Name: Why is engineering so hard? Its not what you think
Uploaded: 2024-06-19T00:33:04.000Z
Duration: 6 min 17 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

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Hey everyone, my name's Jake and in this video we're going to talk about why an engineering degree is so difficult.

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And trust me, it's not exactly what you think.

So majoring in engineering has a certain stigma of being really difficult.

I can personally vouch for that and the data backs it up.

On average, engineering students have the lowest GPAs and they spend the most amount of time studying outside of school.

Most people would argue that it's just the complex material that you have to learn.

It is difficult, but there's a lot more to it, which is why I wanted to make this video.

So I'm going to unpack and really kind of explore the several reasons why engineering is so difficult.

Not to discourage you, but with the hopes that it really helps prepare some of you younger, newer perspective students a lot better than I did.

Okay, so I've broken this up into three categories, mental schedule and lifestyle.

Okay, so the mental difficulty comes in two forms.

The first we've already kind of touched on, you know, it's the complex material that you'll be faced with high level math, high level science.

These topics can be pretty difficult to absorb.

And the second form of mental difficulty is the very high amount of mental stamina required to be successful.

This is the one that bites most students.

So it's not so much the complexity of the material that you'll be learning.

It's more about how long it takes to really learn it, you know, practice it and master it.

Very long amounts of concentrated, focused study time, right?

Most students aren't really used to this kind of, you know, prolonged, disciplined mental exercise, right?

The kind where you're studying and problem solving and really kind of engaged for four to six hours after school every day, right?

Most kids' brains, especially new students, aren't in that kind of shape.

I mean, it took me several semesters and several, you know, not so good report cards for my brain to really kind of compensate and grow stronger and get to the point where I didn't feel like I was drowning.

Speaking of making your brain stronger, you can check out my video on neuroplasticity to find out exactly how that works.

You know, this lack of mental stamina is why you'll see several smart, you know, straight A high school students still really struggle in engineering.

You know, they've been able to really breeze through everything on pure talent and they've never really been tested stamina wise.

So you don't want to forget that your brain is very similar to a muscle, right?

So if you want to run 50 miles, you start off slow.

Your muscles get stronger and stronger and stronger over time, right?

The more you study and learn and focus, the better your brain will become at those things.

Hey, if you liked the video so far, make sure you hit the like button, subscribe the channel and share it with your friends.

And if you're currently in engineering or if you're thinking about studying engineering, be sure to check out my book, you know, how to develop mental stamina, how to develop a sustainable lifestyle and schedule, how to study, how to do well on exams.

It's available on paperback, ebook and audio book.

Okay, so the next reason why engineering can be so difficult is the schedule.

So prior to starting school, most students have some amount of obligation that is taking some percentage of their weekly time, right?

Work, family, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, partying, hobbies, all taking up their weekly schedule.

So one huge mistake that a lot of students make is starting school and then hoping to just fit school in to their already existing schedules.

So because of this, you know, a lot of students have to go through kind of a painful adjustment period where all those other things that were taking up their, you know, weekly time and filling up their schedules have to be kind of sacrificed and moved in and chipped away at to make room for school.

So if you're a new student, do yourself a favor and really try to free up your schedule before you start school.

Because if you try to just squeeze in an engineering degree into an already busy schedule, that's just a recipe for disaster, right?

Really make sure that you have enough free time every day in order to be successful.

I actually did a longer video on how to develop a sustainable schedule.

And the final reason why engineering is so difficult is the type of lifestyle that it demands.

You know, so again, prior to starting school, most students will have a certain lifestyle and freedom, you know, that they've established every day, right?

Hanging out with friends, playing video games, taking naps, you know, exercise, hobbies, all these things that you like to do every day.

But in order to be successful in an engineering degree, that type of kind of free lifestyle is really going to need to change.

Because in order to be successful in engineering, you know, the primary focus of your day is going to have to be school, is going to have to be studying.

And this kind of shift can be pretty jarring for most students.

It can be pretty difficult to swallow, right?

It was for me to go from a life of a lot of freedom and not a lot of obligation to a life of a lot of obligation and a lot less freedom is pretty hard to take.

You know, because a lot of that time that you were spending doing those other things, you know, hanging out with friends, having fun, playing video games, whatever, is going to have to get sacrificed or decreased significantly to make way for school, for your new number one priority, right?

And this shift, again, can leave some students feeling kind of jaded.

But it's important to remember, you know, the magnitude of what you're taking on.

The challenge of an engineering degree has the real power to supercharge your future.

But in order to get it, the things you do every day and the kind of the way you live your life is going to have to change.

Those are kind of my three reasons why an engineering degree can be so difficult.

You know, I hope it didn't discourage you.

My intention of this video was to hopefully help new and prospective students prepare accordingly.

You know, because an engineering degree has the unique potential to really transform you into a better version of yourself.

So I hope, you know, this helps prepare you for that at least a little bit.

 So until next time, thanks for watching and keep up the good work.