Ask an Engineer

I had this exact thing happen to me in high school.  I tried taking calc and my teacher asked me to drop the class because I was so terrible at it and he couldn't help me.  I thought I was horrible at math!  However, when I got to college, I took the ...

Dear You-Can-Do-Math-too,

Mathematics, like many acquired skills, requires practice. This is true of mastering cartwheels, baking, woodworking, painting – I could go on. This is also true for reading and for language in general, the more exposure we ...

The opinion of one person does not/should not define us. Please do not take this person’s teaching style or opinion as a reflection of what you are capable of accomplishing. Study groups, online learning, a tutor, library resources, a classmate, someone ...

Think of "failing" as just an opportunity to learn.  But you must learn from the situation so that you will not repeat the same mistake.  Then, just brush it off, get up and try again.  Always think that you can do this, and try harder in another way.  ...

When you fail, which will happen at some point in your career, the most important thing to do is learn from it! Give yourself time to process what happened and what went wrong, then brainstorm ways to mitigate failure in the future. If we treat failure ...

I think failure depends on your definition. If you tried something new and it didn’t work – that is not failure. That is exploration or design iteration or learning. There are times that you fail an exam or a course or have a paper rejected. My approach ...

Yes, I have experienced a level of doubting my abilities while I was in college and even beginning my first engineering job. I even had a sense of this while I was excelling in my career when I would question whether the promotions and opportunities were ...

This is an issue many people face, and it seems to be particularly prevalent among girls and women, even the most accomplished among us. It even has a name - it is sometimes called the "Imposter Syndrome" in which even though we may be at the top of our ...

When I was in studying mechanical engineering in college, I remember doubting if I could make it through the class every time they went over the syllabus at the start of a semester. Honestly, I still have that voice in the back of my head every time I ...

Absolutely! I was a lot like you when I was in high school. I was never great at math. I understood the concepts but when it came to apply it, I would always get lost. Then I was then diagnosed with dyscalculia my freshman year of college. Many students ...

YES! Who says you are not good in math? Your grades? These are skills that you develop as you use them. If you learned to play an instrument or a sport, you know that those things take practice. Math is no different!
You learn to use math and the more ...

This question is always a difficult one to answer. It depends on what you mean by excel. If it means you don't enjoy math and science, then engineering may be difficult for you. If it means you enjoy math and science, but find it difficult, then ...

There’s this misconception that engineers are naturally super smart people (the way we’re portrayed in movies as people who can build/fix/code anything definitely doesn’t help), but the truth is that just about anyone passionate about solving problems ...

To be successful as an engineer, you don’t have to be the smartest in your class, but you do have to be one of the most determined. Engineering takes a lot of tenacity to stick with a problem and work through it methodically, even after you deal with ...

Anyone who wants to be an engineer can be one. Do not let others determine your path.

What you can do now is take as many math classes as you can. If you need a tutor, ask your school. Find math games to play, and problem solving type puzzles – even ...

Is it hard? Yes! Many jobs are, but when you are doing something that you are passionate about then it is always worth it. Some of the most difficult challenges we are presented with in life are also the most rewarding when we accomplish our goals. Many ...

Absolutely, it was worth it. It gave me the tools to be an asset for my community. And it opened up endless job opportunities and exciting careers. The degree is such a short time period relative to your career. Some classes will be harder than others. ...

It’s okay to be scared! The important thing is to not let being scared stop you from doing what you want to do. No matter what career path you choose, there will always be difficult moments and obstacles to overcome. So if engineering is what you want to ...

I'm so glad you have gotten accommodations for your processing style! The good news is, science and engineering are for all types of thinkers - deep thinkers like yourself included! I encourage you to continue to "learn how you learn" and explore what ...

The classes you are taking now are teaching you fundamentals and giving you the tools to solve complex, engineering problems. As long as you understand the concepts, that is knowledge you gain and will always have with you. Notice that I've said nothing ...

Hi!
I would suggest not working as a design consultant – I found there was usually a time crunch and urgency, working under pressure to finish things, but I feel like maybe working in research or in academia may align better with taking more time to go ...

This is a question I can relate to. In high school, I failed math miserably and was even told to drop calculus by my teacher. I had a hard time learning until I found out I’m auditory. I have the ability to remember sounds (like others with photographic ...

Let me start off with my two experiences.

In my junior year in college (very intense Electrical Engineering department), I realized that I am “average”. I studied and studied but my scores were always average. So, I decided to quit. I called my dad and ...

I got a D in thermodynamics in college as my final grade in the class. At the time I was HORRIFIED! I didn't get D's ever. I was an almost straight A student. But looking back I wear it as a badge of honor that despite the D, I still graduated and am a ...

Everyone feels like they don’t belong at one point or another whether it be personal (with a circle of peers) or professionally (at work). In those moments, I remind myself that I am made to stand out. Focus on the strengths you have and use them to help ...

I think everyone feels like this at one time or another, and there's actually a name for it called imposter syndrome. I've felt this many times over the course of my career and schooling. But we have to remember everyone learns and grows at their own ...

I totally understand the feeling. When I graduated from high school and went to the engineering school, I felt I didn’t belong because I was very behind. I came from a small town and the high school education wasn’t of great quality. I failed most of my ...

This question already got a lot of good feedback regarding the difficulty of the curriculum so I will not repeat it all, but one professor sticks out to me. He was known to fail a lot of his classes and was the professor that sorted through those that ...

I love this question, because I can remember being an engineering student and wondering the same thing! Now that I can view the situation from the professor's perspective (being one myself), I can reassure you that most professors want their students to ...

I will admit, there were times in my college career that I had professors who I could swear found pleasure in failing students in their class. I could almost picture them going home at night and laughing maniacally as they added another tally mark to the ...