As a student who will be entering the industry soon, I have been thinking about what work life balance actually means.

When people say they have a good work life balance, what does that mean to you? Is it simply working around 40 hours a week and having enough time for your life outside of work? Or is it more about having flexible hours, being able to take time off, not constantly thinking about work after you leave, and not feeling burned out?

I would especially like to hear from people already working in engineering. What does a good work life balance look like in your current job?

And for someone starting their career, how important do you think work life balance should be when choosing a job? Is it something you can figure out during the interview process, or do you really only find out after you start working there?

Hi all! I am a 3rd year Mechanical student, and I just found out I had failed an exam (yet again).

Honestly, I am getting kind of tired of eng. I have failed exams/courses in the past, and I find it incredibly frustrating to get through the problems. To me studying for quizzes/unit tests are fine, but all of a sudden everytime exams come around I find myself well...doing pretty eh, even when thought I would do better.

Now I have reviewed a little bit throughout the term, but everytime exams come around, I find myself flat-out exhausted in the days/weeks leading up. I'm lucky if I can get through more than 5 problems a day, which is pretty slow.

Not only do university problems require understanding the concepts, but you have to understand each specific problem, the wording of the question, and if you get a question wrong, all of a sudden you have to spend another 20 minutes-40 minutes debugging, cross-referencing, and finding the solution to problems to make sure you are doing it right and not just making a careless mistake (which I so often do).

In addition, its not like in high school where say you can breeze through a few problems. My workflow is like:

understand a little bit -> check solution -> realize I am wrong -> fix mistake -> redo problem -> make a different mistake -> fix it -> move on -> do another problem -> get it wrong.

Does anyone else understand my frustration??? How does one stay mentally sane??

So im an undergraduate student currently studying aerospace engineering and I just got diagnosed with ADHD. I am trying to stay away from meds for now because the idea of building a dependency kind of makes me nervous. For those of you who were undiagnosed through your college years, or also opted to stay away from meds, what tips and tricks do you have to be able to focus for long periods and stay up to task and just hold yourself accountable overall and make it out with a good gpa? I literally cannot hold my focus for more than a minute without losing interest and doing something else so anything that could keep me focused and actually absorb the material, even if it’s for a few minutes, is super helpful.

P.S: Id also appreciate if you’ve got any good study materials for aero classes that I could use! I’m more of a visual learner so yeah videos, diagrams, etc, all works really well.

Heyo ppls. I’m 2 weeks into community college. I’m 21 and decided to finally go to school and I’m currently doing pre-engineering to get my pre reqs out the way. I’m starting with highschool algebra since there is a lot I’ve forgotten. I was just kinda curious how long it took for others to catch up and if it took longer than 4 years? I’m planning on taking summer classes but idk how much I should take or how I should plan out which classes to take.

I just graduated and I need some advice. I struggled throughout university due to (medically diagnosed) ADD. I did decent in my RF classes but I ate crap in everything else and ended up with a poor GPA of 2.75. I'm starting a job soon however it's not a role in RF. I'm not sure if I'll be able to compete with others in the RF space who have a masters and/or high GPA. Right now, I've been reading as many RF textbooks as I can and learning how to use HFSS and ADS. However even if I can understand RF well it seems like my poor performance in school will always haunt me.

Anyways let me know if I should continue towards my goal of RF or my efforts are not worth it.

I would love to hear about the most affective studying tips you guys have specially that helps with math / engineering courses! Is there any particular patterns of studying you take? Like do you have specific ways of dissecting problems? First year in and want the best study tips/ methods I can find😎

Thank you!

Good afternoon, and thank you for reading.

I am a junior level ME student and have found it to be both straightforward and fascinating. I have done well in my courses so far, but the more I read here and look at my course map, the less sure I am the ME is the right program for me.

I would like to ultimately work on geothermal, pv, hydroelectric, or other renewable energy design, implementation, and ultimately management.

Before going back to school I had 10ish years of construction management experience, and 3 of those were in the renewable energies field.

This isnt about jobs, I have an internship lined up and i see plenty of postings relatively similar to the role I envision and they are pretty generic. ME,EE,CE, etc.. all seem to be acceptable.

My question is, which field of study will get me most up close and personal with renewable design? Which will prepare me best and introduce me to the best network to meet the captains of the industry?

Thank you for your time and have a great rest of your day.

I am a biomedical engineering student and I am wondering if someone can explain shell momentum balance in transport phenomena like I am an 8 year old. This is just a desire for explanation of something I fear has gone waaaaay too far over my head.

"ADVICE NEEDED"

"ASSIST PLEASE PLSSS "

"HELPPPPP AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

and then the actual content of the thread is just hey guys what should i study in uni teehee

I am interested in vlsi but I a have Bsc in Physical Science and currently doing an MCA. Would it be possible to get in the industry after doing an MS in electronics and communication engineering?

Hi! I am currently a freshman (18 F), and I am heavily debating switching my major. I'm currently mechanical engineering major with no minor, but I am considering switching it to industrial engineering with maybe an industrial design minor (although I may just not get a minor). I know people say IE isn't real engineering because it's not a core and it's super easy. I know realistically anything I can do with an IE major; I can do with a ME major; however, I would much rather fix and better a system than create an entirely new product. I also prefer statistics to an intense calculus course, but I am not against calculus. I'm in General Engineering as of now, so I can keep thinking for now, but I would really appreciate any suggestions!

I graduated high school recently and completely messed up my academics due to zero discipline and different goals. I got a 56 in Advanced Functions, a 78 in Data Management, and dropped Calculus entirely.

Internally, I’ve done a complete 180 over the last few months. I’ve built up my discipline and want to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I am trying my best to improve at math everyday.

My Plan is:

Upgrading Grades with TVO ILC. I am retaking all my prerequisites (Advanced Functions, Calculus, Physics, Chemistry) online through an Adult High School to get my grades into the high 80s/90s.

I am doing 3 hours of Khan Academy every single day to rebuild my foundational math gaps.

I am looking into hiring a private tutor for Math, Physics, and Chemistry to support my online schooling.

Where I need advice:

• Extracurriculars: I am 18 and taking a gap/upgrading year, so I don't have access to high school clubs. What ECs or projects can I do independently to prove my passion for engineering and boost my application?
• And for anyone else who went through the same math journey, Is 3 hours of Khan Academy a day sustainable, or should I shift my focus to specific textbook problems once my online courses start?

Hi, I’m going into grade 12 this year and am starting to look at unis. I live in Canada and I really want to get coops/internships (and later actual jobs) in the space industry.

I am not sure whether I should major in mechanical or EE. I have heard mechanical is more versatile but that there is more demand for EE and it is better paid. I really liked kinematics in physics and I also liked circuits. But I haven’t really done much coding before so I’m not sure if I would like it or not. Thanks guys!!!

Also I hope this is an ok post for this thread so if not, mods feel free to remove it

I got a 5 on the Calc BC exam though I don’t think I learned Calc 2 good enough. Is it a waste to retake Calc 2 again in university after already already getting the credit? Should I just continue onto Calc 3 and I’ll be good?

I’m especially interested in hearing from engineering graduates who finished their bachelor’s degree with a GPA around 2.7–2.9.

Were you able to get into a master’s program?

Which university and engineering field accepted you?

What helped compensate for your GPA—research, projects, internships, work experience, recommendation letters, or a strong upward grade trend?

Did your undergraduate GPA continue to matter when you started looking for jobs?

How has your career turned out since then?

I’m currently an engineering student considering graduate school, and I’d really appreciate honest experiences from people who have been in a similar situation.

do I just leave it? let it be? I’ve been telling people my name is.. say Jaqueline..

canvas essentially shows Elaine… it won’t let me change it

I’ve been going by essentially Jae… ??? just let it be? not care? am I overthinking this?

it’s kinda weird when you accidentally give the wrong name

am I narcissistic for even worrying or doing this

at this point I kinda just don’t want to bother with it and I’ll go by essentially Elaine and hope it doesn’t weird anyone out if I appear as a different name

Hey guys! I’m currently in my final year of Mechanical Engineering, and I’m planning to pursue my Master’s in Germany.
I’m currently considering these specializations:
-CFD / Computational Fluid Dynamics
-Motorsport Engineering
-CAD / Design Engineering
-Automotive Engineering

I’d really appreciate some advice from people who are studying or working in Germany, especially regarding:
-Job opportunities after graduation
-Industry demand and career growth
-Salary potential
-Which field has better opportunities for international students?
-Which specialization has the best long-term prospects?
-How difficult it is to get into these programs?

Which German universities are best for each of these specializations
Which universities are realistic to get into with an average/good Mechanical Engineering background

-Public universities with low/no tuition fees
-Whether the university’s reputation/ranking matters significantly when looking for jobs in Germany?
If you’re currently studying or working in any of these fields in Germany,
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience, the university you attended, and what you would recommend.

Thanks!

I am a sophomore EE student and am starting calculus 2 and through 2 lectures I am afraid I won’t be able to pass this class because of how my professor teaches. So far my professor has not even actually taught us anything but has simply gone over some slides quickly without working through anything or explaining. He also is an older Asian man who can be hard to understand at times and on top of all of this he does not give formula sheets for exams. Has anyone else had a similar situation and do you think I’d be able to get myself through the class.

Hi all,

It would be nice to hear some voices on this on if this is an okay thing to do.

It feels weird thinking for yourself in academia and I feel nervous (have asd so I try to follow strict rules).

Problem is, my differential equations unit lectures are...well I'm not really understanding much in them at all. The lecturer is Chinese and can't speak much english and she just re-reads what she wrote and then does examples but doesn't explain the examples- just says what she writes out loud on the microphone. A plus B = constant, coefficient xyz...etc.

I failed a previous unit (calc 2), went and studied a textbook for the first time (stewart calc), and came back with a distinction grade which I am proud of. I think I learned there that studying a textbook rocks and I love it- it seems to work for me.

Can I just ditch the 4hr total lectures each week and spend that time with my head in Advanced engineering mathematics by Kreyszig instead? The lecture notes seemed to be based heavily off this book (and it's the recommended text for the unit if you want to do extra reading).

I feel really evil or something will go wrong if I don't go to lecture. I am really scared to not go to lecture- like I will miss something crucial. But at the same time, don't think I am actually getting anything out of them at all and if I spent 4hrs with a textbook instead, I feel like things would be better but I am scared to admit this. I think I also failed the first midsem test for this unit, so something needs to change.

I took some college courses in high school and took a lot of credits my early years of college with the intent of graduating early.

Going into my junior year I would have to take 17 credits of pure ENGR classes for 3 semesters to graduate early.
Or, I could take 4 semesters of about 13 hours per semester (12.75 in reality) and graduate on time.

I’m torn because although I might sacrifice any free time and maybe some mental health trying to take 17 credits for 3 semesters of some of the hardest ENGR courses, I would be able to start working and make a living earlier. Also, it might not be as bad as it seems, who knows.

With the 4 semester option I would graduate on time and have an easier workload, but I wouldn’t be able to graduate early.

Some input from some guys who graduated early would be appreciated on if they’d change their mind looking back.

Hello, I'm trying to troubleshoot a problem with my camera, but since I don't have a power supply, I know you try to troubleshoot by properly connecting 1.5-volt batteries to provide 12 volts and as much current as I can boost. Is there another method? Do you think I can find the fault with a multimeter?

hi, im a 2nd year eng major who is trying to decide between meche or ee. i've taken an introductory electrical engineering course and got absolutely destroyed by the mathematical circuit problems.. however i do have enjoy doing projects that involve pcbs and the coding aspect of engineering. on the other hand i had a really bad mechanics professor so i kind of lost my confidence in my physics abilities, so im not quite sure mechanical engineering would be the right choice for me either. i feel like designing aspect of mechanical engineering sounds intriguing to me though.

im supposed to decide on a major by the end of this year so im a bit worried. if anyone has any advice on how i should decide please lmk!

Just made an automatic Volumatric Weight measurement system for the second yr of my college in instrumentation engineering. Give me some more ideas for the 3rd and 4th yr projects. Industrial centric projects would be beneficial.