Surviving Engineering : One of most Difficult Courses in the World!

developed since our school and intermediate college life.  Teacher job is to feed it all to me in lectures, and my job is to soak it up and then repeat it on exams. If I can do that, I’ve learned what I need to know

and that’s the only way I can learn it”. This is where we are wrong! It might have worked in school and +2 college but it begins to fail in engineering college and when you enter a professional field it fails completely.

Out there, there are no teachers, lectures,or texts with worked-out examples and the problems don’t come neatly packaged with all the information needed to solve them.Often the hardest part of a real problem is figuring out exactly what the problem is. But I want you to keep in mind that around the world there are hundreds of thousands of engineers, most of them no smarter that you,many not as smart, who once struggled with their own confusing teachers and unreadable text, are out there doing just fine. Here are five simple tips that Professor Richard M.Felder at North Carolina State University gave to help students start learning. If you find yourself struggling in classes, give

these tips a try. If they work (I’m pretty sure that they will), you’ll have an easier time in college and hit the ground running in your

first job. Best of luck.

Do you ever ind yourself expressing one of these common complaints? “I need practical, real-world applications before I can understand something, but all we get in class is theory.” lf you do, pay attention to yourself-identifying what you’re missing in\a course is the first step toward getting it.The obvious next step is to ask your teacher in or out of class, for whatever it may be.

Buy more books. Check (out) those parts of your text if you’re having trouble rather than Just searching for solved examples that look Like the homework problems. Another good strategy is to look at a second reference on the same subject-a different text, a handbook, or a Web site.

 In a group someone can usually find away past the difficulty. Working with others may also show you better ways to solve problems than the way you have been using.

Sometimes you’I| run into a problem that completely stumps you and everyone you’reworking with. Your course teacher is an obvious candidate, but that doesn’t always work out. Other potential consultants include graduate teaching assistants, other teacher who teaches the same course, students who have previously taken the course, smart classmates, and tutors. No matter whom you go to, go early: waiting until two days before the final exam probably won’t cut it.

 If you survived your first year of engineering, you almost certainly have what it takes to be an engineer. Just remember all your predecessors who had the same self-doubts you have now, did just fine. You do belong here, and you’ll get through it just like they did. Try to relax and enjoy the trip.