Top 5 Reasons It Sucks to Be an Engineering Student

FOR MANY STUDENTS, earning a degree in engineering is less than enjoyable and far from what they expected. Here are our biggest complaints about the educational rite of passage. Of course, they are sweeping generalizations. Feel free to disagree.

1. Awful Textbooks
Thick, dry, black and white manuscripts are rarely a source of inspiration and sometimes can cause loads of confusion. Often, the text is poorly written and interrupted by lengthy equations with symbols that are different from those used by the professor during lectures.

2. Professors are Rarely Encouraging
During each class, a professor that would rather be tending to his research will waltz up to a blackboard or overhead projector and scribble out equations for an hour without uttering a single sentence to create some excitement.

3. Dearth of Quality Counseling
College students may not have a sense for how to build their resume and they might be clueless about the variety of career opportunities that await them. Unfortunately, some academic advisers do little more than post fliers about internships and hand out a checklist of classes to take. They should make some projections about the future job market, learn about the interests of each young scholar, and offer them tailored advice for how to best prepare themselves.

4. Other Disciplines Have Inflated Grades
Brilliant engineering students may earn surprisingly low grades while slackers in other departments score straight As for writing book reports and throwing together papers about their favorite zombie films.

Some professors view undergraduate education as a type of natural selection, but their analogy is flawed. Many of the brightest students may struggle while mediocre scholars can earn top scores because they have a larger group of supportive friends to or more time to dedicate to studying.

5. Every Assignment Feels the Same
Nearly every homework assignment and test question is a math problem. Only a few courses require creativity or offer hands-on experience.

Top 10 Qualities of a Great Engineer

  

 Engineers are responsible for some of the greatest inventions and technology the world depends on.      Everything from space shuttles to air conditioning systems to bridges requires the work of an engineer. To be successful in the field of engineering, one must have certain qualities. Some of those top qualities include:

1. Possesses a Strong Analytical Aptitude: A great engineer has excellent analytical skills and is continually examining things and thinking of ways to help things work better. They are naturally inquisitive.
2. Shows an Attention to Detail: A great engineer pays meticulous attention to detail. The slightest error can cause an entire structure to fail, so every detail must be reviewed thoroughly during the course of completing a project.
3. Has Excellent Communication Skills: A great engineer has great communication skills. They can translate complex technical lingo into plain English and also communicate verbally with clients and other engineers working together on a project.
4. Takes Part in Continuing Education: A great engineer stays on top of developments in the industry. Changes in technology happen rapidly, and the most successful engineers keep abreast of new research and ideas.
5. Is Creative: A great engineer is creative and can think of new and innovative ways to develop new systems and make existing things work more efficiently.
6. Shows an Ability to Think Logically: A great engineer has top-notch logical skills. They are able to make sense of complex systems and understand how things work and how problems arise.
7. Is Mathematically Inclined: A great engineer has excellent math skills. Engineering is an intricate science that involves complex calculations of varying difficulty.
8. Has Good Problem Solving Skills: A great engineer has sharp problem solving skills. An engineer is frequently called upon solely to address problems, and they must be able to figure out where the problem stems from and quickly develop a solution.
9. Is a Team Player: A great engineer understands that they are part of a larger team working together to make one project come together successfully, and therefore, must work well as part of that team.
10. Has Excellent Technical Knowledge: A great engineer has a vast amount of technical knowledge. They understand a variety of computer programs and other systems that are commonly used during an engineering project.