The Dark Truth of Becoming an Engineer

This is a clip from my Podcast where Rafael, a Mechanical Engineer, discusses some of the challenges of being an engineering student. Engineering is a very difficult major and it takes a lot of time and effort. Do you have any advice for people? If so, please leave a comment below.

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[deltapi]

I used to speak to an apprentice who was assigned to me. He asked me whether studying IT was hard. I told him "No, as long as you don't have a social circle it's pretty easy" ...

[FriezaLukas]

Computer Engineering student here. It is extremely hard, but the idea to be able to help people, create technologies, become smart and badass is what is keeping me going.

[TonyDaExpert]

The internship thing is so true, especially in this economy. If you don’t get internships finding a job after graduating going to be a big challenge in most cases.

[philt]

My first year of Engineering - back in the 70s at University of Waterloo - I had 6 subjects, 37.5 hours per week of classes, and the rule of thumb was 2 hrs homework for every hour in class. So that's 112 hrs per week, and there's only 168 hrs available per week. So like Rafael said : social life, hobbys - forget them for a few years.

[dumbfrog]

I still remember a classmate of mine telling me that he only slept for 4 hours a day. He attended school full-time and worked full-time because he needed to support his family.

[KBSINN]

HERE IN INDIA THE DARK TRUTH OF BECOMING AN ENGINEER IS THAT AFTE YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR COURSE YOU WOULD DO EVERY JOB EXCEPT FOR THE ONE YOU HAD STUDIED FOR . 😂😂

[mr_noodler]

An engineering degree requires you to be disciplined and to study math and other hard subjects in science. Once you graduate, the real work in industry begins, and you have to meet industry standards and be responsible for things that can hurt people. So very scary some times. Lots of tight deadlines and a lack of hours to do all the work. Prepare yourself for a stressful job!

[Enigma]

Good advice! I once took 5 engineering courses at once. After finals, I remember coming home and laying down on the floor.

[barryram]

Got my engineering degree ages ago, I found the diversity of subjects one of the most interesting and rewarding aspects of the whole program. I didn't find it that hard though, most of the subjects came down to understanding rather than learning.

[sophiaisabelle]

We appreciate your content. We will support you no matter what.

[chasefoxen]

Really cool to see some guests on! I am doing mechanical engineering and math majors and I relate a lot to Rafael. It totally does consume your life, but as Math Sorcerer said I think embracing it is the best thing you can do for yourself. You can only do so much in a day, week, month, etc. Would love to see more stuff like this.

[ThePepsiman]

I'm a mechanical engineering student with a comp sci minor, I can relate but I think my experience with studying and social life balance has been a little different.

For my first year up until the end of the COVID pandemic lockdowns, I definitely had that experience where it was studying virtually 24/7. Getting something to eat or even going outside for some sunlight was something I neglected but felt amazing once I remembered to do it.

After the lockdowns, I joined clubs on campus and started going to the school gym, which allowed me to meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends. I wanted to add that networking is so important when it comes to finding internships and jobs. I think many people see social circles as unproductive, but networking is valuable, a lot better than sending 100+ job applications online. Besides networking, hanging out with friends is good for your mental health. My grades definitely slipped a little, but it was worth it for my physical and mental health.

Just wanted to add onto what you guys said at the end, because it was important to me.

side note: I've had many of my professors say as long as you have a 3.0, you should be okay. I've even had a professor said a 2.8 was not the end of the world LOL

[HowardARoark]

It's a good point that was made towards the end about deciding whether to go for good grades or whether to concentrate on internships to gain work experience. If you want freedom to pursue knowledge and an academic career, then internships are probably unwise. During your vacations it would be better to rest your mind by doing some work that is physical only. But you could use some of the time to supplement your in-term learning, but be careful not to exhaust yourself as a tough year lies ahead. Learning to learn on your own and chart your own course through knowledge is a vital skill. You have merely dipped your toe in the ocean. But for working for a company in a career, your whole emphasis is different - that life is for you if you like that environment and enjoy it, and envision yourself in that role, you don't need great grades to be successful in that route. But for some people it is exploration of knowledge and intellectual challenge that is the appealing thing, and if you want to go down that route my advice is DRINK DEEP, DRINK DEEP, DRINK DEEP, DRINK DEEP, DRINK DEEP, DRINK DEEP, ie of knowledge, allowing of course time to rest your brain periodically to recharge it. Find your passion, do what you love doing. But try out different areas to get a grounding in them and a feel for them. Pick a major theorem in an area and see if you can fully understand how to prove it from first principles, and learn a lot of interesting things along the way, eg Number Theory - try the Prime Number Theorem, start with Tom Apostol 'Intro to Analytic Number Theory' chaps 1-4. Always remember the old couplet of Alexander Pope from 1711, and keep it in mind :
"A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again."
If things get on top of you, stop working immediately, and go and watch a good film, listen to some good music, or go for a walk. Surprisingly quickly you can come around and a light bulb could suddenly come on re that tough problem.

[shindoxxx]

Social life? Girlfriend? We, engineering majors don't do that.

[alexandroskyriakis]

Congratulations for your channel brother, very powerful content. I have been watching you for a significant amount of time through your videos. Being an engineer is a very serious business and it requires effort and determination. Bear in mind that in order to succeed in your studies you have to become strong in your mathematical knowledge. I can name two men who were engineers and became mathematical legends : Norman Levinson and Stefan Banach. By reading their biographies I came to the conclusion that being an engineer is something that requires years of sacrifice, patience and determination. Keep up with great work brother and I hope that your channel grows even more. I also have a channel producing content and any feedback from you would be highly appreciated. Have a nice summer my friend!

[johnfox]

Listen engineering students!! Good nutrition and plenty of restful sleep are critical to learning, brain health, and academic performance. Get some socializing, but concentrate on studies more. Also, aerobic exercise like running or swimming, etc. will condition you and aid in learning and clear thinking. Get a good night's rest the night BEFORE any exam. I am a soon retiring EE, and I am trying to pass on sage advice learned through experience. . The Math Sorcerer is one great dude!!

[techtodas]

This kind of podcast is so interesting!

[LaughingManRa]

I spent my junior and senior years in undergrad taking nothing but chemistry, physics, and math courses. Oddly enough, I think I had an easier time than some of my friends with more varied schedules, just because a lot of the material was mutually reinforcing. For example, one semester I took multivariable calculus along with electromagnetism (which uses a lot of vector calculus), and another semester I had thermal physics and physical chemistry (which includes thermodynamics and statistical mechanics). It was interesting to see similar material covered from different angles.

[xaviergonzalez]

Loved every minute of this video. As a mech engineer I can say I lived the same experiences. But it worth! Thank you!

[musonobari]

I'm an IT major somewhere in Tanzania🇹🇿(East Africa). You guys' chat has really inspired me to delve right back into my studies, which I was right about to give up.

I'mean, is there anywhere else on Earth where a junior developer, with like 3 months experience of HTML, PHP, CSS, Javascript, MySQL is expected to concoct a world class fully functioning website in a matter of 4 days 😫😫😫 😢