<p>qualify for an introduction to engineering class?</p>
<p>I'm at the most basic math (arithmetic) and tried taking a class last year and failed because the professor barely taught, and mostly wanted us (the students) to do math on our own in groups of three.</p>
<p>The math at the community college where I go is almost all word problems.</p>
<p>I tried doing hard problems from a site called mathplayground.com this is an example</p>
<p>"One tootsie roll and two lollipops cost 14 cents.
One tootsie roll and one lollipop cost 10 cents.
How much does a tootsie roll cost?"</p>
<p>Also this is an example from the community college I've been attending on and off for the past five years.</p>
<p>In all honesty, though, if you are struggling with algebra problems like that, you have a lot of work to do to catch up to the point where you will be ready for engineering.</p>
<p>At the risk of sounding critical, the above question is simple arithmetic. The answer is six cents. The sample test wasn’t very difficult either. If you consider those problems difficult, then truthfully, you aren’t ready for engineering. </p>
<p>If you want to learn I suggest finding a pdf version (or old edition) of the book that said class is using. Read it and do problems, supplementing your personal learning with khan academy and patrickjmt. My younger siblings (stem majors) have found his examples useful even up to sophmore math classes like differential equations. </p>
<p>Another piece of advice. Find a book that works with you. Some texts are poorly written and may not vibe with you, for lack of a better term. That’s common. Go look for a text that works for you.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, which math are you trying to place into? Calculus?</p>
<p>Like, if you really think engineering is something you’d like to get into go for it man. But it’s gonna be a long hard road. Don’t even look at what the higher math class problems look like right now or your head might just explode.</p>
<p>Do the work and you probably can do it. but as xinzin and boneh3ad said, lots to catch up. </p>
<p>I have an ebook version of the book my college uses. But the thing is that I also have the actual books for the first three math courses and they’re from this book, but are split into different books that are custom for the college (probably so the college can make money).</p>
<p>Also like I said the last professor I had barely taught and expected the students to do the math on our own in groups of three. </p>
<p>The only reason I want to take engineering is because I have ideas for inventions written down that I know I wouldn’t be able to do with a computer science or a computer engineering degree (CE is too limited for me).</p>
<p>I have some syllabuses from a college I found online from basic math up until differential equations.</p>
<p>I also have an educational professional who’s been pressuring me to attend college. He was the one who pressured me into going to college when I wanted to do the math on my own and catch up rather than just doing a class. This was also the same person who told me not to drop out before the drop out limit and that’s why I ended up failing the class.</p>
<p>Um… hate to be a buzz kill, but I suggest taking classes. My logic is this: If you could learn by yourself, you would have done so already. I mean, the class where the students had to teach each other is essential self study, right? And you said you failed… Either you can’t do it or you weren’t putting enough effort. Either way, I’m not confident you will succeed given prior history =/. </p>
<p>Its seems there is a conflict. On one hand you claim to want to be an engineer, however on another, you say you are being pressured into schooling. This conflict is destructive. Engineering is a major where few can “power” through it. It will test your aptitude and your desire. If engineering is a path pressured on you, I urge youto reconsider. </p>
<p>If the math is truly, the only problem, then suggestions have already been made. Ninjex, did make an astute observation, however. In my opinion, there is little difference between a bad teacher and self study as the paths parallel. And yet, you struggled. Let this serve as a lesson to what worked and what didn’t. </p>
<p>If you do choose to self study, I urge you to be thorough. You do not want skip steps in your math. Math is at the core of engineering. If you skip steps, holes can develop in your math arsenal which can hurt you later in your career. Using my own experiences, I failed to pay attention during the partial fraction portions of my math classes. this turned into my achilles heel during my inverse la place transformations days, because using partial fractions is a very common technique. I was forced to play catch up. And this was learning math in the traditional school setting. Being a self study, you can encounter similar issues later, so be aware of this.</p>
<p>Additionally, you should not blame the teacher for your shortcomings. I will agree some proffesors are not good teachers, however, if you graduate without taking a prof that you had an issue with, that is blessing. In my experience, I had atleast one bad prof per year, and some times it was 1 per quarter. You need to take responsibility for your learning and learn the material even if you barely pass. I received a few c’s during my undergrad years and despite the effect on the gpa, it doesn’t automatically deter employers. Do your best and do well.</p>
<p>Have you looked in to becoming an engineering technician? To become one requires an associates degree and less math than an engineering degree. </p>
<p>Thanks xinzin I’m probably going to take a class only because it’s too much for me right now to do it on my own. Also I’m interested in learning a couple of computer programming languages. I mainly want to do engineering so I can do some advanced computer stuff. For physical work I’m interested in computer chips and hardware. For computer stuff I’m interested in programming languages (just helping making existing ones better not making a new one.), operating systems and security.</p>
<p>Also I don’t want to do computer engineering because it’s too limiting.</p>
<p>I talked with my educational adviser and decided that I’m going to take my classes beginning in the spring (2015). Also I want to know how I can get some reviews (on a site like rate my professor) on a professor. I want a professor that gives lectures of the material then some examples. Is there any special free open source math note taking software, where I can take notes like a journal or can write like a normal journal (or at least type equations). The last two professors I had didn’t do any lectures. The male one I remember talked about the material for 10 to 15 minutes at the most. And the other professor I had only did examples of math problems (even though she did a lot I’d rather have her than the first one).</p>
<p>Also there’s a chance I’ll have to take at least three classes (each class would be four months) before there’s a chance I can take an introduction to engineering / or introduction to computer science (if I decide to change my major). </p>
<p>Also the college I’m attending is Bunker Hill Community college in Charlestown,ma.</p>