Should I keep doing engineering if it's already getting harder?

Nobody said engineering is easy, however, it is not the hardest of all careers. If you like numbers and you have an inquisitive mind about understanding how things really happen or are made, then engineering is for you. Otherwise pursuing a career on something you don’t love will become even harder.

Grass is always green on the other side. Other streams may look easy, but if we ask kids on the other side, they may also be finding other and different types of challenges. We have to try a bit harder each day, push yourself a bit more in small steps every day. You have thought of it, now visualize yourself completing it and achieving it and you will find your inspiration.

Don’t give up. Nothing is impossible. You can create wonders and you are meant for great things. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will come easy. This is the time to put in hard work. Study hard now and enjoy the next 50-60 years. Or take it easy now and slog for the next 50-60 years. What do you prefer? Sure, you prefer to work hard now rather than later, so go for it. If you put in more effort, you will overcome the fear, the challenges. You will find yourself mentoring other girls like you who need that little push to reach their pinnacle.

Try to get some tutoring. Once you master some of the skills, you may find yourself really enjoying the challenge of solving problems with real and practical solutions.

What are these engineering-related classes and what kind of engineering are you interested in? I was studying Chemical Engineering and I was not so good at mechanical engineering or electrical engineering related classes but I enjoyed my chemical engineering classes a lot. I would try to figure out what you don’t like about these classes and if the type of engineering you want to be requires them or not. Find out what classes you need to take in the engineering discipline that you are interested in and figure out if you would like them and willing to work hard to learn or not. You are in 7th grade and there is still a lot more time to find out what you like, what you don’t like, what you are good at and what you are not.

There are many different facets and areas of engineering. Some areas come easier to people and some are harder. In the end, I find the applications the most rewarding. I too had classes that were hard and I struggled to get through. But later, with a different teacher and a different topic, I found my interest and desire to keep going come back to me.

You are young and have a lot of different directions you can go in your life. Try to remember why you were originally interested in engineering and see if that is still valid. You have plenty of time to change your direction a number of times, so do keep following your passion. But any career is going to have hard and challenging times. Persevere through this. No matter the career path. It truly is rewarding to get through and enjoy the other side. You’ve got this!

Well, I say it’s way too early to decide to do or not do Engineering! I say, relax, work hard, and see what interests you from classes. Don’t let one or two classes deter you from your desires. Also, look back and see what excited you about Engineering in the first place. Find that jewel. Good grades will vary on subject, your situation, teacher, etc. More important thing about school is learning the subject and ‘learning how to learn’.

There are different types of Engineering; electrical, mechanical, industrial, chemical, bio, software, etc. Find out where your interest truly lies. This can be gained by volunteering, participating in different clubs, and/or simply having a mentor who is an Engineer. Continue to be curious about various areas of Engineering.

I will share a personal experience with you: The university I attended required pre-engineering for two years and to apply to an Engineering department when the prerequisites were completed.

So, after two years I got accepted to the Electrical Engineering department that I really wanted and continued my journey as an Engineering major in my Junior year in college. Competition was very fierce during Freshman and Sophomore to get into Electrical engineering department, so I was very proud.

Unfortunately, I quickly learned that I am ‘average’ among electrical engineering students. I was distraught and thought about quitting. So, I called my father and was ready to quit. Actually, deep inside I was hoping that my dad would tell me why I should stay. Instead, he said ‘okay’.

So, I had to find the reason why I should finish. I had to dig deep and determine if this is what I really wanted to do. My reasons came out to be the following: I loved math, I loved Physics, I loved figuring things out, I loved learning new things, and I loved to continue to learn and be curious. I finished college and became an Electrical Engineer.

Looking back at my career and other types of careers, I think the best career is the one that challenges you to learn and grow. Can you imagine doing the same thing over and over again without change for 30 years?

There are many different engineering fields needing different skills. Make time to explore other engineering-related fields. It is important to find a field that you enjoy. Sometimes you will find a difficult subject, and it will take a lot of work to understand it, however after you master that skill you may find the next class is interesting, easier, and opens new opportunities. You may take a break and look at other fields and decide engineering was interesting to you, and you come back.

To quote Theodore Roosevelt, "nothing in this world is worth having unless it comes through effort, pain, and difficulty." As a 7th grader, it is expected that you may change your mind several times before you arrive at your final destination. Very few youth even graduating from High School know the exact path they want to take. My advice to them is always have a plan A, B, and even maybe a plan C.

All I can offer is my life experience. I wanted to be a computer programmer when I was coming out of high school and starting college. As I got into college classes, I just couldn't grasp the concepts of C++ and other programming languages. So I dropped out of college classes thinking I was going to work in retail services forever.

Then I ran into a Navy Recruiter. I tested high on ASVAB for engineering and computer skills. Went into the Navy as a Cryptologic Technician Maintenance. That is where I gained the confidence and realization that it was a kinesthetic learner. In the Navy, I was elbow deep in all types of computer operations from basics to the atomic time clock.

Leaving the Navy, I picked up an engineering job with the local telecommunications company. Today not only do I plan fiber optic networks, but have collateral duties to help design operational systems for the company. So here I am 40 years later actualizing my high school dreams.

"All your dreams can come true, if you have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

Engineering coursework is difficult but that is what is rewarding about it. In engineering it is the challenge that continues to drive us day in and day out, I’d get bored if engineering was easy! I wouldn’t give up on engineering if the only reason is because it’s hard, some of the hardest things in life will prove to be the most impactful.

You need to understand if it challenges you and excites you. If it doesn’t do those things then maybe there is something else or you haven’t found the right engineering field. There are thousands of different types of engineering out there, it’s a matter of finding the right one that you feel fulfilled in. Good Luck!

My suggestion is to think about why you want to be an engineer. Are all of the job possibilities, the income potential, the ability to help people still exciting? If so, I'd suggest you keep going!

Engineering can be hard along the way, but I think the reward is being able to practice engineering and make a meaningful difference in the world. Maybe you should consider getting a tutor if certain classes are difficult. Also, consider asking an upper class member for some help. Best of luck!

You don’t have to decide what your career will be in 7th grade. If you are struggling in your classes, first ask for help! Parents, teachers, even classmates are usually happy to help.

Second, focus on completing your work as best you can, because work not turned in is worse than turning in work that showed you made a good effort on all the problems, and then the teacher can see where you need more help.

Finally, there is nothing wrong with deciding not to take an advanced class or elective. If you need to take a lower level class to learn at a pace that works better for you, do what you have to do and you will feel more confident as you advance.

There are so many career options out there; keep an open mind and keep working hard with your schoolwork, talk to your guidance counselor as you get closer to the end of high school about what you are really interested in and you will figure it out eventually, but there is no rush!

You should not sell yourself short on the option to keep trying! Keep going…at least for right now. Sometimes we have a little hurdle we need to clear and then all is good again.

I was a straight-A student for my entire K-12 school years, then I went to college and took some of my first engineering classes and I FAILED one class – a big fat “F” and I was so upset! BUT I didn’t quit, I didn’t change majors, and I didn’t stress over it (for too long anyway :-) ) and I took the class again and made a “B.” Nothing could have dampened the pride I had in that “B” because it was pure effort and a desire to learn and do better (even though it was still hard for me to grasp the content).

Sometimes we run into a class that seems tough or a situation that we can’t seem to solve but please don’t give up. Tenacity and the grit to plow through obstacles will serve you well in school and in life and learning those early (like you now in the 7th grade) you will learn to seek resources, assistance, or alternate methods for learning to get you to your goal(s).

If after you’ve given it your all and you learn you no longer have an interest in the engineering fields, certainly take a step back and look at other options so you can run toward that which gives you joy! I’m proud of you (and you should be too) for already learning to gauge your interests and abilities. I believe once you get through to the other side of what you’re struggling with, you’ll get one of those “light bulb” moments and quickly see it was not as difficult as you first thought.

Sometimes all we need is to hear the message a different way or to practice the concepts a little more and the learning becomes easier! Hang in there for a bit longer, you’re on the verge of something big and I’m wishing you all the success in the world…it’s possible!

One of the things that makes engineering such a cool field is that it keeps getting harder and harder — and more and more interesting! You move from basic math and physics courses to higher-level topics like fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, mechatronics, rocket propulsion, or other very cool stuff.

But just because you are finding the classes hard doesn’t mean you are not cut out for engineering. You will find that as you keep working on challenging material, your brain will keep stretching and stretching. Personally, I almost dropped out of engineering during my first year of college—the math, physics, and chemistry courses were hard and I wasn’t doing well or even enjoying them. Thankfully with good support from friends and mentors, I stuck with it… and a whole world opened up just a little bit later. Now I am an engineering professor!

This is a complicated question that requires a complicated answer! The short answer is: I would encourage you to separate your feeling of whether or not you enjoy engineering and whether you find engineering easy. It’s possible to still take joy in something that is difficult, and engineering is, like many things you’ll come across, going to inevitably be hard sometimes. Very few things in life will be easy all the time, you just need to find the things you're passionate about enough that you’ll stick with.

This reminds me of how I took up rock climbing about a year ago. To say that I’m a beginner, even a year later, is an understatement. And I’ve felt a lot of frustration at finding things difficult that other people can do with ease. But I’ve also found that being good at something and enjoying it are two very different things – I love bouldering even though I struggle at it. And if anything, the facing of adversity is when I’ve grown the most. This sentiment applies both to my rock climbing and to my engineering – it’s knowing that I still love these activities that keeps me willing to push through the hard times and come out the other side a better person.

I’m not particularly concerned that you’re finding classes harder than before. These classes will get progressively harder for almost anyone. You are still absolutely capable of pursuing engineering and being successful at it.

But the question is whether or not you really WANT to – you said that you aren’t excited about it anymore. Is that simply just because it’s harder? Don’t quit because things are hard, but follow the path of finding something that you’re willing to work for. And if you do think that engineering could be that thing, then I encourage you to reach out to your instructors or mentors, to your family and people you trust and to ask for help understanding the material. And keep exploring engineering topics that interest you so you can see potential goals that you can keep in your mind as you work hard at these tricky classes.

All that being said, very few things in life are a permanent choice – whether you choose to continue pursuing engineering now and decide later that it’s not for you, or if you decide to explore other things and later find that you want to revisit engineering, it’s not too late. Please don’t feel like you need to make a huge decision right now and stick to that path forever. Good luck!