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Post by djl PE on Jun 28, 2022 15:07:02 GMT -5
Fun fact about djl- I started in Biomedical Engineering and switched with a W in biology, moved on to mechanical. Took thermo, made an F... not just any F... about as F-ey of an F as you can get while still attending class and taking (and trying on) tests. Ended up with like a 21 final grade or something like that and decided I'd never pass that class if I took it 10 more times. Took that L and moved on to Civil, which led me to my current job in construction project management (not using my degree or PE) and I love it! Side note- I had to take Intro to Thermal Sciences in Civil, basically a watered down version of thermo, and I made a D but it wasn't a prerequisite for anything so I left it alone... Needless to say, I'm not much of a mechanical guy. The stuff never made much sense to me and that's ok! Different strokes. I just have always thought it was funny that I can be fairly adept at several scientific disciplines and just completely fail at connecting any thermodynamic principles. Anybody experience this with disciplines outside their own? A lot of my Civil friends struggled a lot with circuits...
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Post by ChebyshevII PE PMP on Jun 28, 2022 15:46:39 GMT -5
I hate thermo with a burning passion (pun intended).
My degree is in electrical engineering, but I actually specialize in software/computers, even though I now do electrical on a regular basis. I did struggle a lot with transistor theory when I was still in school, and picking it back up while studying for the PE was no joke either.
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Post by EdgyCheesyGraphite_PE on Jun 28, 2022 17:02:32 GMT -5
I've found that to be true with math and statistics. I'm really good at math (as most engineers tend to be). I'm pretty sure I got straight A's in all my math classes (Calc1,2,3, DiffEq, LinearAlgerbra). But I struggle with statistics to this day. I'm fine with high school level statistics (basic probability, normal distribution, standard deviation), but college level and above, I just feel like I can't wrap my head around. My team at work regularly does testing and talks about sampling, population estimates, t-tests, etc. I'm always so lost.
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Post by RBHeadge PE on Jun 28, 2022 19:04:05 GMT -5
CAD is my kryptonite. I am absolutely awful at it. In grad school I paid an undergrad - out of my own pocket - to do the CAD part of a research project I was working on. I haven't touched it since. Strangely enough, I didn't have any problems using CFD software.
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Post by txjennah PE on Jun 29, 2022 8:00:00 GMT -5
Haha, I also started as a biomedical engineering major...but then didn't have the core class GPA to get into the sophomore-level classes, so switched to Civil Engineering - my school didn't have a separate environmental engineering degree, but it was a concentration of a Civil Engineering degree.
So that being said, even though I was a CivE major...I wasn't interested in structures, so anything related to structures was really difficult. Dynamics and Vibrations...I still don't know how I didn't fail that class. I put in a lot of face time with my professor and went to his office hours, exam preps, etc...and squeaked by with a C.
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Post by djl PE on Jun 29, 2022 8:36:08 GMT -5
Haha, I also started as a biomedical engineering major...but then didn't have the core class GPA to get into the sophomore-level classes, so switched to Civil Engineering - my school didn't have a separate environmental engineering degree, but it was a concentration of a Civil Engineering degree. So that being said, even though I was a CivE major...I wasn't interested in structures, so anything related to structures was really difficult. Dynamics and Vibrations...I still don't know how I didn't fail that class. I put in a lot of face time with my professor and went to his office hours, exam preps, etc...and squeaked by with a C. Same here. I also had an environmental focus with my civil degree. I still have nightmares about writing my final paper for environmental engineering lab with a cast on a newly broken hand... Structural wasn't my thing either. I took the absolute minimum I could.. steel, concrete, structures... I was done after that.. However, after failing statics the first time (still getting used to a rigorous college courseload after an easy podunk high school experience) basic statics made a lot of sense to me and I enjoyed that class a lot. F->A
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Post by txjennah PE on Jun 29, 2022 8:55:16 GMT -5
Haha, I also started as a biomedical engineering major...but then didn't have the core class GPA to get into the sophomore-level classes, so switched to Civil Engineering - my school didn't have a separate environmental engineering degree, but it was a concentration of a Civil Engineering degree. So that being said, even though I was a CivE major...I wasn't interested in structures, so anything related to structures was really difficult. Dynamics and Vibrations...I still don't know how I didn't fail that class. I put in a lot of face time with my professor and went to his office hours, exam preps, etc...and squeaked by with a C. Same here. I also had an environmental focus with my civil degree. I still have nightmares about writing my final paper for environmental engineering lab with a cast on a newly broken hand... Structural wasn't my thing either. I took the absolute minimum I could.. steel, concrete, structures... I was done after that.. However, after failing statics the first time (still getting used to a rigorous college courseload after an easy podunk high school experience) basic statics made a lot of sense to me and I enjoyed that class a lot. F->A I remember struggling with statics too! But yeah, it made more sense to me than dynamics and vibrations. Eeeee.
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Post by djl PE on Jun 29, 2022 9:35:47 GMT -5
Haha, I also started as a biomedical engineering major...but then didn't have the core class GPA to get into the sophomore-level classes, so switched to Civil Engineering - my school didn't have a separate environmental engineering degree, but it was a concentration of a Civil Engineering degree. So that being said, even though I was a CivE major...I wasn't interested in structures, so anything related to structures was really difficult. Dynamics and Vibrations...I still don't know how I didn't fail that class. I put in a lot of face time with my professor and went to his office hours, exam preps, etc...and squeaked by with a C. Where did you go to school? BME isn't super common I don't think?
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Post by txjennah PE on Jun 29, 2022 9:47:34 GMT -5
Haha, I also started as a biomedical engineering major...but then didn't have the core class GPA to get into the sophomore-level classes, so switched to Civil Engineering - my school didn't have a separate environmental engineering degree, but it was a concentration of a Civil Engineering degree. So that being said, even though I was a CivE major...I wasn't interested in structures, so anything related to structures was really difficult. Dynamics and Vibrations...I still don't know how I didn't fail that class. I put in a lot of face time with my professor and went to his office hours, exam preps, etc...and squeaked by with a C. Where did you go to school? BME isn't super common I don't think? Texas A&M! (waits for inevitable Aggie joke) How about you?
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Post by djl PE on Jun 29, 2022 10:11:27 GMT -5
Where did you go to school? BME isn't super common I don't think? Texas A&M! (waits for inevitable Aggie joke) How about you? I've got no aggie jokes! It's a great school. I went to UAB (Alabama at Birmingham)
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Post by txjennah PE on Jun 29, 2022 10:42:13 GMT -5
Texas A&M! (waits for inevitable Aggie joke) How about you? I've got no aggie jokes! It's a great school. I went to UAB (Alabama at Birmingham) Oh nice! My husband went there for a conference several years back and enjoyed it. Thanks, haha, I have accepted that I will hear Aggie jokes even in the Midwest
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Post by BlueBluePrint PE PMP on Jun 30, 2022 10:51:36 GMT -5
A lot of my Civil friends struggled a lot with circuits... Same here!!! Civil PE and I struggled hard in thermo and electrical portions of physics. Also, moved into Project Management and my PE is not used, though I still get a $100/mo. certification pay for having it, so I'll take that!
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Post by squaretaper LIT AF PE on Jun 30, 2022 11:07:25 GMT -5
I started as a liberal arts major so I struggled with EVERYTHING. Went back to school all over again at the community college at the ripe old age of 28 starting with Algebra II, basic chemistry, and basic physics. Struggled HARD and had to take Pre-Calculus FIVE times before I started seeing math as something surmountable (OK, really I just started doing homework and studying seriously). Once I kinda got a grip on my situation I got A's in all subsequent math classes. I am not a naturally intellectually gifted person, but I do have grit... I really wanted to be a ChemE but quickly realized I'm too dumb for the advanced reaction courses, but I do love thermo and heat transfer so there was sufficient carryover into mechanical I ended up doing mechanical. djl PE To address the original question: I think my biggest struggle was actually WITHIN mechanical. I was/am weak in materials and dynamics. It just wasn't my thing so I didn't really apply myself. Just enough to squeak by in class.
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Post by txjennah PE on Jun 30, 2022 12:56:25 GMT -5
I started as a liberal arts major so I struggled with EVERYTHING. Went back to school all over again at the community college at the ripe old age of 28 starting with Algebra II, basic chemistry, and basic physics. Struggled HARD and had to take Pre-Calculus FIVE times before I started seeing math as something surmountable (OK, really I just started doing homework and studying seriously). Once I kinda got a grip on my situation I got A's in all subsequent math classes. I am not a naturally intellectually gifted person, but I do have grit... I really wanted to be a ChemE but quickly realized I'm too dumb for the advanced reaction courses, but I do love thermo and heat transfer so there was sufficient carryover into mechanical I ended up doing mechanical. djl PE To address the original question: I think my biggest struggle was actually WITHIN mechanical. I was/am weak in materials and dynamics. It just wasn't my thing so I didn't really apply myself. Just enough to squeak by in class. Idk square, you have passed, what, three different subject-area PE exams? You say you aren't intellectually gifted, I beg to differ!
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Post by squaretaper LIT AF PE on Jun 30, 2022 13:05:10 GMT -5
I started as a liberal arts major so I struggled with EVERYTHING. Went back to school all over again at the community college at the ripe old age of 28 starting with Algebra II, basic chemistry, and basic physics. Struggled HARD and had to take Pre-Calculus FIVE times before I started seeing math as something surmountable (OK, really I just started doing homework and studying seriously). Once I kinda got a grip on my situation I got A's in all subsequent math classes. I am not a naturally intellectually gifted person, but I do have grit... I really wanted to be a ChemE but quickly realized I'm too dumb for the advanced reaction courses, but I do love thermo and heat transfer so there was sufficient carryover into mechanical I ended up doing mechanical. djl PE To address the original question: I think my biggest struggle was actually WITHIN mechanical. I was/am weak in materials and dynamics. It just wasn't my thing so I didn't really apply myself. Just enough to squeak by in class. Idk square, you have passed, what, three different subject-area PE exams? You say you aren't intellectually gifted, I beg to differ! Nah, I just cram real good. <3
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