How Do You Actually 'Study' Engineering?

[hfz]

Engineering, as we know, is a mathematical based subject. There isn't much to 'read' before an exam, since most questions involve calculations.

This opposes to Medicine, Law and maybe some Business and Commerce subjects which, requires serious reading before an exam. Like History in secondary school, you may get go through the exam by just memorizing and regurgitate everything during the exam i.e. anatomy (MBBS), certain statutes (LLB) and economic theories (elasticity etc.)

I see maths as a yes/no question. Its either you can calculate to get the answer, or you're just screwed. Because you can't 'goreng' maths.

Personally, I see the best way to study Maths is continuous practice. So I think, engineering should be studied the same way too. Repeatedly do your tutorial(s), go over past year questions and find some examples in the text book.

With that study method, I'm averaging around the mid 70s for my final results, which is quite poor for me. My Dad insists that I'm still studying ala-SPM, where I'll do exercises repeatedly and just read-off the lecture notes, without any further reading. I think he may have a point, but I seriously need to figure out a 'new' study method to improve my grades.

FYI, he studied Pharmacy.

Are they any other engineers (would-be or graduated, or even other students from other fields) that would like to share how they study?

[Nicholasng925]

Maths are always the same, regardless of the level of difficulties. Just do more exercises and eventually you will get the hang of it. Still the old yet one of the most effective idioms, practice makes perfect! :wink

[kaze]

Engineering may be a mathematical based subject, but it doesn

[Sillyboy]

Engineering, as we know, is a mathematical based subject. There isn't much to 'read' before an exam, since most questions involve calculations.

This opposes to Medicine, Law and maybe some Business and Commerce subjects which, requires serious reading before an exam. Like History in secondary school, you may get go through the exam by just memorizing and regurgitate everything during the exam i.e. anatomy (MBBS), certain statutes (LLB) and economic theories (elasticity etc.)

I see maths as a yes/no question. Its either you can calculate to get the answer, or you're just screwed. Because you can't 'goreng' maths.

Personally, I see the best way to study Maths is continuous practice. So I think, engineering should be studied the same way too. Repeatedly do your tutorial(s), go over past year questions and find some examples in the text book.

With that study method, I'm averaging around the mid 70s for my final results, which is quite poor for me. My Dad insists that I'm still studying ala-SPM, where I'll do exercises repeatedly and just read-off the lecture notes, without any further reading. I think he may have a point, but I seriously need to figure out a 'new' study method to improve my grades.

FYI, he studied Pharmacy.

Are they any other engineers (would-be or graduated, or even other students from other fields) that would like to share how they study?

Kaze literally took the words from my mouth so I won't repeat his advice. (Kudos to Kaze!)

However hfz, let us be a bit more specific about your problem. Is there a particular branch of Mathematics you find difficult? Or is this a general feeling towards the subject overall?

[QUOTE=kaze;347073]Engineering may be a mathematical based subject, but it doesn

[digimushu]

heh,

Engineering is not as simple as "just math". Most people think that engineering process is:

1. See problem
2. Find Equation
3. Plug numbers into equation
4. Get answer

That is wrong. That is such a rigid way of doing engineering. Most people would get stuck at 2 because they did not take the time to understand the assumptions that go into the equation.

The correct way to approach engineering problems are:

1. Define problem
2. Derive equation with assumptions
3. plug numbers to solve equation
4. get answer.

Just practicing will not get you far. If the problem is changed, then you have to understand what that change does to the equation. You have to train yourself to think like an engineer. Hope that helps.

[henry_yew]

The correct way to approach engineering problems are:

1. Define problem
2. Derive equation with assumptions
3. plug numbers to solve equation
4. get answer.

Just practicing will not get you far. If the problem is changed, then you have to understand what that change does to the equation. You have to train yourself to think like an engineer. Hope that helps.

I'd like to add something else between (3) and (4) though, and that is "JUDGEMENT".

Being an engineer is not just making assumptions, plugging numbers and see if things are right. It requires a lot of judgement for an engineer to determine whether the assumptions made are appropriate and whether the item which is engineered will meet specifications realistically based on the assumptions made.

Judgement cannot be taught; it will have to come with experience. That's what makes "an engineer" an engineer. It's not just number crunching.

[hfz]

heh,

Engineering is not as simple as "just math". Most people think that engineering process is:

1. See problem
2. Find Equation
3. Plug numbers into equation
4. Get answer

That is wrong. That is such a rigid way of doing engineering. Most people would get stuck at 2 because they did not take the time to understand the assumptions that go into the equation.

The correct way to approach engineering problems are:

1. Define problem
2. Derive equation with assumptions
3. plug numbers to solve equation
4. get answer.

Just practicing will not get you far. If the problem is changed, then you have to understand what that change does to the equation. You have to train yourself to think like an engineer. Hope that helps.

I'm starting to see where my problem is. I'm still expecting to be given the 'initial' steps before proceeding to answer the questions.

I should start to think more about the question and how to approach it properly, justifying which equations should be used, instead of 'choosing and substitute in the values'.



However hfz, let us be a bit more specific about your problem. Is there a particular branch of Mathematics you find difficult? Or is this a general feeling towards the subject overall?



Maths, no. But there is a specific branch of engineering that I find it quite hard to comprehend, which is electrical system. Barring the subjects that involve electrical systems, I find that I can cope with engineering.

---


So far, thank you for all the comments and hopefully it can help me re-think my study methods!

[henry_yew]

Ah, electrical engineering. My friends who do electrical and electronics engineering kept telling me that their subjects are difficult. Yes, there is a certain level of difficulty that you must cope, but if you find your subjects difficult to understand, be persistent and keep consulting your lecturers or professors for guidance.

There is so much that a textbook can tell you. If you cannot understand a statement in a textbook, then ask your lecturer for help.

Sometimes, some authors use technical language to write their textbooks such that students find it difficult to understand the subject. For instance, the textbook that was recommended to me by my lecturer for Structural Dynamics was difficult to comprehend due to the style of writing that the author adopts. Another author who wrote a book on the same subject was so much easier to comprehend that I have decided to get that book in addition to the one that my lecturer recommended.

[digimushu]

I'd like to add something else between (3) and (4) though, and that is "JUDGEMENT".

Being an engineer is not just making assumptions, plugging numbers and see if things are right. It requires a lot of judgement for an engineer to determine whether the assumptions made are appropriate and whether the item which is engineered will meet specifications realistically based on the assumptions made.

Judgement cannot be taught; it will have to come with experience. That's what makes "an engineer" an engineer. It's not just number crunching.

Judgement should be applied when assumptions are made (think FMEA, Functional Safety, Hazard Analysis). If your assumptions are wrong in the first place, you may not even know until the question has been marked, or the product fails to meet criteria. I'm not saying that it is just number crunching, but the numbers have different meaning depending on your solution.

Electrical engineering is not difficult. It is, however, rather abstract. Many engineering students have trouble grasping the basics because they cannot visualize the concept, unlike mechanical or electrical engineering. For electrical engineers, you need to grasp the concept of various fundamental laws (Kirchkoff,ohm,etc), and see that math(integration,linear algebra) is just a tool for you to solve them.

The engineering teaching methods in local universities are also dated. I have personally attended lectures in local uni and grilled professors in their classes. I find the learning rather passive, and contradictory to engineering as an applied field. The problems and their solutions are presented in such a "cookie cutter" way that it misleads the engineering student population into generalizing engineering problems.

Engineering is an applied field. Learn it, live it, love it.

[lawteoh]

Nice thread. Too bad I just glanced upon it during the midst of my finals. biology + engineering combined together isn't that fun actually. Since both different approach to study. ><

Well, I feel getting the concepts right is the utmost importance especially in subjects like Mechanics of Material, electronics (circuit analysis) and fluids mechanics (in my case, half of fluid mechanics + biofluids). Too bad, I still could not get my concepts right before exam. Oh well. Life goes on..

[Boyz_Zoo]

Engineering, as we know, is a mathematical based subject. There isn't much to 'read' before an exam, since most questions involve calculations.

This opposes to Medicine, Law and maybe some Business and Commerce subjects which, requires serious reading before an exam. Like History in secondary school, you may get go through the exam by just memorizing and regurgitate everything during the exam i.e. anatomy (MBBS), certain statutes (LLB) and economic theories (elasticity etc.)

I see maths as a yes/no question. Its either you can calculate to get the answer, or you're just screwed. Because you can't 'goreng' maths.

Personally, I see the best way to study Maths is continuous practice. So I think, engineering should be studied the same way too. Repeatedly do your tutorial(s), go over past year questions and find some examples in the text book.

With that study method, I'm averaging around the mid 70s for my final results, which is quite poor for me. My Dad insists that I'm still studying ala-SPM, where I'll do exercises repeatedly and just read-off the lecture notes, without any further reading. I think he may have a point, but I seriously need to figure out a 'new' study method to improve my grades.

FYI, he studied Pharmacy.

Are they any other engineers (would-be or graduated, or even other students from other fields) that would like to share how they study?
Maths is the core element in engineering. However, this doesn't mean that we can regard them as the same things. I agree with that maths can be mastered by practice but what's the reason for it?

The secret is understanding the method of doing the questions. You can do thousands of questions, but if you don't get the method of solving them, there is no point. My maths lecturer is really a genius, he can look at a question for just 20 seconds, and he can solve cause he's able to visualise the steps to do in order to solve. Therefore, we must pay more attention to the steps of doing it than focusing on the answers.

Nevertheless, engineering is just about maths. There is also a lot of concepts & laws for us to study. Thus, this concepts are essential to know whether our answer is correct or not. For example, a student calculated the velocity of a skier is 6400 m/s which is equal to 200 km/h!!! This is illogical but with our understanding of the laws of physics, we can know that this problem arises when we disregard the frictional force when the force is huge.

In conclusion, every field has its level of difficulty. Engineering doesn't require much memorising like certain course, but it requires a lot of understanding which is tough to get all in our brain in one go. We need to study consistently, discuss with our classmates when we have problems and not to be shy to ask questions to our profs when we have questions.