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How do I follow my passion?

I'm in middle school, and I like a lot of different things. I'm good at math, I'm interested in science, and I think coding is cool. I enjoy art and history too. I just like learning new things! But really, I don’t know if I'm passionate about any of that. Is it okay to just like something for now? People say you should figure out what you love early so you can prepare and not have regrets later, but I have no idea. I don't even know if I'll like the same things in the future, and making choices for school is starting to feel like it might follow me for the rest of my life. How did you figure out what you were passionate about? Did you always know engineering was right for you, or did it take a long time? And how do you tell the difference between being curious about something and wanting to make it your future?

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  • Barbara O’Reilly asked Ayanna Howard, Georgia Institute of Technology

    Added Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at 12:16 PM

    Hello Ayana - I am a retired middle school teacher in Ohio and have some questions about your background. Where did you grow up and did you have a private or public education? And how did your teachers affect your future educational decisions?

    Answers 0
  • Emily ward asked Elizabeth Rasmussen, National Institute of Standards and Technology

    Added Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 10:34 AM

    hi Elizabeth. most kids at my school think that I am dumb because of my math grade. I can't do the formulas yet but I can do any other in my head. pls give me some advice. I want to be in IT when I grow up and I don't think I am good enough or smart enough.

    Answers 0
  • Sam asked Shruti Pai, VA Center of Excellence for Limb Loss Prevention and Prosthetic Engineering

    Added Monday, October 5, 2020 at 2:36 PM

    Hi I???m a sophomore in college majoring in biomedical engineering and struggling to decide if it???s the right path for me. I???m currently in my first semester as a sophomore in biomedical engineering and classes are online right now. I???m struggling with online classes and I???m struggling with whether I would be doing better if classes were in person or if I would be doing worse. I have an interest in biomedical engineering but I don???t really find physics or statics interesting. I ...

    Answers 0
  • Alexis Brooks asked Andromeda DuMont, CH2M / Jacobs

    Added Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 10:29 PM

    I am a fourth year civil engineering major, with one semester left. I love water. I am worried that if I don't take all the water electives, that I will not be able to find a job in the water field when I finish. For example, do I need to take hydraulic structures analysis and design in order to work in the field of water when I graduate?

    Answers 0
  • Anonymous

    Added Monday, October 14, 2024 at 12:48 AM

    Hi, I'm a 4th year robotics engineering student at UC Santa Cruz. I guess I picked robotics because it involved both computer and electrical since I wasn't sure. Currently, I'm struggling in classes, especially the electronics class that I'm taking, and the prof gave me and my friends extra time on the assignment...but I can't help but think "Oh, he's only being nice to us since we are girls"

    I'm a first-gen college student and I had a sexist mentor through a scholarship that said ...

    Answers 0
  • Amanda asked Kate Danner, Collins Aerospace

    Added Wednesday, August 26, 2020 at 10:18 AM

    Hi, I'm a student, 16 years old, I'm in year 10 and I've chosen my subjects for next year but I'm still in doubt if I'll change some of not. I'm planning on doing engineering as a career, and my main focus is on chemical and metallurgical engineering, but I'm not good at physics and I haven't chosen physics as one of my subjects for next year but now I don't know if I should or not?! Is physics a necessary subject that I should choose when planning to do chemical engineering or metallurgical ...

    Answers 0
  • Aliza asked Mahshid Khoshlessan, University of Texas, Dallas

    Added Sunday, February 7, 2021 at 9:22 PM

    I have always loved building things, but noticed engineering is a lot of math and designing. I don't know if I'm very good at it. I am currently taking lots of advanced classes for college credit in high school, but I want some experience of what it is liked to be an engineer. What can I do to get an engineering internship or a job in engineering after high school to help pay for my college?

    Answers 0
  • Victoria

    Added Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 3:06 PM

    I'm 12 and really want to be a engineer but kids at school are saying that I will never make it as a engineer because I'm not smart enough so I would like to know how I could become an engineer.

    Answers 0
  • Maritza Nares asked Adriana Garcia, AG Consultink

    Added Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 2:20 PM

    I'm having trouble on deciding on what type of engineer I want to be so any advice you have would truly help! Also, being an electrical engineer is something I am very interested in but I didn't have the greatest experience in physics. Although I did manage to pass the class it wasn't entirely the best with the teacher I had so I am having a little bit of self-doubt. But I really do love math and again, i would really like to pursue a career in engineering, possibly electrical engineering, ...

    Answers 0
  • Ellie

    Added Monday, June 21, 2021 at 10:48 AM

    I want to become a biomedical engineer. I have a tutor and stuff, but my math skills don???t seem to improve. I???m really good at science, but math is nowhere near my strong point. I???m only in eighth grade, but my interests seem to be leaning really far into the biomedical engineering field. What do I do?
    Answers 0
  • Shelby Koch

    Added Friday, April 18, 2025 at 7:37 PM

    Hi all, I've already completed an Associate in Liberal Arts degree back in community college because I couldn't land on a specific major I wanted to pursue in University. I'm now 28 years old working in a TV control room and I want to pursue an actual career instead of living paycheck to paycheck. My only issue is, while I'm interested in engineering and technology I had to take college algebra 3-4 times in order to pass and I remember I only really passed because we got extra credit for great ...
    Answers 0
  • Emma asked Kristen Young, Verizon

    Added Thursday, January 1, 2026 at 10:41 AM

    How come I can do math by myself but when we do it as a class I can't do it? It is like I don't understand the math.
    Answers 0
  • Ceren Vuranok asked Sezin Aday Aydin, Harvard Medical School

    Added Monday, October 30, 2023 at 6:26 AM

    I am a senior high school student from Turkey/Antalya. My dream is to study bioengineering at UPenn, and my intended goal is to hopefully work in the BIOLines Laboratory. Therefore, your experiences and recommendations are truly precious to me. Also, I would like to know about what a bioengineering student's must-haves. Tesekkur ederim! :)
    Answers 0
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