worried that I simply won’t be able to handle the difficulty level. I’m willing to work hard, but if I struggled this much in high school to get an A, how will I survive college? Any advice on improving my math and physics skills would be greatly appreciated as well, thank you.

2

“Bad at (X)” doesn’t really include “got an A but had to work for it,” IMO. :stuck_out_tongue: That’s what college is like. See how senior year goes. If you’re still interested in engineering and willing to put in the large amounts of work, you’ll probably do fine, especially on the second go-around of these particular classes.

3

@bodangles ahaha hopefully… If I do still want to go into engineering though, should I take the next part of physics (Calc based)? The teacher was pretty harsh and difficult to work with, and I really didn’t enjoy it this year… But if I want to get into an engineering college or get used to physics would that be advantageous? Right now I’m signed up for Chem and bio because va tech recommended taking them and physics while in high school. Would that be enough for colleges to forgive the fact that I’m not going on to the next part of physics?

4

Personally I think that it is too early to know. Most students change their major after starting university.

There are probably more majors that you have never heard of than there are majors that you have heard of. When you get to university you will be exposed to multiple additional possibilities. While some science majors require a lot of math (physics being the most obvious), some don’t actually require all that much.

There is one good thing that may come from your struggles to this point: You have struggled with a class and walked away with an A. There are a significant number of students who get to university having never done this, either because they never struggled with a class or because when they did struggle they weren’t able to get to an A by the end of the class. In university, nearly everyone struggles with something. You at least at this point have some clue regarding what to do when (not if) this happens.

5

If you haven’t taken chem or bio yet, rounding out that trifecta would probably be what I would do instead of more physics. I only took one year of algebra-based physics my senior year and did fine in both semesters of calc-based in college.

6

Some people are a “natural” at math and some people work very hard. They can both get As and get jobs.

You should take Bio, Chem, and Physics in HS and one of those AP. You will have to take Physics and Chem in college so take Honors level if possible.