#engiestudy

I think that a lot of what I see online of people studying is very glamorous or clean and minimalist and I just want to say it’s alright if your setup is any clear space you can find. I’ve got laundry on my bed right now (dryer didn’t quite dry my stuff) and my notebook and past lab are sitting on top of a storage box of other stuff and honestly the only clear space right now is right where my laptop is.

That being said I got through a lot of a lab I’ve needed to start. Not all of it, but I’ve had two 8 hr shifts the past two days at the theatre so I’ve been getting really anxious about putting off this lab (it’s not due til Wednesday but it’s a full report so there’s a lot to do). I’ve still got three other homework assignments to do and two exams this week but this lab is big and I needed to at least get starting it out of the way before anything else. I’m pretty sure I can finish the rest of my lab in an hour or two at this point, which is great! I’m pretty behind on some lectures I have.

Excited to say that this coming weekend I’m going to visit my friend in Colorado! Haven’t seen her in a few months so I’m super excited. Just for a long weekend but it’ll be a good 5 days to hang out and I’m very happy for that. I’m also glad that next week so far isn’t looking as crazy busy as this week.

I’m going to be completely honest I am having a Very Rough Time with my masters classes. I’ve been struggling with my depression recently and so catching up with online classes becomes extremely hard for me. I am not happy with how I am doing with it but there’s only so much you can ask.

I’m trying to remember that you can watch part of a lecture and come back to it later, because that I think would help me a lot. My fluids class is also just much more difficult than I thought it would be. Overall I’m really just struggling a lot more than I thought I would be, which is disappointing.

For successes, I’ve been able to do a lot I think. My cousins came to visit and I balanced school and hanging out with them as best I could, but was definitely pretty tired by the end. I push myself a lot and take a recoup day when I need to. I also have been pretty good about cooking and feeding myself, which is exciting for me. Going to hopefully get back to baking soon but we’ll see.

And that, folks, is the rest of my semester (minus finals week). Of course, only assignments that I know of right now. So far it’s been very up and down. I got a 57 on my Mech lab exam, the lowest grade I’ve ever gotten on an exam, and also got a 99 on my fluids exam, which is the highest non-weighted grade I’ve ever gotten on an exam. To say it’s been a rollercoaster is a complete understatement.

I was really stressed going into these exams and obviously they turned out very differently. I got 102/105 on another one of my exams, but it was take home so it feels different. Honestly, I’m just glad that the hours I spent working and studying for that fluids exam paid off. I only hope the rest of the exams go as well.

I also got antidepressants! This is a big step for me because I’ve always been very hesitant to get on meds for a lot of reasons but mostly because I didn’t want to have to explain to my parents that I needed them. I found a way to do it without all that and I am so grateful. We’ll see how the meds go though, it’s only been a week.

Had a career fair today and if everything goes well, I’ll have a couple job options in the next two weeks. I’m really hoping for one over the other but if I have limited time to make decisions, well, I’ll have to go with a sure thing versus a possibility. We’ll see.

Background information:

This is my last year of highschool and at the end of it I’ll have to choose a college. Now, I want to try mechanical engineering but I have an older friend that studies there and it’s really hard for her even though she was a better student in highschool than me. I like physics but am not as good at it as I would like to be and maths…we have a terrible teacher that basically teaches us nothing so I have quite a few ‘holes’ in my overall knowledge. I do want to try and learn more even though I wouldn’t say I’m a natural at it😓

But the idea of engines and learning about them and how things work are very tempting to me. I’m just scared and I don’t know if I have the capacity for it, since I loose concentration easily and it takes time for me to understand things…

Hey there! Sorry about this answer being so late - I straight up didn't see it in my notifications.

For your question: Honest answer? I don't think there is any way to know if you're suited for something beforehand. I had no idea what I was going into with this major and am coming out with very little knowledge of what I'm going to do with my degree. I've moved more into aerospace than I saw coming, which in hindsight should have been obvious to me bc I've always loved space.

I don't think any of us are really a natural at engineering, and yes it's a very hard thing to go into. If it's something you're interested in, though, honestly that's most of what it takes. I've done so much better in really hard classes that were interesting to me than I have in classes that were "easier" but super boring to me.

That being said, if engines are what interests you, you'll need to look into the mechanical program you're interested in. Engines are not a big part of my curriculum but I go to a small school, so it might be moreso at other schools. If that is your driving interest, I think you should go for it even if you're scared about how hard it will be.

I have ADHD and depression and have made it this far, so I definitely get losing concentration and things taking time (also things being frustrating because you think you should get it but you don't, but I digress). I think if it's meaningful to you, it will come with some time. It might be hard and you might struggle, but it will be so much better if you actually have interest.

My main benefit for mechanical degrees is that literally every type of engineering is looking for mechanical engineers. You can shift into most fields that you want to. Drawbacks are, of course, if engineering things like statics and forces/tension/etc. don't make sense to you at the beginning it really just continues to be bad the whole time.

So, I’m gonna be totally honest. I’ve always been that student that does well but doesn’t seem to put in the studying time and all that. I think part of it is that any time I get a grade that is below an A I feel disappointed in myself. I always feel like I can do better, so I push myself harder than I should.

The other thing is, I know I’m a solid B student. Like if I put in a regular amount of effort I am a B student, on average. And it only works out this way because the way I cope with my mental illness is pushing myself too far and needing recovery time.

So I’m putting my grades out there to show this. I got a 97 on my Systems final, which I was over the moon about. I didn’t even expect a 95 let alone a 97 and that pushed my grade over to an A despite my abysmal homework scores. However, in doing that and getting the A’s in the other two courses, I also got a D in design, which absolutely hurt to see with the expectations I put on myself. As for heat and mass, I’m lucky my prof let that be a B instead of a C.

Since I’m headed back to class in under a month, I’ve been thinking about organization styles that work for me. I haven’t had one that works yet since a lot of them need me to remember to set them up to get the follow through of organization. My mental health/depression/possible adhd means it’s super hard for any of the usual ones like a planner to work. Let me know if you guys have any ideas!

I wrote a pros and cons list for the two new ideas I’ve had so far. Since I have my own room I have a good amount of space so y’know. I’m willing to try out all sorts of things. My notion works pretty well when I remember but it’ll be harder when I can’t have my computer all the time and I’d like a good visual.

Anyways work has been toiling y’know. It’s tiring and it’s a lot but it’s still fun when I have stuff to do! Been running low on that recently.

Moved into a new bigger room! I know it's temporary but to be able to use my lap table again is very useful. I tried streaming once but there were a couple minutes worth of dropped frames which was frustrating.

In terms of work, I'm having a good time. I think I have a few too many responsibilities but it's alright in terms of what I like to do. It's a lot of working with technicians to update things, which means I get to see things. That's definitely one of my favorite things to do. I am also kind of in charge of a technical writer, which is a lot weirder. As a three week old intern and also somehow the manufacturing engineer on the floor in my department it feels really strange.

I'm excited to get back into school stuff too in like two months. Hoping it doesn't get too bad, but it's my last year and I'll graduate with honors even if I get straight B's, which is nice. Takes a lot of pressure off.