2 answers
Kathryn
Student
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
2
Questions
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What would you say is the most difficult class involved in achieving a mechanical engineering degree?
I’m going for this degree but would like to know others opinions on class difficulties. #mechanical
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2 answers
Amanda Nozaki
Show Mechanical Engineer
5
Answers
Glendale, California
Updated
Amanda’s Answer
Hi Kathryn,
I am going to use the classic engineering response and say "It depends." A lot of the difficulties can stem from either the professor and/or your own strengths and weaknesses. For example, I had a very difficult chemistry teacher in high school, which made me want to stay far away from chemistry (Which ironically, mechanical engineering had the least amount required). However, when I took my chemistry in college, it was a breeze, because my high school teacher taught me so well! For an example of strengths vs weaknesses, when I was just starting out, we noticed a trend where mechanical engineers struggled in Statics but did well in Dynamics vs civil engineers who did the opposite (Did well in statics and struggled in dynamics) so the strengths were different, even though we all were taking the same classes at the same time. The toughest courses/concepts for me were fluid dynamics & Vibrations, which is kind of a tough call because I just couldn't wrap my head around the concepts but we also had a brand new professor who suddenly amped up his exams to be super tough in the second half (Which was kind of sad for some of us because we had him as a wonderful TA in previous years).
One thing is I don't know how far you are in school so if you're in your 1st or 2nd year, hang on. In my opinion, the 1st and 2nd year are "Weeder" classes where the professors are trying to weed out those who aren't really cut out for mechanical engineering. But, if you're dreading every single class with no interest in its application for your future career, maybe engineering isn't the right fit. I know for myself, there was at least 1 class I hated and 1 class I saw its application in robotics/themed entertainment per quarter so the one I was more interested in helped me keep moving forward (That's why making/finding study buddies in class is a HUGE help).
If you're not interested/struggling a lot with every mechanical engineering course but find shared classes among other engineers to be more fun (Material science, electrical engineering, computer science, etc.), then maybe consider a change in major . The good news is there are a TON of engineering fields, some of which do share common core classes (Typically Physics & math) so you don't have to necessarily start with no credits toward the degree. Just don't shift too many times as I'm sure most engineering majors require a major-specific class almost all 4 years.
I am going to use the classic engineering response and say "It depends." A lot of the difficulties can stem from either the professor and/or your own strengths and weaknesses. For example, I had a very difficult chemistry teacher in high school, which made me want to stay far away from chemistry (Which ironically, mechanical engineering had the least amount required). However, when I took my chemistry in college, it was a breeze, because my high school teacher taught me so well! For an example of strengths vs weaknesses, when I was just starting out, we noticed a trend where mechanical engineers struggled in Statics but did well in Dynamics vs civil engineers who did the opposite (Did well in statics and struggled in dynamics) so the strengths were different, even though we all were taking the same classes at the same time. The toughest courses/concepts for me were fluid dynamics & Vibrations, which is kind of a tough call because I just couldn't wrap my head around the concepts but we also had a brand new professor who suddenly amped up his exams to be super tough in the second half (Which was kind of sad for some of us because we had him as a wonderful TA in previous years).
One thing is I don't know how far you are in school so if you're in your 1st or 2nd year, hang on. In my opinion, the 1st and 2nd year are "Weeder" classes where the professors are trying to weed out those who aren't really cut out for mechanical engineering. But, if you're dreading every single class with no interest in its application for your future career, maybe engineering isn't the right fit. I know for myself, there was at least 1 class I hated and 1 class I saw its application in robotics/themed entertainment per quarter so the one I was more interested in helped me keep moving forward (That's why making/finding study buddies in class is a HUGE help).
If you're not interested/struggling a lot with every mechanical engineering course but find shared classes among other engineers to be more fun (Material science, electrical engineering, computer science, etc.), then maybe consider a change in major . The good news is there are a TON of engineering fields, some of which do share common core classes (Typically Physics & math) so you don't have to necessarily start with no credits toward the degree. Just don't shift too many times as I'm sure most engineering majors require a major-specific class almost all 4 years.
Philip Bobb-Semple
Mechanical Engineer, Philadelphia Water Department
8
Answers
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Updated
Philip’s Answer
Kathryn,
I imagine any answer will be based on the writer's experiences. Engineering degree courses from my knowledge involve the sciences essentially Chemistry and Physics and mainly Mathematics. Most students that entered with good grades in High School typically are easily successful in these areas. From my I experience the Final Year Design project which requires application of all the theory learned can be particularly challenging. Best of luck.