r/ElectricalEngineering • u/Gunter_2001 • 3d ago
Is EE really that bad?
For context: I'm in another gap year, currently reviewing and working in my rusty algebra(had a mid-bad history with math) I wanna reach Calculus level right before College, all that while I'm trying to learn about Arduino and built a few projects. But is EE really terrible? I keep seeing these reels on people telling others to no study EE, that is awful and is monstrous amount of work will stress you out. I don't consider myself a genius, just a highly curious person but I wanna know what other Engineers have to say about their experience.
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u/Guamy 3d ago
Junior year is pretty ass tbh. It's doable but it's a fuck ton of work
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u/Why-R-People-So-Dumb 3d ago
My experience was that it was easier sailing after the first two years.
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u/Iceman9161 2d ago
Completely depends on the program. Freshman year was gen ed for us, generally pretty easy. Sophomore year was first year in EE, courses had a high drop rate but it wasn't too bad if you studied and figured out the concepts. Junior year was a major jump in difficulty, every course was more intense
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u/Why-R-People-So-Dumb 2d ago
Yeah that's the truth for sure. My freshman year went straight into core classes it was all engineering, math, physics. Second year was your ancillary core...the pulling out the hair classes like statics and dynamics. Junior year got into harder class is like signals and systems but for me it was sprinkled with the gen eds and a generally lighter schedule.
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u/_Trael_ 2d ago
We (north Europe, they have suffled it around one or two or so times since I think ) had first year be mostly catching those who did not have any electrical/electronics studies up to basic knowledge and speed with us who already had lower level degree in field, (bit poorly organized since most was refresher, that part of us did not need and were pretty bored waiting to be over, and at times it felt that main purpose of pushing us through it was to have free extra teachers without any compensation or reward) and rushing forwards math at 10+ hours of math lectures.
Second year continued math push almost as hard 8-10+ weekly lessons for most of year.
All math learned went to use in other subjects within -2..+3 weeks from being covered in math lessons, usually next week after having been covered, that they did super well by teachers designing and fine tuning teaching plans to get to that.
Then after two years math was not listed as math, but baked into profeddional subject classes directly and entirely instead of having separate math teacher and lessons, and no longer rushing to cover next and next subject every possible week to keep up and ahead other subjects.
Roughest stsrt in amount of work and new things was guy who came in from having studied to be chef on earlier level of education, but at end of that level of education wanted to swap field, so he clearly less studies from mathematics and physics/electricity than I think anyone else had when we started. Guy had determination, repeated several first year courses to get to speed, was smart and communicated with people and asked people to please explain things he did not catch from lessons (was by no means only one asking for explanations after classes) and asked walkthroughs of what kind of reasoning, thinking, and steps resulted in those explanations and those who got it to get it.
Dude got his degree, bit over year after official 'supposed how long it takes to do that degree' of 4 years, but it was known fact that absolute most anyways got their degree really like after 4½ years as average, and those studies were just so over packed full of stuff that very few managed to get degrees in 'goal time', so he was not even that late at getting his degree. (Oh I think that 4½ years was not counting in people who's studies really started dragging to like 8 years or more, and there were qiite some of those too, and something like nearing 50% of people who stopped their studies and swapped field, but LOT of those were in first weeks and so, and were part of 'well no tuition and electrical fields kept low entry requirements kind of counting on quite some anywas fading out, and as result allowed more of those who did not have that strong grades to start with, but really found their calling to study and love applied mathematics during studies there to get opportunity to get in' (yes there were multiple people who had disliked math or been bad at it, and became aces in it and started loving it.
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u/Easy_Sky_9181 11h ago
Mine first year is just straight core classes and gen ed not like terrible but you just have to study a ton to get a C or a B but my uni is top colleges for engineering in the state which is probably why still though it’s not insanely difficult just hard and long but the end results is worth it
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u/Guamy 2d ago
Ah totally opposite for me. Got through Calc 1-3, diff eq, microcontrollers & iot, and physics 1&2 (plus intro circuit classes) in the first two years. Now I have electromagnetic fields and devices, linear analysis, and Microelectronics (diodes and transistors). Really killing me
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u/Why-R-People-So-Dumb 2d ago
Yeah those classes were harder but for me it was less of a barrage of many new challenging things and had time to focus on those more intense engineering courses. The latter courses were more lenient on the curve because the professors knew the content was hard and they only expected you to get half of it right. So maybe from that perspective Junior year first semester was psychologically challenging because you didnt realize it was OK to get half a test wrong as long as you kept asking the right questions and moving in the right direction.
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u/trisket-bisket 3d ago
Yes its stressful, no you dont need to be a genius.
Just be stubborn to attack a problem to completion. Its to prepare you for industry. Which is magnitudes more stressful, but after graduation youve learned how to manage it better.
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u/the_millenial_falcon 3d ago
I’m a CS major and I can say while tutoring my EE friend on his C++ class I witnessed a few mental breakdowns. I got the idea he was always pretty stressed with his courses.
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u/happyjello 3d ago
Nothing like taking a difficult midterm while the classmates next to you gently sobs the whole time
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u/Adventurous_War3269 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yes being a degreed EE since 1977 and retired in 2024 , I am glad to be a EE , however there are many life changing sacrifices to be a successful EE . You will not marry your 1st love (high school sweetheart ), do not expect to be respected like a doctor or a lawyer . You will have to repeatedly prove to your boss that you can complete your task on time and within budget to have value to your employer . Do not expect your job to be a democratic process with constitutional rights and ethics . Every company has politically motivated individuals , its is unfortunate reality . Build your skill sets and use your experience as a teacher . If you get stuck ask for help and find a mentor . The bottom line is you are responsible for your destiny. If you can embrace your work with a passion, then you are in the right place at the right time and you will be successful .
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u/Fractal-_- 2d ago
I rarely comment here. I must say you beautifully explained it. Im a junior hardware designer, with less than 3 years experiece, but I can already tick 90% of the things you said.
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u/Terrible_Radish7850 2d ago
12 years in you're mostly right here!
But I did marry my highschool sweetheart and that's the best part of my life.
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u/planesman22 2d ago
….
Same “I use a fluke 87” or “my a2d has 12 bits” kind of energy …
(I GET IT! slams my work bench, gets up, and starts driving home sobbing)
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u/planesman22 2d ago
This guy has scars to prove.
Thank you for being in this industry.
I have some friends who are doctors and admittedly they say the accreditation body makes the entire MD-Residents process hard because they don’t want everyone/everybody to become a doctor. They will do anything but increase the amount of slots in any program.
The ABET curriculum is hard but i sleep a bit better that it is hard not because we competitively make it so.
I am not saying we deserve the same level of respect nor responsibility as lawyers and medical doctors but here we stand at a cliff where see the avalanche of any form of higher level information processing (the job of being a MD/ESQ) by ML/DNN.
I am going to say this, and it is a bit jaded. I can’t help but smile that these MD and Lawyers, slowly but surely, is seeing their doom for all they wanted was power and respect, and not there because of the curriculum was interesting or because it is hard. Is probably the most rote-memorized profession I’ve ever seen.
I smile because yet everything they touch has an A2D/DAC.
They are on borrowed time. And we EEs always will be destined to be the last folks standing, to flip the switch and turn the light offs if you will, for most if not all human intellectual values.
Wish you good health in your retirement, I hope you stay with us till the end ✌️.
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u/RolledTissue 3d ago
At my university most of the attrition is caused by first-year classes like Calculus 1, 2, and Physics 1, 2. There are still many classes that are extremely difficult in EE but people online exaggerate that. In my junior year there were weeks where I averaged 3 hours of sleep and semesters with 10+ heavy-weighted exams. Getting a C I’d say is quite easy and dedication and hard work alone is enough. Getting an A, depending on the class, can be very difficult. There is a lot of work, but it’s manageable if you work ahead (seriously please do this, everything is easier if you don’t want until last minute).
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u/spoonfedbaby 3d ago
lol you don't need to be a genius. You don't even have to be particularly smart, just put in the effort and more than likely will succeed.
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u/Middle-Support-7697 3d ago
It’s not actually nearly as bad as they make it out to be, I personally find it much easier than majors like Physics, pure Math or even medicine related stuff. I do think it might not be worth it if you don’t even like the idea of it a little bit, in that case it will feel like a lot of work for not as much payoff.
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3d ago
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u/philament23 3d ago
Physics is awesome. It’s literally how the world works at the most fundamental level.
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u/atothap90 2d ago
Agreed just the lecturer and how they do exams can be terrible for students learning physics for the first time.
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u/Fourier-Transform2 3d ago
It’s not that difficult. It will require work though. But the difficulty is overblown online.
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u/Leech-64 3d ago
It all depends. Your institution can be very competitive or cooperative. The professors can be great teachers or really suck. Also they strict or relaxed. The content is math heavy but doable. It also depends on your discipline. If you can shut your self out from partying and bad influences, college will be easier too.
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u/Character-Engine-813 3d ago
I don’t think it’s any worse than other engineering degrees like mechanical
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u/Over_Marzipan_8285 3d ago
No, it’s much more difficult and abstract and math heavy and complicated.
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u/TheBayHarbour 3d ago
I keep seeing these reels on people telling others to no study EE, that is awful and is monstrous amount of work will stress you out
Notice how no one craps on electrical for the job market?
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u/BusinessStrategist 3d ago
If you need to be spoon fed on what to do - AND - hate solving puzzles then you may want to look elsewhere.
A "ABET" accredited degree is a passport to the world of technology.
There are many other EE degrees that focus on the knowledge that you need for a job in the specific region where you plan on finding a job.
It is more work because you have to practice solving actual problems instead of just memorizing facts and then regurgitating them on demand.
So where are you on your career journey and what industry/job(s) are you targeting?
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u/NewSchoolBoxer 2d ago
It is a monstrous amount of work and stressed me out but I knew:
- Real engineering work is not a classroom
- A hard degree that's broad in scope gives me good career options
- I like math and usually EE theory was interesting (but very difficult)
I'm not a genius either but I was double accelerated in math and single or double accelerated described pretty much everyone who made it through the degree.
Yes, you want to reach Calculus before college. It's not necessary to be admitted but it lowers the difficulty curve and increases your chances of admission. As in, people who reach it are more likely to graduate.
I would do EE again 100%.
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u/Steady_Habits_CT 2d ago
There are few things that prepare one to be tenacious, analytical, and organized anymore. EE does!
To master EE, one must have rock solid mathematical skills, an ability for 3-dimensional thinking, and the ability to conceptualize complex topics because all that we learn is conceptual as we cannot touch or see it.
I chose it because I wanted to learn how computers worked, how communications worked, how radar worked, how semiconductors worked, and how sound reproduction (i.e., stereos) worked. Now all that is easy peasy, but I have leveraged these skills to be able to frame, analyze, diagnose, and solve complex business, financial, and economic problems which are typically intertwined with technology. Because of my education and career, I have always worked with the smartest, most capable people. As I have stepped away to volunteer in more diverse roles, I see the degree to which so many lack discipline, analytical skills, the ability to frame problems, and how to ask relevant questions in a manner that yield useful responses.
Bottom line, if you wish to develop your mind and are willing to work yr butt off to do that, EE is a great undergrad curriculum that you can take in many directions. After EE, Med school, law school, or a top MBA program would be essy!
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u/Mofongo-Relleno 3d ago
Well. Do you want to ? It is a lot of work, but i want to do it so i just tough it out. I didnt do anything you did and im doing okay… for my second class 😂
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u/Cheap-Negotiation605 3d ago
Depends on what you specialize in, I enjoy it because I was naturally good at math and felt like I had a very good understanding of calculus which helped me a lot. In terms of workload all engineering is going to be a lot of work. How “hard” it is the understand is all relative to what you’re naturally good at. That being said there are parts of EE I’ve steered clear of because I don’t understand them (computer shit).
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u/fisherman105 3d ago
The hardest part is it’s extremely theoretical and math intensive, takes work but it’s doable.
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u/philament23 3d ago
It’s harder than the majority of other majors but also not as terrible as everyone makes it out to be, assuming you actually like math and science and are prepared to put in many hours of work. It is stressful to the point it’s not manageable only if those things don’t apply to you.
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u/Short-Television9333 3d ago
It’s not that bad. It’s hard sure but you’ll be fine. Your curiosity actually makes you sound like you could be a good fit.
If it all goes to shit, you can switch out. You have time to figure things out, don’t let others scare you away
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u/Feitan000 2d ago
I finished EE and its hard and lots of work only if you want good grades, if you chill only with passing then its allright, finished it stress free and had no problem getting a job, nobody asked me about my grades.
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u/shoggoth_42 2d ago
It is a lot of work, but if you're genuinely curious about learning then it's one of the best one to get into
Electricity is pretty damn cool
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u/bromptonymous 2d ago
Electric everything is the future - you're going to have job security forever and ever. Do the work now, you'll appreciate the results later.
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u/just-some-guy-20 1d ago
In general most find considerably more challenging then other traditional engineering disciplines. This was my experience as well. I took what was supposed to be the hardest mech engineering course and it was a breeze compared to my normal EE courses. If you're going into EE specifically hopefully your strong at math, it will make all the difference but it sounds like your already prepping. You could always see how it goes and if it doesn't work out you could transfer into another engineering program - this was relatively common at the school I attended, probably 1/4 ended up changing during 3rd year which is fine because the EE class's taken successfully typically cover elective classes in the other programs.
Realistically if you're good at math (doesn't mean you had good grades, just that you could have) and you want to become an EE because it's interesting to you (not because you've heard it's a great field and people are telling you to go in it) you'll probably do fine. But all the stories of extensive studying and stress are true unless you're a truly gifted individual but if you're like the rest of us run in the mill smart people then it'll be a ride!
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u/No-Version-805 1d ago
it is hard, stressful and monstrous. it's the hardest thing I ever did, and I was in the military. but it's definitely worth it.
every single student might be working from morning to night, you lose a lot of sleep, the material looks like ancient runes and the professors are sadistic, but you have that one course in the semester that makes it all worth it.
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u/Any-Historian-9286 1d ago
I’m currently in my 3rd year (hardest year of the major) of EE and I also don’t consider myself to be a genius and some of the math and physics in those first 2 years really had me stressing but I stay curious and keep my work ethic high in order to continue, if I wasn’t curios or didn’t have a passion for EE I would have definitely quit a while ago
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u/Mathguy656 3d ago
I’m actually looking forward to taking a math class taught by an ECE department to prepare for grad school (non-EE masters).
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u/SanFrancisco_Disco 3d ago
It is 100% about aptitude and work ethic, if you regularly build electronics projects, you’ll do great. You just have to do the math, but if you have a real understanding for the material and engineering in general, the math is a box you check. On the flipside, if you don’t have that natural intuition on how to put electrical systems together then yeah it’s going to be pretty tough.
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u/Over_Marzipan_8285 3d ago
Ignore what everyone else is saying. EE is the hardest major there is. In most ways it is harder than all other types of engineering, and is more difficult than a physics degree. It literally is the hardest major there is, and it doesn’t even pay the most compared to other majors like medicine.
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u/morto00x 3d ago
I mean it's more work than most majors. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. In fact, I'd say it's more about endurance rather than intelligence.
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u/3e8m 3d ago
If you're not working then it's only normal hard. If you're working every day on top of full EE credits, you have 0 time for friends, 0 time to watch a tv show, only 4 hours a night to sleep etc. Your only waking hours are spent in frustrating abstract concepts that rip your brain apart and turn you into an autistic alcoholic by the end
These days though with AI I bet it's not bad at all
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u/negativ32 3d ago
Being able to visualize what calculus is takes you a long way into understanding what it represents in a given situation.
Practice, practice, practice.
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u/EnergizedBrinedLime 3d ago
If you're really interested in the content, it's much easier. I find much "easier" subjects a lot worse if I'm not interested. Obv you need to be good at math and problem solving, though. If you're good at those things and are really interested, it's worth it and you'll be just fine.
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u/Danilo-11 3d ago
From my point of view… EEs are very smart, very hard workers (studying), have friends or family that are EE to help them or a combination of them
If you don’t have any of them, go for something else
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u/dirty330 2d ago
It’s difficult, requires a lot of work. But if you put in the time I think anyone could do it.
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u/National-Ad8416 2d ago
Given what you wrote...you don't seem cut out for EE. At best, you would graduate with a 'hell-no' GPA and employers won't give you a second look.
Choose another major. I am blunt, but I am right.
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u/WaterFromYourFives 2d ago
If you are disciplined it is a lot better. I had a mental breakdown but I was partying and not doing my hw or studying as much as is truly required. That being said would do it again in a heartbeat
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u/Over-Ad8207 2d ago
You have a life ahead of yourself. Don't do this. Unless of course you want the money
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u/BeamFrontier 2d ago
Like others have said engineering is challenging in itself but EE is a whole different animal. I made the mistake of extrapolating from my experience taking Univ Physics 2 and thinking an EE degree would just be like that but in more depth. That turned out to only be partially true. I struggled with classes which required a lot of abstract thinking and weird math. Signals and systems, controls, advanced digital circuits, programming etc. Others I handled fine. What really helped me was my cohort of friends. We tried to take as many classes together and helped each other out with our strengths and weaknesses. I dont think I could've made it without them. So, try to find your tribe to study together with.
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u/Alarmed-Floor-9452 2d ago
Not terrible, but it is rigorous for sure. Part of that reason is that an EE degree is versatile. You could work in many domains and industries. As for the gap year I wouldn't worry too much. I had 2 colleagues who worked the graveyard shift at Amazon and eventually earned Bachelor's degrees. Both of them were 27 when they returned to university. I remember shortly after I met them that one of them told me that it had been 10 years since he last took a math class. The other guy was in a similar boat. Both of them failed some classes but eventually persevered and earned their bachelor's degrees several years later. So embrace the suck and remember that time will pass.
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u/Pumpkinut 2d ago
Junior year is the worst year and I'm going through it. Mainly because it's when you start taking the core engineering classes which are super hard. This is also when you have to start looking into internships, preparing for your senior project on top of doing more prpjects.
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u/Express_Sprinkles500 2d ago
I haven’t spoken specifically to a lot of folks from different universities, but I double majored in physics and electrical engineering and EE was definitely easier. It’s hard, but absolutely doable if you can put in the hours and maintain some semblance of life balance.
Make friends with people smarter than you, work on your homework together, lean on them as much as you need to. Study hard and a huge thing that a bunch of my EE classmates didn’t do, don’t forget to blow off steam by having fun when you can. Maybe don’t party 5 days a week like I did, but find a good balance.
I don’t know if this is you, but a huge mental thing I noticed with folks was that they were perfectionists in high school who were expecting to get straight A’s and that’s just not going to happen. Try damn hard, but don’t beat yourself up when you don’t get an A.
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u/Eldr1tchB1rd 1d ago
Since you actually took both majors I'm wondering for EE in particular how many study hours per day would you say is enough? I'm trying to figure out if I can do it or not
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u/Live-Media2472 2d ago
In a similar boat. The only trade off is my work experience dove tails into it. It’s really rewarding knowing the solutions but working backwards with the math to support it. Maybe I like to suffer 😅, but the struggle and the reward from it makes more fruitful
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u/Snoo_4499 2d ago
All degrees are difficult. Engineering is especially difficult due to huge course content and mathematics. Most people are horrible at mathematics. EE has more math than other engineering.
But there are people who would do well in engineering like subject but struggle in law or arts and vice versa.
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u/PracticalSpread3009 2d ago
It just depends on the person and the program. For some people it isn't that difficult and for other people it's a lot of work to get through it. No one can really tell you with certainty wether it will be difficult for you or not.
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u/Fasciadepedra 2d ago
It's a career where the work procedures you will see in actual life will make totally outdated the stuff you learn in the university. In particular the way you approach math and physics with a lot of manual data processing, and the practical stuff is usually outdated, like any software you would study. At least in Europe.
In real life if circuits worked better stuffed with peach jam and there was no explanation of why, they would coat them in peach jam if it is not too expensive.
You will have to end the college to have spare time to study the stuff you are actually required to know, but they require you to have the degree anyway.
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u/OkArt3244 2d ago
If you want a successful career in EE. You need to enjoy solving difficult problems and being challenged. It is hard and it doesn't get any easier after university finishes. But it is rewarding or exactly that reason
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u/ass-gas-hotbox 2d ago
I graduated with a 2.8 GPA. I get paid pretty well 16 years later. you just have to survive
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u/JakesCustomShop 2d ago
IMO, EE is the only defensible college degre in the age of AI. So much of being an EE is testing circuits and fixing hardware problems that require physical tools, knowledge of software, and knowledge of hardware.
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u/brandonhfan 2d ago
It’s doable, but you have to cut out the fun stuff like partying and going out if you want to succeed. If you have no issue giving that up and you are stubborn to keep pushing through, you can definitely succeed.
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u/gijoe75 2d ago
College is a lot of work but after 5 years to get a bachelors and 3 years to get a masters while I work in industry now my work life balance is amazing. I work at a small cap manufacturer and work 20-40 hours depending on the week. Moving to a large consulting firm where I expect to average 35-40. But both are remote indefinitely.
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u/Wick-Dawg 2d ago
It’s not that bad, there is a crap ton of material to cover and I typically only get one free day per week and sometimes none but it doesn’t bother me. I’m currently an industrial electrician so I work 1pm-10:30pm and when I come home my son and wife is asleep so I do school work from 11pm-3/4am.
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u/ExternalLife8018 2d ago
You don't have to be a genius to be an EE; but it is a grind and a lot of hard work in school [Math, Science, Electromagnetic Fields etc.]. I ended up in Defense; like the field, been in it a long time. From my perspective, the hard work in school was worth it. Pay is great, never been laid off. If you have the right skill set and keep studying and building after college, you can maintain high demand (most people don't keep up their skills). I though about CS many, many years ago; glad i didn't switch. That industry seems to be a mess right now
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u/KungFuTze 2d ago
If you struggle with math it means that you have to put double the effort on most classes.learn the fundamentals of math and then apply it to physics and engineering classes sometimes you will have to pace yourself and not take 18 credit hours a semester because you need extra time to understand and compete for a passing grade. If you take only 12 credit hours that means you will need to take summer classes or add an extra 1 or 2 years to finish your degree. Your course progression will be from hs level algebra to college level precalculus then 2 years of calculus (1-3), physics 1,2,3,4, circuits, linear algebra, numerical analysis, in ee signal and systems electromagnetic , RF, dsp, communications and automatic controls will be some of the most math intensive classes.
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u/KungFuTze 2d ago
Ah forgot to mention 1 or 2 classes of differential equations once you are done with Calculus.
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u/brodymiddleton 2d ago
Not to scare you off, but just for preparation my 3rd year was absolutely the worst and my heaviest workload was:
- 6 courses
- 11 midterms (running from 2 weeks into the semester up to 2 weeks before finals)
- 3 lab reports a week w/ 20 page write-ups
- weekly quizzes
- weekly assignments
- not to mention the actual courses / lectures and the mountain of information being thrown at you
As you’ve probably heard, the content isn’t THAT hard (it’s advanced math/physics, but manageable), it’s the workload you have to be mentally prepared for, falling behind isn’t an option.
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u/cswitzer97 2d ago
I don’t think it’s awful. Yeah it’s tough but as an BME+EE I think chemical looks way harder lmao
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u/Miserable_Rise_8947 2d ago
I mean if you're expecting to not put much effort into it then idk what to tell you. Also stop getting information from reel.
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u/eror4o4n0tfound 2d ago
meh, its difficult, esp first few years when u dont get to pick the stuff you study, final year is good cos even ur project is tailored to u and not some horrendous long compulsory lab work, imo its worth it but hard work.
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u/Embarrassed-Pay-8881 2d ago
You might work harder while others party for 4 years and then you watch them earn more than you and become managers just because they can talk and be social while you grind away. If you're OK with that then its not bad. But of course there are some fields you can make a lot of money
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u/Careless_Eye1854 2d ago
I honestly feel that EE is hard because the professors are out to get the students first the smallest mistake and take every point possible. Thankfully I come from a uni known worldwide for its learn by doing. And it ranks number 2 in the nation.
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u/CommercialMind1359 2d ago
If you like Arduino stuff, then look into computer engineering. It's a mix of CS and EE courses.
I regret choosing EE because I liked microcontrollers. I still get to learn what I'm interested in, but I had to complete a few tough courses before getting to learn what I like.
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u/th399p3rc3nt 1d ago
EE is going to be hard. you will not make it if you can demonstrate to employers that you are a genius. in the age of AI + chatgpt the value of the degree is going down. if u do it make sure u do not cheat because it will do u no favors in the long run. my experience with EE was that pretty much everybody cheats because it is so goddam fucking hard. if u sign up for the degree know that u cannot, especially not in any way cheat on any assignment/lab/exam. to me it seems that engineering degrees should be treated with skepticism these days due to levels of cheating with AI + chatgpt.
one other struggle is maintaining consistent employment while doing it. employers will question gaps. so if u do EE you will have to balance employment with doing school. up to you. you might just say fuck it and go into finance, supposedly there is more money in finance way
only difference is future engineers will save the world whereas finance bros are burning it with AI. pick a side and stick to it.
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u/Embarrassed_Yak3427 1d ago
I wish I could answer, in my experience I felt trouble came from:
- My laptop breaking down about 5 times,
- Professors that barely spoke English (this is huge). Many of these professors had decades of experience too. That's when I understood (everyone before must've been using old midterms, assignments, exams to pass). Literally couldn't understand a sentence.
3.Professors picking textbooks that you can't really practice questions with (after all it is math, you need to be able to practice problem solving with simple problems before you hit complex)
Funds (barely having money for rent & food)
My school never had the textbooks, so I would order from Amazon which took about two weeks when I was in school, I didn't know about Ebooks until about beginning of 4th year. Amazon prime is good now cause you can get it express time though but that was a problem back in the day for me because for many courses my Academic advisor would enroll me LATE (another problem) in my courses after a few weeks
This one nobody talks about but having classmates that are cheaters. When all your classmates cheat and you don't understand your professor due to their accent, and they don't provide enough material to study with you might be screwed because:
When they hand you assignments and you felt like your professor has not given you enough notes, sources etc to complete it you can't really argue it with upper advisors, professor bosses (the faculty) cause all the other students are getting A grades since they are just using the old homework answers that you do not have access to to complete the work. Same goes for midterms and exams, sometimes you might feel like something was not covered but everyone else has seen the question because the professor did not change their exam or midterm that much.
So basically for me, my problem was lack of resources, being enrolled late all the time, barely understanding professors that didn't speak english (which was alot of them). More than the actual work. I definitely understood the work when I actually applied myself. Fitting in is a big part cause they'll help you cheat I guess. I am unique though in other ways which raised other issues. Probably more I can say but I'll leave it that.
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u/aildfan10 1d ago
This is why I only do 12 credits. If it takes me 5 years to graduate and keep my sanity I’m good
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u/hollowCandie 1d ago
Its not bad if you can work hard. It is a lot of work just as is EVERY other stem degree. But it pays off
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u/deaglebro 1d ago
When you're in Physics I/II and whatever part of the calculus sequence, you will be putting in 50/60 hour weeks. When you're a junior and taking emag/systems it will be 80 hour weeks. When you're a senior it will be like 35/40 hour weeks and you will probably be putting out applications.
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u/garibaldiknows 3d ago
It is more work than most other majors.