Is being good at physics directly correlated to being a good engineer?
I am a college student studying aerospace engineering. I have taken three college physics courses (mechanics, waves, electricity/magnetism) and have gotten a C, B-, and C+ respectively. I have studied extremely hard for these classes, but I think my underlying downfall was my lack of thorough understanding of major concepts. This was why I was able to do basic to medium level problems in the textbook, but on tests when I encountered a problem I had never seen before, I would blank.
Should I be concerned about this trend? Will this affect my performance in industry?
On a side note, I am not getting As in calculus either. I have taken three calculus classes in college (mostly integrals and revolutions, series and sequences, and multivariable) and have gotten a B-, C+, and a B respectively. Should I be worried about this too? In calculus, I definitely feel like I understand concepts, but make some dumb mistakes on tests. #college #engineer
2 answers
Wael’s Answer
Your performance in calculus isn't worrying but is't great either. I don't think you are going to see electricity and magnetism again; however, I am worried about mechanics. Your understanding for waves and mechanics is essential for dynamic systems and controls.
Should you be worried? Yes .... Will it affect your performance in the industry? I don't think so ... If I were you, I would go back to my notes for mechanics and waves to try to strengthen myself in these subjects. Moreover, it looks you are a sophomore. Why you are not applying for internships?
Lori’s Answer
Hi Ryan! I would say that it would be beneficial for you to understand more what the root cause is of you not performing on the tests - from description of the issue, it sounds like you may just struggle / stress out about the timed nature of test-taking itself and not necessarily the concepts. As a chemical engineer, physics (and especially circuits) was never the strongest class for me, but it has not really hampered me in industry. My lowest grade was a C in Organic Chemistry!
Personally something I look for during interviews is whether someone is determined and willing to stick with a problem until the persevere through it, more than someone who naturally gets good grades. It is also pretty rare in industry to be working on something in isolation - one thing I struggled with was admitting to myself that I really needed a study group and should have been active in one much earlier in my engineering career (both to learn from others and to teach!). There is an eloquent beauty in teamwork because the sum of the parts can be greater than the whole.
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