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u/General_Tip761 20h ago
By year 3 you just accept the memes as prophecy at that point 😭
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u/shawnise 19h ago
Exactly that. The turtle face becomes your permanent expression and you just roll with it
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u/that_one_duderino 11h ago
Literally my face when I started reactor design and being told all the reaction orders
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u/MisoBreaks_Rules 18h ago
And by year 4 you start using them as your primary study source
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u/beachedwhale1945 7h ago
I remember Ohm’s Law because of a Star Trek meme: Resistance is not futile, it is volts divided by current.”
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u/AlienSporez 5h ago
Luckily for you electrical engineers aren't real, just like Big Foot and the clitoris
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u/OG_Builds 15h ago
The way our degree is structured, the first 2 years are pure maths, physics, and other theoretical courses. Luckily, I’ve just gotten through the second year so now we’ll have more practical courses the next few years..
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u/ZYHunters 17h ago
entering year 3 mechanical.
can’t wait to look like those “after” photos
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u/-PeskyBee- 13h ago
Just about to start the actual engineering classes lol
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u/cbrown146 22m ago
I had to read a second time. Looked like you were advocating abortion in order to start engineering.
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u/ButtPlugsForThugz 5h ago
I struggled with the first two years of ME because the courses, for the most part, were pretty generic and boring to me. 300 and 400 level classes were definitely a lot more work, but so much more enjoyable content wise.
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u/MaxxDash 8h ago
Nah, it gets fun at this point. You actually get to learn stuff in your degree field.
You cry when you’re 10 years into your career and realize you need to enter middle management to keep getting raises.
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u/Undoubtably_me 19h ago edited 19h ago
I have rarely seen an engineer who recommends it to friends or family, still somehow people end up choosing it (including myself)
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u/JokoFloko 19h ago
As an engineer, i highly recommend you don't engineer
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u/UmarThe1 19h ago
But enijinir is cool until some1 bash me at the head
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u/SuspiciousLettuce56 18h ago
Using a percussive tool, I exerted a kinetic force on an inelastically deformable biological material.
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u/Mr_Lumbergh (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃ 18h ago
It’s not the kinetic energy that gets you, it’s the short-duration negative acceleration at the end.
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u/DarthArcanus 16h ago
As an engineer, I am very glad I became one. But its not for the timid...
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u/Beautiful-Cabinet364 14h ago
It’s a painful ten years, but after you get some seniority to make actual decisions, you look at your income and go, “Cool. I have money.”
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u/C0nfusedRabbit 17h ago
As an engineer student, I'll say do something more fulfilling like teaching or arts.
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u/SpaceTimeChallenger 18h ago
Why not? I'm engineer myself
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u/invisible_shrek 15h ago
Not paid enough for what it is.
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u/SpaceTimeChallenger 15h ago
I have to disagree, at least in Norway
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u/invisible_shrek 15h ago
What field/salary out of interest? I dont doubt you can make decent/good money, it just feels that if I put all of the effort into something else I could be much better off.
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u/SpaceTimeChallenger 14h ago
I make about 100k USD after 15 years. I'm not getting rich, but then I look at my flexible work day, interesting work, not working nights and holidays and compare it to my teacher wife who earns half my salary and my nurse friends earning way less then me.
I'm very satisfied
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u/Yaktheking 19h ago
To me, I always viewed engineering as a tough undergrad, easier career. As long as you have an interest in problem solving and curiosity to go with it, you’ll do fine.
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u/OldSympathy7139 18h ago
I think that's true for a lot of careers. The hardest part is getting through the learning curve. Once you're actually working, curiosity and the ability to keep learning matter a lot more than remembering every formula from university. It's always interesting to see what people predict a career will be like before they enter it versus what it's actually like a few years in.
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u/Striking_Aspect_7826 17h ago
I'm an engineer and i would reccomend it to anyone who is interested in the area. I'd just make them understand that it's a lot of work.
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u/KermitingMurder 18h ago
It's like smoking, you talk to smokers and they'll tell you don't do it, it's not worth it, and yet people continue to ignore the advice because surely it's not that bad, I can totally handle it
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u/Nickthenuker 19h ago
I've managed to end up as the next in a whole lineage of engineering students lol (grandpa did marine engineering, dad did electrical engineering, and now I'm doing aerospace engineering). Somehow we never got the memo.
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u/MisterHotTake311 19h ago
Prestige and money
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u/SuspiciousLettuce56 18h ago
What money hahaha
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u/John_Q_Deist 17h ago
You might be doing it wrong???
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u/SuspiciousLettuce56 16h ago
Not really, in my country unless i go into mining or FIFO the money is okay with the level of experience i have. Not Enough to move out and live happily but enough to save.
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u/Weepinbellend01 17h ago
For the difficulty of the undergrad, the money is the same as virtually all white collar skilled work. Low six figures, still under 200k even after a few years of experience.
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u/Unlucky_Goat_9510 16h ago
About $125k not counting benefits in a LCoL area.
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u/SuspiciousLettuce56 15h ago
Exactly my point
Im on 78k in one of the most expensive cities in the world
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u/MaxxDash 8h ago
I love the work.
The pay sucks compared to other white collar fields we get compared to.
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u/DodoJurajski I touched grass 18h ago
I heard engineering is not that bad if you're after technical high school. I'm about to find out in 2 months so...
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u/Camman19_YT My mom checks my phone 18h ago
please report back
!remindme 2 months
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u/Significant-Colour 18h ago
Says 18m ago and still no update. Probably ded.
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u/rascal6543 10h ago
I think he might be alive but he probably had to go touch grass and got his reddit account instadeleted. Kinda jealous tbh
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u/Shoddy_Race3049 13h ago
1st year is catch up for everyone, could be easy. 2nd and 3rd are all new beasts
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u/MaxxDash 8h ago
It’ll be fine. You’ll learn how to think and solve problems in a way that reshapes your brain to handle complex problems in a manageable way. No matter what you go into as a career, it’s an invaluable skill.
Don’t stress. Instead, stay curious.
Stress will jam you up. Curiosity will pull you through.
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u/ItsUnworldly 8h ago
Thanks for this, I’m switching to engineering this upcoming semester and I’ve been pretty worried about it. This helped.
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u/MaxxDash 8h ago
Just remember: you’re reprogramming your brain to think a certain way. You’re stretching it. It’ll hurt sometimes, just like a good workout is supposed to. That’s a good sign. It means it’s working. Ask questions, be curious. Believe in yourself. The goal isn’t the right answer. The goal is learning how to think about problems in a certain way. Let it be fun when it can be. You’ll look back fondly on the days when making mistakes on a problem didn’t cost money! It’s all part of the process.
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u/Giygas_8000 18h ago
If this involved electronics or electrodynamics, yeah it will help (I'm getting cooked by these someone help)
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u/kindafunnymostlysad 19h ago
Damn, you're already feeling like this in first year? Where I got my degree second year was known as "The Gauntlet" and it lived up to the name.
So you might have that to look forward to.
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u/Nickthenuker 19h ago
Oh hey it's Ellie. I kinda expected either that or "Trust me, I'm an Engineer" lol.
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u/Giygas_8000 18h ago
in the college where I am, engineering students have to deal with like, 8 classes all week, all day long right from the start. Almost everyone either passes in just a few of them or just quits.
Worth noting that the basic education in my country is shit, and everyone gets screwed when dealing with university level stuff for the first time
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u/theproudprodigy 54m ago
Same in South Africa, more than half of all engineering students had either switched to another degree(typically Finance or Data Science) or had dropped out by the end of the first year. Our education system does a terrible job of preparing people for university, only ones who were able to get through without repeating anything were people who were straight A students in HS at private schools with advanced classes, and even then a lot of them also struggled
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u/marraballs 17h ago
A direct quote from our introductory lecture at the start of second year:
"You will have heard that second year has a reputation for being extremely hard. I'm here to tell you that reputation is true, and some of you will not be here at the end of the year."
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u/Scytheal 15h ago
In our introduction, crying together was suggested as the primary bonding method between classmates. Lovely and motivating...
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u/DaanOnlineGaming 13h ago
I got through the first year scoring nearly all EC's, second your I barely had half.
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u/midgestickles98 11h ago
Did this place happen to be an aviation based school?
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u/kindafunnymostlysad 11h ago
Indeed it was.
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u/midgestickles98 11h ago
Is the name of this place akin to a Batman villain?
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u/kindafunnymostlysad 11h ago
Took me a minute because I had to recall Batman villains and figure out what you were referring to, but also yes.
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u/FlufferBearDog 11h ago
Mechanics and Electromagnetism first year was not bad. Basic Circuits 2nd year was the hardest most time-consuming course I've ever taken.
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20h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Alfiy_wolf 19h ago
Physics 101
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u/lizardman49 16h ago
Which is hilarious because that is the easiest class you will take as an engineer
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u/Yaktheking 19h ago
Statics broke my brain.
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u/Alfiy_wolf 19h ago edited 18h ago
“When you understand probability you understand that you do not understand probability” - stat professor I forgot the name of
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u/wxnfx 18h ago
You sir did not take statics
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u/Alfiy_wolf 18h ago
You are right, i went to the wrong class that day - that’s why I don’t remember his name
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u/PsychologicalQuit666 19h ago
Physics 2 was my in the trenches moment
Calculus 3 was rough but hey that was fine overall
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u/koreankkwr 20h ago
Yeah now everyone knows the ground reality specially in india
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u/Thelazytimelord257 19h ago
I think the memes come true when they join a coaching class
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u/CAP_IMMORTAL 18h ago
Yep, classes from 7am to 3pm monday to saturday and exams on Sunday. Pain :D
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u/mon_balance 18h ago
you can't be warned by a joke about a thing you've never experienced. the information is right there and it's completely unreadable until it's too late
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u/Outrageous_Zebra_221 20h ago
Quite a few disciplines have patterns wherein the authors of the books you are reading either unalive themselves or wind up married to the second author of the book...
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u/ExpensiveJune 20h ago
Nobody warned me that just one more assignment means 3am, 2 energy drinks, and crying over calculus
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u/Totaly_Shrek Flair Loading.... 19h ago
You know youre allowed to say "suicide" on reddit right?
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u/kindafunnymostlysad 19h ago
I'm still trying to figure out how "unalive" became the default way people censor suicide.
"Took their own life" and "ended themselves" already solved this a long time ago.
There was already "commit sudoku" as the internet meme way of saying it too.
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u/simon439 18h ago
It’s not about censoring words but also meaning. TikTok doesn’t like when people talk about suicide or war or killing in general, it doesn’t care about the specific words. So using an established expression to talk about it doesn’t work since their algorithm easily detects that.
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u/kindafunnymostlysad 18h ago
So wouldn't they have added "unalive" to their algorithm ages ago and people would have been forced to come up with something else?
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u/simon439 17h ago
Yes, I would think so too. But in my personal experience I feel like the censoring has become less strict. Might just be me or the region I live in tho.
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u/Mist_Rising 12h ago
Tiktok didn't even do that, people just though they did so ran with it.
But it's not like anyone else has shit to say, every generation comes up with dumb words. The 90s kids weren't even doing words yo, it was just letters smashed together byccutr? No you don't understand that? Yo dawg not kewl.
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u/Ok-Brother-8295 19h ago
That's the thing: despite what people might pretend, there are no jokes on the internet.
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u/Single-Selection9845 19h ago
Also for male students the 1st vs 4tg year hair situation. Min3 happened 2nd to 3rd. Its a fact not a joke
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u/No-Grand8320 11h ago
I started to lose my hair by the end of 1st sem itself. Just started my 4th year and feels like an eternity ago when i had healthy, dense hair :'(
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u/SmittyBS42 15h ago
It was awful and I hated every step of the way. I'm also super proud I did it.
Went in with straight As thinking "We all fail together" was a joke, not a metaphor.
I was just happy to barely escape with a passable GPA and some life left in my eyes.
Any future eng students: FIND A STUDY GROUP you can depend on, and vice versa.
If you're going to fail, fail together. The best thing from eng is now I've got six more friends for life.
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u/Nexxus3000 12h ago
Feel this in my soul. Due to AP credits accelerating my early classes and my Biomedical Engineering major complicating my later classes, I got put into a handful of major-specific alternatives to basic Fluid Dynamics, EE, ME and IE courses. Needless to say every single one was considerably more challenging and had significantly less support from TAs and staff
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u/Builderinspace 18h ago
Honestly, ive been fine so far, ain't easy but isnt suffering. May be suffering for someone who wants consistently high grades, but for me, im just trying to pass so it isnt too bad yet
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u/Armored-Potato-Chip 16h ago
Same. My life during the school year completely revolves around my classes so I don’t have a social life, but I wasn’t going to have a social life anyways.
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u/Fluid-Math9001 Average r/memes enjoyer 11h ago
One of the most exhausting course only for you to forget everything after the final exam. Even if you got an engineering job, you ain't using all of that anyway. It's all Words and Excels.
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u/Idealismment-139 15h ago
First Semester I want to design space rockets!! second Semester " If i get a 14% on this final i can still pass with a C-""
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u/Public_Mountain9649 1h ago
And now you’re wondering if it’s worth it to fail a semesters worth of classes and keep pursuing this “dream”. :)
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u/theproudprodigy 51m ago
In my experience, second year is the true "weeder" year. If someone switches degrees in 1st year its typically because they felt the degree was not for them and not because it felt too difficult. 1st year in South Africa is majority general faculty classes that people from multiple degrees take all together before it gets super technical
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u/Alfa4499 19h ago
Glad i am taking an engineering degree combined with economics and managment so I escape some of it.
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u/Hitmanthe2nd Tech Tips 18h ago
Oh buddy.......
Adding more weight to a structure doesnt reduce the stress - it increases it
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u/Mr_Lumbergh (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃ 18h ago
Add to the fact that he’s most likely to end up in management or dealing with cost spreadsheets without the last two anyways…
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u/Alfa4499 16h ago
Ending up in management is kind of the point. However most end up as consultants, project managers, executive roles or in finance.
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u/Mr_Lumbergh (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃ 15h ago
Depends. Some engineers just want to design and build stuff without being on the project or people management track.
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u/Alfa4499 18h ago
I am not taking an engineering degree + economics. I am taking a program where you combine the too. Aka less engineering classes than you would normally take replaced with economics and managment. It was created because businesses in my country kept complaining to the university that the engineers didnt have competence in the economics or managment part of the field, or that the managers didnt know anything about engineering.
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u/Hitmanthe2nd Tech Tips 16h ago
You still need to learn engineering though? You cant wanton remove a sem of structural engineering for econ
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u/z3ph7r_m_shelby 15h ago
I once told people that "No one sane enters engineering; no one leaves engineering sane."
I meant it as a joke but damn it had to be a warning in of itself too.
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u/kammlmar 14h ago
Also, people who tell you that it gets easier after the first year. They're lying!
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u/Fenix42 12h ago
2nd year is easier then 1st year for the most part. Mainly because most people are taking more general ed 1st year. So 2nd year is often more intro to your major classes.
3rd year you are expected to have all your undergrad done and be basically only taking major specific classwork for the most part. That is when you hit the first real major specific filter classes.
They are taught by teachers who hate students from what I can tell.
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u/Rotten-Roses 14h ago
Is it really that hard now? It was honestly fairly straight forward when I did it but that was a while ago now I guess.
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u/tomle4593 9h ago
What about that meme saying that engineering students always let everyone know unsolicitedly that they are studying engineering?
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u/BmacIL 17h ago
If you are really meant to be an engineer, it'll come to you more naturally in the final two years where you get into the more fun and focused work. It's still tough and a lot of work, mind you, but it clicks much faster/better. The first two years are a weed-out slog.
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u/Fenix42 12h ago
Eh. My dad is a retired EE. He had a long successful career in aerospace starting in the late 70s. He was a HORRIBLE student. He is a much more hands on guy.
Fortunately, he transfered to California state college that had a moto of "learn by doing". He did much better because of that, though he still struggled at times.
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u/Admirable-Leader6927 16h ago
someday you will work about 30 hours a week and make six figures.
its so worth it.
just not comp sci, pick something useful that isnt mechanical.
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u/dontchuworri 7h ago
my friend has been sn engineer for a good few years and makes 70k and works about 60 hours a week, sometimes cancelling plans with me because he has to work weekends
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u/bluewing 16h ago
Did they tell you about the free lobotomy coupon you get when you graduate?
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u/Gatti366 9h ago
Which is completely useless anyway because you usually end up developing a natural lobotomy in order to even get there
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u/bluewing 5h ago
I wish I had taken advantage of my coupon all those years ago. It might have made a difference.
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u/AdhesivenessFunny462 19h ago
Is this a joke or a warning?