Is Engineering Boring? High School Student's Perspective

[supernova1203]

Im a high school student right now, my grades are certainly good enough, i have the intellect and aptitude and interest in physics enginering, mathematics etc...

but i was wondering in university when i go to become an engineer will the courses and studies bore me to death? I like solving new and interesting problems, challenging problems, tricky problems, problems that one would have to bash ones head against the wall for hours to figure out.

but what i don't like is boring problems iv solved already a dozen times before, studying the same thing over and over again and i don't like memorization(simply because its boring and I am not very good at it, if i was id have gone into biology)

I have the problem solving skills, the critical thinking, the analytic personality but i hate getting bored, it demoralizes me, i know engineering is challenging and iv heard the horror stories,the sleepless night, the huge course loads, the whole program is designed to be a sort of stress test,

i welcome the difficulty and challenges, but the moment things get easy, or boring or repetitive and i lose interest...if I am not being challenged or stimulated enough i get very demoralized...engineering isn't like that is it?
( few nights ago i had an incredible dream)
I was watching this demonstration on electrical induction, i went to sleep

and i started dreaming about being in the middle of what looked like an abandoned military base, iv watched videos about these technological graveyards where outdated military planes go, theyre scraped for parts, and left there... i saw in my dream i was at one of these places, on an abandoned old run way and there were hundreds if not thousands of helicopters around me, i worked tirelessly to look around and gather all the parts i needed and i built a brand new helicopter from scratch, by using salvaged parts and components from other helicopters, best dream iv had in a while :)

 

[Dale]

Whether or not engineering is boring is purely subjective and personal. I certainly am not bored by engineering, but nobody else can tell you if YOU will be bored.

 

[MECHster]

I personally, do not see a problem for you going into engineering. Engineering and physics, IMO, do not require a ton of memorization. In my experience the people who don't memorize but rather try to understand the concepts fair much better. The only non-technical course I've taken was economics and its material requires much more dry studying, staring at a piece of paper for hours. In terms of problems, you'll for sure have to do MANY, however when you find them easy is a good indicator when you can move on to another topic.

We obviously can't help you with what is interesting to you. But, if you think all sorts of technology is cool, it won't be hard to google the applications to whatever course your taking for some inspiration.

 

[Pattonias]

If you are anything like me, some of the first things that you will study will bore you because it is abstract and basic and really doesn't feel like you are learning anything interesting. You will find though as you continue your studies that those basic (boring) classes help you to understand completely the truly interesting topics that you will study as you become more specialized.

Also, depending on where you are, you can get involved with undergraduate research on your campus and really see new technologies and ideas develop as they are created. It can be exciting working for a Phd who is so far ahead of you in actual understanding, but gets just as excited about new tech as you do.

 

[turbo]

You may find engineering school tedious, stressful, and sometimes boring, but actually getting out into the job market and applying that education afterward (or during summer internships) can be exciting - thrilling, really. If you are talented, alert, and motivated you can have great fun troubleshooting and solving vexing problems that will make your managers VERY happy.

 

[skeptic2]

but i was wondering in university when i go to become an engineer will the courses and studies bore me to death? I like solving new and interesting problems, challenging problems, tricky problems, problems that one would have to bash ones head against the wall for hours to figure out.

When I was studying engineering I always tried to think of practical applications for ideas we were studying. And no, I didn't find the courses boring.

but what i don't like is boring problems iv solved already a dozen times before, studying the same thing over and over again and i don't like memorization(simply because its boring and I am not very good at it, if i was id have gone into biology)

Don't forget that in high school the subject matter is aimed more towards the average student. In college the average student will be closer to the top 10% of the students in your classes now. The subject matter in your courses will move fairly fast and I don't think you'll be studying the same thing over and over. The amount of memorization you'll encounter will depend upon the field of engineering you go into.

I have the problem solving skills, the critical thinking, the analytic personality but i hate getting bored, it demoralizes me, i know engineering is challenging and iv heard the horror stories,

I think the bigger issue is getting into the wrong job after you graduate and having to do tedious work. This is more of a risk in your earlier jobs when you're low man on the totem pole. The best way to avoid getting pushed into a job like that is to get good grades and be productive when you do get a job. Most jobs have some tedious tasks and you shouldn't get discouraged just because you're given some.

The best part of engineering is after you prove yourself to be highly competent and you're given projects of high importance, high visibility and which are highly challenging.

 

[supernova1203]

The amount of memorization you'll encounter will depend upon the field of engineering you go into.

Im thinking mechanical or Aerospace

(in Canada there is really 1 aerospace engineering program at bachelors level, some people will say U of T but really they have aerospace engineering in a separate faculty from engineering programs, and if you go into that you come out with a BSC not Beng degree, so U of T doesn't count)

other thing I am thinking of is ill go into mechanical for bachelors and go for aerospace in masters or phd(since in Canada this is the only option we have), the reason i say mech eng is because i hear its easy to switch from mechanical to aerospace as quite a bit of the curriculum and work is overlapping.

 

[supernova1203]

I think the bigger issue is getting into the wrong job after you graduate and having to do tedious work. This is more of a risk in your earlier jobs when you're low man on the totem pole
.

Its not going to be as bad as office space is it?

 

[KingNothing]

The people who say it's boring are always the ones who choose not to do anything. You can join IEEE/ASME, work on extracurricular projects, write research papers, etc. There are tons of options to keep you entertained.

 

[supernova1203]

The people who say it's boring are always the ones who choose not to do anything. You can join IEEE/ASME, work on extracurricular projects, write research papers, etc. There are tons of options to keep you entertained.

:O engineers can write research papers? i thought you need a phd for that? or need to be a scientist?

 

[turbo]

:O engineers can write research papers? i thought you need a phd for that? or need to be a scientist?

Engineers can write research papers relating to their work. Why not?

 

[Astronuc]

Like any job, engineering could be boring if one was performing the same routine engineering task day after day, month after month, year after year.

I know many engineers and scientists, many with PhDs. Many do basic research and applied research.

The hot area for engineering is computational mechanics or computational physics, and that involves multiscale, multiphysics simulation. It's rather challenging.

 

[Pyrrhus]

Engineering skills are appreciated!, so much that even the social sciences like attracting engineering graduates to their PhD programs. Computational Economics is a hot topic!. Cellular Automata, and other Agent-Based Models.

 

[supernova1203]

well i called the biggest university in the country and asked them about their mathematics and physics programs, (i was considering going into one of the 2 and eventually getting a phd, since i like the 2 and I am good at them) and i then i asked about the engineering programs and the lady kept going on and on about how incredible and amazing the engineering programs are and how theyre doing outstanding and incredible and exciting work in the engineering programs..

 

[turbo]

well i called the biggest university in the country and asked them about their mathematics and physics programs, (i was considering going into one of the 2 and eventually getting a phd, since i like the 2 and I am good at them) and i then i asked about the engineering programs and the lady kept going on and on about how incredible and amazing the engineering programs are and how theyre doing outstanding and incredible and exciting work in the engineering programs..

You would have gotten the same raves about the engineering (vs math and science programs) at the University of Maine, Orono. They are doing some real exciting stuff with composite materials, renewable energy, and even innovative Civil Engineering stuff, like the "bridge in a backpack" project.

 

[DrummingAtom]

 

[AlephZero]

:O engineers can write research papers? i thought you need a phd for that? or need to be a scientist?

Look at the International Journal of Numerical Methods in Engineering, the International Journal of Sound and Vibration, and similar titles, and see where the authors of the papers work.

Sure, some are university researchers, but not all.

You don't need a PhD. You just need to be able to write good papers. Look in the archives of Int.JNME for papers by J Barlow in the 1970s and 1980s. He was my boss for a while. He didn't even have a degree. He left school at age 16 and started his engineering career riveting aircraft wings together. But if you read his papers you will see he did quite a bit of self-studying in between hammering the rivets.

 

[Dude McCheese]

I can't speak about post-grad or industry, but I can answer this from an undergrad perspective.

I'll be honest, classes/lectures can get boring sometimes. There are some assignments you don't enjoy either. But the boring parts pale in comparison to the awesome, mind blowing, interesting STUFF you learn (I'm 3rd year Aero Eng).

Hell yeah there's sleepless nights, stressful days and countless setbacks. But it's all worthwhile if you love what you're studying and never lose sight of the dream. There's nothing quite as satisfying as having that light-bulb moment go off in your brain when you figure out a problem, or seeing an FEM model run perfectly, a MATLAB code come together, or getting your head around an aerodynamic concept.

Don't do Aero Eng just because it sounds cool - make no mistakes you have to actually enjoy Maths, Physics, computing and Mechanical topics if you want to stay alive in school. However, if you don't like the repetitive stuff I'd stay away from a career in FE analysis, even thought there are plenty of job opportunities/money to be made if you're handy with Abaqus and the like.

 

[thegreenlaser]

Engineering CAN be boring if you make it boring. A lot of engineering students have the "give me the formula and I'll plug in numbers, I don't care why it works" sort of attitude. That can be disheartening if you like to solve interesting problems and not just repetitive 'plug-and-chug' problems, but that definitely doesn't mean that you can't solve interesting problems. Even if it's not within the scope of a course, most professors are very happy to help you tackle more difficult and challenging questions. I think you'll find that there's a ton of intriguing knowledge at your fingertips as long as you put in the effort to learn it.

 

[supernova1203]

you have to actually enjoy Maths, Physics, computing and Mechanical topics

Yep I already do :)

also dude mccheese what's FE analysis?

 

[Shackleford]

Yep I already do :)

also dude mccheese what's FE analysis?

Finite element.

 

[jasonRF]

Engineering CAN be boring if you make it boring. A lot of engineering students have the "give me the formula and I'll plug in numbers, I don't care why it works" sort of attitude. That can be disheartening if you like to solve interesting problems and not just repetitive 'plug-and-chug' problems, but that definitely doesn't mean that you can't solve interesting problems.

I couldn't agree more. I recall some of my fellow engineering students not even wanting to know why the formulas are the way they are, or wanting to understand why such an approach makes sense. They were chosing to make it boring. When I had a class that was underwhelming, I often tried to do things beyond the scope of what we were required to learn, such as really learn how to derive the most important equations / formulas from first principles. I always found that satisfying, since knowing how to derive it meant I didn't have to remember it - less memorization!

Even if it's not within the scope of a course, most professors are very happy to help you tackle more difficult and challenging questions. I think you'll find that there's a ton of intriguing knowledge at your fingertips as long as you put in the effort to learn it.

Yes! I was always too shy to do this when I was a student. But when I was a TA, I found that students who were really interested in learning really made my day. Whether they were simply struggling with the math, or if they wanted to push beyond the level of the course, they were really enjoyable. The students who clearly didn't like the subject and just wanted to know how to pass the exam were painful to deal with, no matter how smart they were. Most professors want to teach students who are interested in learning and have a good attitude.

good luck.

jason

 

[Ed_smith]

Engineering is not boring for me at all.There are lots of subjects that can be of interest.It can only be known when you will study it :)

Best of luck!

 

[supernova1203]

I hate memorizing and boring tedious work too, but give me a problem i have to bash my head against the wall to figure out and I am in love :)

 

[WatermelonPig]

"Is stuff . . . stuff?"

Lol.

 

[Farmergregor]

My experience as a third year ME undergraduate is there are subjects in engineering that I love and subjects that I hate. The great thing about engineering is it covers a large range of topics. I believe if you are adequate at and enjoy physics and math, you can find an area in engineering that suits/excites you.