Post #94 When you Wonder if Engineering is Worth It
You were ecstatic upon receipt of your congratulatory letter of admission; you were officially declared an engineering student. How could you have been so excited back then but so conflicted now – is engineering the right major for you?
Engineering is Tougher than you Thought
As the grueling assignments pile up on one another, you must also attend labs and submit reports. There are group projects, exams, and internships to worry about. You must study extra hard just to be sure you understand the challenging material. And then you must catch the professor or teaching assistant during their office hours. It may take a 30 minute explanation for you to make a tiny dent in this one homework problem that is giving you fits.
Everything takes so much time, so much effort – it is much more demanding than you ever thought. When the weekend rolls around, your friends in other majors get to hang out, catch up on sleep or be lazy. Unlike you, they are not busy engineering students. In a way, it seems unfair. Sometimes you feel you must choose between schoolwork or friends, study or sleep, etc. You feel a little resentful because you’re not seeing this same phenomenon in other majors. Sometimes you can’t help but wonder – is engineering the right major?
Why Engineering is Worth It
I highly recommend you read Post #01, “Do you Belong in Engineering?” If you read Post #01 and have doubts, I highly recommend you process your feelings through. Find a trusted advisor, professor, TA, family member, etc. It is critical for you to decide and commit to either staying in engineering or switching. If you decide to leave, that’s okay. What’s not okay is sitting back, avoiding your feelings or doing nothing. Despite your college major, be 100% in and fully committed!
After you have recommitted to your engineering major, there is something you need to know about its difficult journey. While it may be tempting to feel you are missing out due to your strenuous major, your reward will be greater. I am not referring to job titles, salary or reputation. Rather, I am referring to your effort.
Your Reward
If engineering were easy, everyone would jump on board. Everyone does not jump on board because it is tough. It is time consuming, it requires mental stamina and loads of sacrifice. Engineering requires greatness from you, and your task is to overcome your challenges. While you think a degree and a job might be your reward, think again. True reward comes from defeating your obstacles. True reward is found in the process of outsmarting the bumps and traps along your tough, long journey.
For additional tools and brain exercises to help you manage your COVID-19 circumstances, visit my YouTube video: Managing Student Life During COVID-19.
