My emoness

[1048576]

School has rapidly become way too hard for me. I'm going for an enginneering major in college (don't know which one [electrical, mechanical, computer, etc...]), but the difficulty of the course material is overwhelming. Worse, everyone else gets it. I've hit that wall, the one where you frantically memorize every conceivable formula and then fail the test anyway because you don't know which one to apply. Noone else has hit this wall. I've talked to professors, roommates, and classmates. They help me get past the individual homework problems, but nobody can drill the understanding of the concepts into my feeble mind. I've thought about switching majors, but honestly, math is my best subject, even though I suck at it, and those BS majors (ahem Business) aren't for me, seeing as the US economy is in a ****hole and I really don't have connections.

What should I do? My stress level is through the roof.

 

[Antinegative]

If math truly is your best subject, and you enjoy doing it, then why not major in math? There are all kinds of mathematical applications outside of the field of engineering, and you'll be surprised at the variety of commercial, private, and governmental positions that will be available to you upon graduating.

 

[1048576]

I don't enjoy school. That includes math. If I major in math, then I'll be just as stressed and angry about not being able to understand the course material as I am right now,. I don't really see how being a math major would make the material easier or make me smarter or make me better off.

 

[GoldShadow]

You have one of three problems:
1) You do not have good study skills or study habits
2) Your quantitative and logical reasoning skills are just not enough for an engineering curriculum
3) Some combination of 1 and 2

Seriously, about 95% of people I've met in college don't have good study habits. You should seriously sit down and evaluate how much time you put in and how much you get out of it; it should be pretty efficient. If it's not, you need to figure out what works for you best. Unfortunately, this is different for everybody.

But you may have hit a bigger wall... a limit to your abilities. That always presents a dilemma. I've heard many people face the problem of "I enjoy engineering/chemistry/biology but it's kicking my ***... should I change majors or stick with it?"

You should really figure out whether it's right for you. If you're just getting by with Cs and Bs, you should probably switch. But do try the different study habits thing first.

Also, there are alternative majors besides business. Pick a science out of a hat; physics, maybe?

As an aside, I tend to think that business majors are actually the smart ones, heh. They have an easy curriculum, and for the amount of schooling they go through, they have a lot of flexibility in career direction, plenty of opportunity for advancement, and depending on what college they got their degree from, lots of opportunities waiting when they graduate.

We future scientists/doctors/engineers are the ones that really torture ourselves by choosing the paths we do.

 

[Antinegative]

If you have really tried (and I mean tried your *** off) with a math related major and failed, then maybe its time to choose a different major. If you got into college then you are smart enough to succeed there. Its a matter of finding your niche, engineering is apparently not it. Even at a small school there are all kinds of areas of study that you probably have little to no experience with. You may find something you like, and more importantly, a fresh start.

 

[1048576]

Business majors are ********. There are too many of them, and they don't leave with any kind of marketable skill. I think most people assume business majors are successful because they only know of the successful ones.

What do you mean by inefficient. If you mean like I study for three hours and still don't get it, than yeah I guess it's inefficient, but I don't think a different approach would help, *chuckle. I usually sit at my computer, put on some soft music to tune out the distractions, and read my notes, and work out a few problems from the textbook/internet. Then, I invariably fail to do those problems, and I ask my roomates for help.

Heh, physics is giving me the most headaches.

I think the problem is deeper than that. I think I'm too dumb for college, basically. I can flunk out with difficult coursework and be screwed for life, or I can learn nothing in sociology class and be screwed for life. I'm kinda hoping there's a third solution that I haven't thought of where I'm not screwed for life.

I got into college with a high GPA and a good vocabulary, both of which were achieved through rote memorization. (I recommend keeping a dictionary on top or your bathroom toilet, so when nature calls, you can also educate yourself)

 

[Gamer4Fire]

Heh, physics is giving me the most headaches.

This makes no sense, physics is the most common sense of the various sciences. As much as I enjoy chemistry for endothermic oxidation, it is much easier to visualize physics problems and figure out how to get the answer.

I also happen to be really good with math, but unlike you, I hate math.

I think the problem is deeper than that. I think I'm too dumb for college, basically. I can flunk out with difficult coursework and be screwed for life, or I can learn nothing in sociology class and be screwed for life. I'm kinda hoping there's a third solution that I haven't thought of where I'm not screwed for life.

I got into college with a high GPA and a good vocabulary, both of which were achieved through rote memorization. (I recommend keeping a dictionary on top or your bathroom toilet, so when nature calls, you can also educate yourself)

I think this is your problem right here. You are very smart but you've learned everything from rote. I have always amazed and astounded my math and science teachers because I can answer all the questions they send at me, but my work is completely foreign to them. It is more important to understand underlying concepts of why or how it works than the process to get a right answer. If you know one way to get the answer by rote, you know one way to get the answer. If you understand how it works, you can figure out how to get the answer without any set process.

I'm not saying you have to change your learning style, your brain has developed too much for that to probably be possible. But you have to focus on the concepts behind the problems more than the formula to find the answer. When you understand what they are asking you, you could probably use several different formula to find the answer or create a new one (which is how I amazed my teachers).

As Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Knowing 'how' is more important than knowing 'what.'

 

[1048576]

Knowing how is too hard. That's the problem.

Noone's "learning style" is to memorize everything, that's just what someone has to fall back on when they can't grasp the concepts in their head.

Physics is too hard because I can't keep track of like six variables all at once, I can't grasp which concepts apply to a given situation, and three-dimensional stuff on two-dimensional paper makes my head spin.

 

[Aaryk]

I agree with GoldShadow. Try to evaluate your study skills and your work process.

I would also look at your motivation. There has to be something you like, that's why you're in this major. Choose what you like to do, not necessarily what you think you're good at. Maybe take some new classes, try to immerse yourself in a new learning experience.

 

[Gamer4Fire]

Try to think about the subject as a practical application instead of theory. This usually helps me visualize what the problem is asking for.

 

[AltF4]

Don't try to do everything yourself.

Most engineers tend to be kind of loners, but this doesn't help you in school matters. Studying in groups, or at least doing projects in groups, helps immensely.

If you're a bright guy, you can easily understand 95% of a topic without mucch effort. But that missing 5% is what makes things difficult. The whole puzzle doesn't quite fit for you. And that's why it's important to use others as a resource, you can mutually cover areas that you're having difficulty with.

It's very easy to sit, not ask questions, not understand the material, and not make yourself vulnerable. It takes a certain amount of courage to ask for help and admit that you don't understand something to really learn.

 

[1048576]

What's with all the Alt-F4 ness (your name, that other person's avatar). Anyway, it's true I don't like the material, but I'm gonna need a well-paying job at some point, and for that it's either start my own business (would any of you eat a grape that was the size of your fist?), go into some medical field (eh, I really don't think that's for me, as I really have no desire to help most of the people I see [and I assume it's also freikin hard]), or this, and this is really friekin hard; that's why there's such high quantity demand (due to) low supply.

I've talked to many people and gotten lots of help from instructors, classmates, and roommates, but it still doesn't click most of the time. Vectors in three-dimensional space, in particular, drive me nuts, no matter what the application. I don't think it's possible for me to "get it."

Meh, I just got done with an incredibly easy Physics exam. The professor used basic problems that could be done with rote formula memorization. Lucky me.

Whatever, life's good until the next series of exams rolls around.

 

[GoldShadow]

What's with all the Alt-F4 ness (your name, that other person's avatar). Anyway, it's true I don't like the material, but I'm gonna need a well-paying job at some point, and for that it's either start my own business (would any of you eat a grape that was the size of your fist?), go into some medical field (eh, I really don't think that's for me, as I really have no desire to help most of the people I see [and I assume it's also freikin hard]), or this, and this is really friekin hard; that's why there's such high quantity demand (due to) low supply.

You seem to have a very unrealistic and limited view of what's out there in terms of jobs.

Virtually any major can get a job; the number of different categories and types of jobs is rapidly expanding, and for most of them

Engineers with a BS get paid relatively well. They also have more opportunities after they graduate than most majors. But there is by no means an extremely high demand and low supply of engineers. There is a demand, yes, but it's really cyclic and it's hard to say how things will look 3, 4 or 5 years from now. Engineers with a BS are also not irreplaceable. In fact, due to globalization, overseas business/networking, and immigration, the pool of foreign-trained engineers has never been higher. So don't go thinking there's absolute job security or opportunity as an engineer.

It is possible to make money literally several thousand ways besides the few you listed (and starting your own business is by NO MEANS necessarily a way of making a lot of money). You really should find something you enjoy doing, and look into a career that involves that instead of being miserable for the rest of your life. I guarantee you it won't be worth it if you continue down this path.

 

[Livvers]

I agree with Gold Shadow.

Getting a job just for the reason that it pays well is sure way to make yourself miserable. It sounds like you don't actually have an interest in what you're majoring in. That's going to make it a lot harder to learn.

 

[Gamer4Fire]

You seem to have a very unrealistic and limited view of what's out there in terms of jobs.

Virtually any major can get a job; the number of different categories and types of jobs is rapidly expanding, and for most of them

Engineers with a BS get paid relatively well. They also have more opportunities after they graduate than most majors. But there is by no means an extremely high demand and low supply of engineers. There is a demand, yes, but it's really cyclic and it's hard to say how things will look 3, 4 or 5 years from now. Engineers with a BS are also not irreplaceable. In fact, due to globalization, overseas business/networking, and immigration, the pool of foreign-trained engineers has never been higher. So don't go thinking there's absolute job security or opportunity as an engineer.

It is possible to make money literally several thousand ways besides the few you listed (and starting your own business is by NO MEANS necessarily a way of making a lot of money). You really should find something you enjoy doing, and look into a career that involves that instead of being miserable for the rest of your life. I guarantee you it won't be worth it if you continue down this path.

Yes, what I can tell you is that it is more important to have a degree than to have a type of degree. A lot of jobs just care that your have a BS, they don't care that it was in under water basket weaving (UC Berkley).

 

[1048576]

Hmmm, so what is the optimal degree for me?

I'm good at economics, but that falls under most business majors, and I really wouldn't learn a skill other than how to predict market trends.

Criteria:
I'd like to learn a skill that most of the population does not have
High income for job after graduation
I'd like to work in a cubicle (the design is efficient, and I don't have other people watching me work)
Ideally, I'd like to work in the gaming industry (I know about the ridiculous unpaid overtime and the meticulous details; I don't care. I also don't care whether I make the games, test the games, or write the manual, as long as I am surrounded by videogames)
Failing that, I'd like to work in a CCG workshop. I liek teh cardz.

 

[the melon!!!!!]

Real Estate.

 

[pockyD]

you are much MUCH more likely to get into game design through connections than from a standard job search process

 

[1048576]

*Sigh, in order to get into real estate you need luckiness and start up money. I have neither.

@ pocky: I know that. In fact nowadays that's kinda how you get every job. That's one of the primary reasons I'm so worried. I don't have connections. The rich people I make friends with don't like to share

I don't mind working anywhere as long as it pays well. Gaming would just be ideal.

 

[pockyD]

you want lots of money, like math, and don't mind doing repetitive business

do something involving insurance (actuary is a VERY good job if you like that kind of stuff) or taxes/accounting

 

[1048576]

Hmmm, sounds good. The coursework will probably be a lot easier too. Thanks.