What mathematics software should engineering students use?

[matqkks]

What mathematics software should engineering students use? Is it correct that much of the engineering industry relies on MATLAB, making it the tool many graduates will encounter in professional settings?
How does SageMath compare? It is a free package that supports both numerical and symbolic computation and can be installed on various platforms. Could it become more widely used because it is freely available?

I am an academic who has taught engineering mathematics, and taught the engineering module with Maple. Many students and colleagues have indicated that Maple is not commonly used outside their mathematics courses, so I am exploring possible alternatives.

 

[jrmichler]

My jobs have been mostly analyst, problem solver, mentoring young engineers, and project engineering. I have used MATLAB extensively. I have looked at other packages, but ended not using any of them.

My actual calculations were mostly algebra and trigonometry, with some calculus. I have done a few numerical solutions, but have never done an analytical solution, to differential equations. I used ABAQUS FEA software in graduate school, and SolidWorks FEA on the job. Excel spreadsheets got a lot of use.

My recommendation is that engineering students should be proficient with Excel and MATLAB.

 

[matqkks]

Thanks

 

[FactChecker]

I can't speak for the entire "engineering industry", but I worked in the flight control department of a major aerospace company. My boss once told me that he would not consider hiring anyone who could not use MATLAB.

 

[russ_watters]

As a student you should use whatever software your professors require. I used Matlab in school. And Excel. I still use Excel but haven't used Matlab since college. It's tough to know what you'll use unless you know exactly what field you'll go into.

 

[marcusl]

I work for a large aerospace company and Matlab is almost universally used. Skill in Matlab is a requirement on most engineering job postings here. For reasons of support and security, you won’t find freeware used in industry.

The company has a few Mathematica licenses, but I know of only one engineer who uses it. Maple is not used.

 

[gmax137]

I would say you should count on learning whatever is used where you end up working. Meanwhile, like @russ_watters said, use what your professors expect you to use.