- #1
edw13185
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- 0
Hello-I'm new here, but I've been lurking for awhile. First, my apologies if what I'm going to ask has been beaten to death or if I've posted it in the wrong area. Let me give you a bit of background on myself:
I wanted to be an engineer up until my senior year of high school. I had a lot of trouble in math when I was in high school (mostly B's in math--occasionally an A, but I never really felt like I knew what I was doing), and that led to my giving up my dream to be an engineer. I was also somewhat worried about engineering's vulnerability to offshoring. I started at a junior college straight out of high school-I was a radiography major. I transferred to a university to pursue a bachelor's degree in diagnostic radiography, but left after a semester. I found myself very frustrated with the program--it was pretty much "this is how you do it" and not "this is how it works and this is why you do it." I feel as though I'm more capable than that.
I've always been interested in knowing how things work, and I have a particular fascination with bridges, building design, and computers. I worked for a computer store for two years in high school doing troubleshooting and repair, and I loved that job. I've worked in hospitals (in anticipation of working as a radiographer), but I haven't enjoyed any of my work there as much as I liked working in a troubleshooting or otherwise thinking capacity. I've built/repaired computers and installed small networks as a side business, as well, since I was in high school.
Fast forward to today. I'm 23 and back in a community college close to home. I took general chemistry I & II over the last year as well as intermediate algebra. I received a high "A" in each of those courses. Now I'm in college algebra and currently have a solid "A" in it. It's taken some work, but I feel more comfortable with math now and actually find myself enjoying it (particularly the application problems). I am kinda frustrated because I feel as though I've wasted the last five years of my life. I can't stop thinking about becoming an engineer, but I'm afraid I don't have what it takes. I am competent with most any subject I take in school and have served as a tutor for chemistry and now for algebra, but I wouldn't consider myself a genius. I don't consider myself to be exceptionally creative, and I wonder if I'm creative enough to function well as an engineer.
Based on that information, what do you guys (and gals) think? Does it sound as though I have the makings of a good engineer? Am I starting too late in the game, being that I'll need a semester of trig and calculus before I can even begin engineering physics? If I've been able to improve to the point that I'm comfortable with college-level algebra, is it likely that I'll be able to succeed in higher mathematics? How "creative" does an engineer need to be? I'm particularly interested in civil and nuclear engineering. I apologize for the long post and all the questions, but I don't know any civil or nuclear engineers, and I just wanted to get some input from people in the field to see if I might be a good candidate.
Thanks in advance for your time!
-Ed
EDIT: Also-what are some of the current trends in civil/nuclear engineering as far as the job market/vulnerability to offshoring? I would imagine that plant-level nuclear engineers probably have excellent job security, but what about those involved in reactor design? I would also tend to think civil engineers probably need to be on site for the majority of projects, but are any of the back-office design types in danger of losing their jobs to offshoring? I've attempted to research this online, but I seem to get a lot of conflicting opinions from academic articles on the subject. I figured those of you in the field would have much better (and more up-to-date) insights.
I wanted to be an engineer up until my senior year of high school. I had a lot of trouble in math when I was in high school (mostly B's in math--occasionally an A, but I never really felt like I knew what I was doing), and that led to my giving up my dream to be an engineer. I was also somewhat worried about engineering's vulnerability to offshoring. I started at a junior college straight out of high school-I was a radiography major. I transferred to a university to pursue a bachelor's degree in diagnostic radiography, but left after a semester. I found myself very frustrated with the program--it was pretty much "this is how you do it" and not "this is how it works and this is why you do it." I feel as though I'm more capable than that.
I've always been interested in knowing how things work, and I have a particular fascination with bridges, building design, and computers. I worked for a computer store for two years in high school doing troubleshooting and repair, and I loved that job. I've worked in hospitals (in anticipation of working as a radiographer), but I haven't enjoyed any of my work there as much as I liked working in a troubleshooting or otherwise thinking capacity. I've built/repaired computers and installed small networks as a side business, as well, since I was in high school.
Fast forward to today. I'm 23 and back in a community college close to home. I took general chemistry I & II over the last year as well as intermediate algebra. I received a high "A" in each of those courses. Now I'm in college algebra and currently have a solid "A" in it. It's taken some work, but I feel more comfortable with math now and actually find myself enjoying it (particularly the application problems). I am kinda frustrated because I feel as though I've wasted the last five years of my life. I can't stop thinking about becoming an engineer, but I'm afraid I don't have what it takes. I am competent with most any subject I take in school and have served as a tutor for chemistry and now for algebra, but I wouldn't consider myself a genius. I don't consider myself to be exceptionally creative, and I wonder if I'm creative enough to function well as an engineer.
Based on that information, what do you guys (and gals) think? Does it sound as though I have the makings of a good engineer? Am I starting too late in the game, being that I'll need a semester of trig and calculus before I can even begin engineering physics? If I've been able to improve to the point that I'm comfortable with college-level algebra, is it likely that I'll be able to succeed in higher mathematics? How "creative" does an engineer need to be? I'm particularly interested in civil and nuclear engineering. I apologize for the long post and all the questions, but I don't know any civil or nuclear engineers, and I just wanted to get some input from people in the field to see if I might be a good candidate.
Thanks in advance for your time!
-Ed
EDIT: Also-what are some of the current trends in civil/nuclear engineering as far as the job market/vulnerability to offshoring? I would imagine that plant-level nuclear engineers probably have excellent job security, but what about those involved in reactor design? I would also tend to think civil engineers probably need to be on site for the majority of projects, but are any of the back-office design types in danger of losing their jobs to offshoring? I've attempted to research this online, but I seem to get a lot of conflicting opinions from academic articles on the subject. I figured those of you in the field would have much better (and more up-to-date) insights.
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