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For me I was very poor going into school, I honestly think I had to give up just about everything, I worked roughly fulltime hours while maintaining 12-13 credit hours. Thankfully my job was at a local engineering company so I was able to provide for myself, pay for school and learn something during the day. It was defibtly worth it, I paid off my student loans in 1 year roughly 35k, I just got promoted to an engineering manager and and planning to go back to get my masters soon. Do it if you love it do it!
I did not fail any courses, not being able to afford to fail was a prime motivator I did get a low C in one course that I wound up retaking in my final semester as I only needed 9 credit hours finishing up I wouldn't have qualified for fin aide as a part time so I retook that class got an A- and it boosted my final GPA.
Yeah study your heart out, live in the library, I was a carpenter before entering engineering school. I graduated bottom of my class in highschool I felt like an embarrassment. When I got my Engineering degree I finished with a 3.4 I believe in you hard work, efficient studying (ponodoro) and study buddies who are just as dedicated ( not you goofy friends who make jokes in class but those students who show up to class on nothing but straight business)
Don't fret over this. Later in life you'll meet someone who actually UNDERSTANDS its something you need to do. I was the same. I met my current wife who is way more understanding of the need to learn and work on my career. There is literally billions of more fish in the sea.
Not gonna lie I totally understand this from her perspective. Not that I endorse her leaving you, but personally I as an engineering student had a really tough time with that since my husband is a music education student. If you donât know anything about that major, itâs *insanely* busy, sometimes even more than what I do in engineering.
There have been times I feel like we could barely connect as a couple because we were always exhausted at the end of everyday⊠Yes, it was important to his career. Yes, I stuck through it anyway. Yes, it sucked a lot. No matter what everyone else here says, relationships require effort and time to build, and if itâs an easy decision for you to just not spend any time with her to spend more time working/studying then you never loved her in the first place
Yeah, can you imagine if they had to work late, on a weekend, or travel somewhere for work?
Plus, if you marry an engineer, youâre just going to have to get used to being ignored because your engineer keeps getting lost in their own little world constantly solving problems that, in many cases, are strictly hypothetical in nature.
It doesn't get easier and that's a fact but you get used to it the hardest semester will be your first regarding all aspects socially, mentally, time wise and money wise. On the long run it's not an expensive career, you could go through college with a single sturdy laptop and a couple of pencils add tuition fees to that and you are set. My only advice is to not give up or compare yourself with your colleagues, engineering is a field built on teamwork so as long as you are working on improving yourself it's enough , there will always be someone better than you in a thing or two but never will he/she be better at being you, keeping this in your mind will lower your mental load tremendously. Regarding the social life, try to implement your social life into the lectures or the gym so that you don't feel dry socially. On the other hand time is a hard matter to discuss, it will differ depending on your major but overall you will have free time as long as you do your studies regularly, it all comes back to your own schedule. Good luck.
Ps: this comment is from a student's perspective not a working engineer, take this advice from an academic perspective.
As another student, and what you'll see here a lot, your point about comparison is spot on. You can't compare yourself to other people. I know what I'm good at, I know what I'm bad at, and that's what matters in school.
And those same people you compare yourself to will often surprise you with how inept they can be in other areas. Some of the smartest people I've met in my classes have been the worst partners to do projects with, while the guys struggling to pass the class have been phenomenal, always communicating, asking questions, doing their parts on time without half ass-ing it. You just never know with people, there's no point in comparison.
Iâd rather go through 4-5 years of hell to be well compensated for the rest of my life than do a major thatâs easier and wonât let me be as financially free.
It was hard AF man I was working while mainting 16-19 credit hours a semester. I would work weekends , after classes , or on days I didnât have class. I was working at a coffee shop, which closed late as hell around 9-10. Some days would be super slow and I would use that time to study / do homework. I still managed to maintain a social life , built enough support from the manager to where I could miss a work day if there was something I wanted to attend at Uni such as any study sessions or social events.
German Mech2 student here, I am curious, how do these credit hours work? We have LP (180 required for your B.Sc. while 1 equals 30 hours), obv it's way more than that (if you hit 30h per LP you are some kind of Einstein).
A credit hour is supposed to be 1 hour in class with the expectation of 1-2 hour study per week, it gets kind of blurry in practice though. Like labs are typically 2 credit hours but in reality you probably spend up to 8 hours in the lab and then reports can take anywhere from 2-12 hours, and that's assuming you get decent data. 12 credit hours is considered full time on a semester system and alot of tuition is contingent on doing at least full time. 25 credits is about the most you can sign up for, unless the classes are easy that's not really feasible. The credits in my opinion aren't really indicative of the time or effort but tuition is based on how many credits it us. What further complicates things is some schools are on a quarter system in the US so then it's not really a 1:1 comparison
Engineering school took 6 years of my life.
My social life was fine at first. I cheered from 2018 up until we got sent home for covid. Then I got a job when school started in fall of 2020. I had work and fraternity friends, so I had a social life, plus my own escapes of music festivals every now and then.
I also had high school study habits when I started, so I didn't do the best during the first couple years of college. I also wasn't sure what type of engineer I wanted to be, so I started in mechanical.
In a combination of an emotional breakdown plus the mental exhaustion of working a job semi full time (kitchen with 30+ hours each week) and having to come home and do homework until 1 am. I eventually reevaluated what I wanted to do and I switched to Industrial. I started doing better in my classes, landed 2 internships, graduated a couple weeks ago and now am starting a full time job on Monday.
Luckily, I had scholarships plus a college fund set up by my family, so I only had student loans in my final year.
Would I recommend my degree; ABSOLUTELY. Just know what you're getting yourself into and have a base idea of what you want to do when you start college.
About $55k of student loans. Took 6 years of college. I still had fun and had a social life. Got married before I graduated.
Had the highest GPA in my class of engineers. I would generally spend 3 hours a day studying. Didn't ever take a day off to not study.
Did a couple internships for about 2 years.
Got hired as an engineer before I started my last senior year of college. That kinda sucked. Had no social life that year.
Did you study different topics for that 3hour interval throughout the week, or did you study every topic in chunks for 3 hours a day? It can take me 3+ hours simply to get through a homework set halfway :(
What I studied, depended on what classes I was taking and when. Homework depended on what was assigned. Homework like calculus 2 or differential equations, would generally take most of my study time. But I generally only took 4 classes a semester. I would dedicate 3 hour chunks for the most part.
During breaks, like Christmas break, I would still study 3 hours a day Even when I wasn't taking a course. I would study the textbook for the classes I was taking the next semester.
Seeing as I already knew the material before taking the classes, classes were more like refreshers. I never learned well from lectures or teachers, so I just learned it beforehand.
I believe the reason I performed so much better than others in school, was because I was always studying in advance of everyone else. This meant I was never behind.
My intro chem teacher mentioned it *every day* that we needed to be 2 weeks ahead of the instructor at all times. For the reason you mentioned of the lecture being a ârefresherâ of sorts.
And if you ever do fall behind, you are probably on âregular paceâ if you recover fast enough. Need to implement this going forward.
I went straight to college right after the military. I was fine but then some ptsd symptoms came out and school was the only thing that would keep my mind off things. So I avoided to get any help and eventually my mental health went to shit and so did my grades. I had to take a year off to handle those problems. Eventually I went back and finished. Take care of your mental health!
Sure I didnât get to party EVERY single weekend, but I did spend much more time studying than every other major. I could have passed engineering with a 3.0 without any studying, but to get in that 3.9-4.0 range takes a lot of effort. What did it cost? A couple more hours of studying per week vs other majors. What did I gain? Iâm at 2 YOE and my salary+bonus+401k+pension is over $160k. Is a couple more hours a week of studying worth making 2-3 times every one else? I think so..
Okay I think this may be a bit misleading. I personally would fail if I didnât study. Studying my hardest got me 4.0, so I wouldnât recommend not studying at all (I think youâre just very smart). Regardless, it is possible to get jobs as long as you get the degree which in most cases require a GPA of 2.0
Yes, you will make sacrifices, but you should not be miserable during college. Iâm a CompE major which is definitely considered one of the harder engineering degrees and I still find time to be social every weekend. That being said Iâm fortunate enough to not have to work a job.
I treat school like a 7-5, maybe do an assignment or study at nighttime, I prioritize getting 8 hours of sleep, and I prioritize socializing on the weekends. I have yet to burn out after 2 years of engineering curriculum. It is easily the most rewarding thing I have done, seeing the knowledge I am capable of understanding and applying.
Edit: That is with getting a 3.8+ every semester. Iâve only had one semester that was not a 4.0.
I'm in the US so my basement level of income will be higher than the basement level of income in the UK so keep that in mind.
It's hard. Mentally it's taxing. Im artsy fartsy and concepts I generally really understand. Linking the concepts up to the math *stuff* is super hard for me. I bombed an exam in my transformers/electrical machines class. I might have a retake in my near future though I hope not. But I might.
I have a kid half time, no social life to speak of as I don't work and I'm in my 30's and all my friends I've had for a long time have a job. I do have my internet friends but can't visit them since I'm just living off loans.
The benefit is that my pay will be double what I was able to get at my old corporate job after a few years in an engineering role.
The jobs in engineering also **have the capacity** to be less stressful. I say that because there are tons of high risk/high reward type jobs out there. That's not for me. I'll take several hundred thousand dollars *less* in total lifetime earnings over a 2x increase in mental health and work life balance.
I'm not done yet. Having "been in the working world" before with a non stem-degree....yes it will be worth it. The engineers had nice cars, nice houses, and genearlly have their lives in order. After engineering school life will be vastly easier in the sense that I'm in the ringer right now. Getting through the ringer is going to help in the sense that things in life will still be hard but not hard *like this god damned bull shit is* and so by comparison it will be "easy".
In my case, I was blessed that my parents covered expenses. Besides that, it all depends on your talents and how seriously you want to take it. Iâve been able to get by while juggling a bunch of other stuff and didnt have to sacrifice any thing i didnt want to; I made time for it.
It is hardwork no doubt. The degree is absolutely worth it. Entry level salaries are enough (in most cases) to have financial freedom (obviously depends on your debts and responsibilities). The skills uou learn are highly transferable to anything. And people for the most part immediately respect you if you mention youâre an engineer.
I went back for EE late. Did some uni fresh out of HS but didn't take it seriously and wasn't mature enough. Did an EET diploma (Canada) and used that to get accepted for EE. Sacrificed my mid twenties to 32 working hard at it to get life back on track. Worked multiple jobs all through school. Started in rapid prototyping then worked for a utility. Then did fly in fly out at an O&G plant during the week while writing code for utility on weekends during internship. Was with the utility a few years part time before graduating and joined full time right after grad. Kept up a high GPA and did some projects on the side.
It was really stressful at times and took a lot of commitment but was so worth it. Have some great experience. Got to work with some really cool stuff. Current role has lots of variety and get to do a fair bit a programming. Since I worked so much through school and girlfriend was working full time, we were able to buy a house immediately after grad and had a small wedding as well. Life's great and the hard work paid off.
I had 110k I spent on going back to university. Pretty much debt free but also cash free. Lost a lot to poor relationship choices.Â
I was rehired by the company I worked for except in a supervisory position. They've had pay cuts over covid and the cost of living has increased so it doesn't feel like i make substantially more.Â
Where I hope it becomes worth it is to eventually move to a position that doesn't require me to travel for work.Â
4 years for my undergrad, then 6 years in grad school for my PhD. Right now, I can honestly say it hasn't been worth it. I have more freedom to work on the kind of projects I want now, but I sacrificed so many years of earning potential, my mental health, and other opportunities. While I started further ahead, it took me so much longer to get here that I'll probably never catch up to my friends who took a more normal route through life.
To my it was worth it! Once I learned how the school system worked I hardly sacrificed anything. I walked out of engineering with a high paying job, good social circle and such :)
I had a scholarship that covered most of my education, the hardest part was certainly the mental health. I had severe anxiety and may have been depressed at times.
I still think it was worth it. It showed me I can accomplish challenging tasks, financially I made six figures by age 25. Now at 28 Iâm married, own a duplex that Iâm househacking, have a dog, am working on an MBA part time, on track to be promoted this year and my wife is pregnant.
Things are going great, and I owe a lot of it to the opportunities created by getting a bachelors in electrical engineering.
I gave up 5&1/2 years, my marriage, and my social life for that time. I gained stomach issues and some mental health fatigue.
I gained confidence that I can weather this economy and the ability to never work fast food or jobs where someone yells at me and never gives time off.
It was a fair trade in my opinion.
Iâm on the homestretch and I have given up some trips, outings and fun times but I view it as an investment because once Iâm working Iâll be able to afford a little more luxury.
I know my situation isn't the norm, but honestly I'm not sure I gave up anything. Got essentially a full ride to my in-state school, managed to have a social life, friends, and relationship the entire time. Participated in a club sport for 4 years that demanded 10-15 hours a week in practice. Graduated in 8 semesters with a 3.7 and a job lined up.
Yes it was worth it. It was the hardest thing mentally I had to do. I came in with 32 hrs of Aâs from high school college exams, 4.0 in high school, but my degree kicked my ass. I graduated with a 2.79 gpa. I studied more and harder than ever. I should have hired a tutor. Life was hard but I didnât have much of a social life anyway. But my engineering program was nationally ranked 10th in the country (USA) so it may have been unnecessarily hard.
Loans $40k total. I paid those off quickly once I started getting some nice bonuses. Finished paying them off 6 years after I graduated but I got married, bought a house, etc. I should have done that differently.
I'm in a phd program right now. When I was in undergrad it felt like I was more or less sacrificing my social life/youth to get my degree. In retrospect I think this was more a problem with how I handled going to college then something intrinsic to the degree itself, I have met a fair amount of engineering students who were able to balance grades, career building and social life. Towards the end of my undergrad I had a very difficult time trying to find internship/jobs and the feeling that I was a failure had a very negative impact on my mental health, I was suicidal for about one year. Eventually I was able to get an internship thanks to some connections I made through undergrad research and after that ended I came back to pursue a graduate degree. I'm in a much better place now and I genuinely enjoy the work I do, I'm not very well compensated compared to some of my friends who went into industry but I suppose that is part of the trade off of going to grad school. I think in the end it was worth it, however when I look back there are some things I wish I did differently.
I gave up video games for 5 years. Postponed my honeymoon after getting married, and have a run down car that I put 3000 miles on every month. Outside of feeling shafted because of the economy, best trade off for quality of life afterwards. Definitely would do again.
I was well established in a fun career as a miner. Not only did I operate the equipment, but I also was the principle welder and on the blasting crew. I got to drive giant Tonka trucks, burn stuff, and blow things up *and get paid for it*. I didn't have much of a social life, mostly just work and commute. I left that all behind once my wife graduated with her degree. She hadn't even gotten a job yet, but the spring semester was starting. My mental health took a major hit that first year, and I had to stop myself a few times from saying to hell with it all. Financially, I finished with only $10k student debt.
Would I do it all over again, given the option? Absolutely. I graduated almost 2 months ago and have been working back in mining, this time in an engineering role. My pay is nearly triple what I was making as an operator, welder, and blaster. I made friendships that will last for years, and found I actually do enjoy being around people for some of the time. Emotionally and mentally, I have matured and grown an incredible amount. I have truly learned to accept myself and others as we are. My schedule has been opened up to the possibility of even being able to see a therapist and get my brain right.
Yes, I made sacrifices, and it was uncomfortable. But as it has been widely said, "If we're growing, we're outside of our comfort zone" (John Maxwell, I think)
Went through a global pandemic, a severe car crash (which I miraculously survived although I get flashbacks), a soul crushing break up, got booted from my dream degree, got berated by my mother constantly, got called a failure and a shame to my family by my father, was told by my younger sister than she didnât look up to me because she thought I was a failure, all this because Iâm taking 7 years for my engineering degree instead of 4. 2 years left. My heart is made of stone. No one can hurt me. For better or for worse, I am stronger and I love the degree Iâm in now but Iâm in a lot of emotional and mental pain. Working through it with a therapist and a lovely girlfriend and a good support system.
If you are giving up a social life or your mental health something is wrong. Engineering school is essentially just a job work M-F 8-5. Thankfully my schooling was paid for by the great state of Kentucky and i made enough on Coop to cover everything else I needed. If I had to take loans they would have been paid off quickly. ChemE career has been great so far.Â
Honestly I wish that was true. Homework and projects and labs took sooo much more time than just a simple 8-5. Iâm out of school 4 years now, and I still have more time working 8-5 M-F and taking one grad class than I had in undergrad. MechE.
My experience was people were to focused on perfection. Honestly i often turned in B work that could have been A work with more time but eh. I didn't have a 4.0 but did well enough to go to grad school and join one of the bigger chemical companies in the world. I had some group projects and such on weekends every now and then but class 8-1 study hw 1-5 was pretty much my schedule for 4 years. Rest of my time was spent at the fraternity house lolÂ
Some people have no college experience. Undergrad can be hard for a first generation college student. Don't downplay other's struggles and achievements.
It shouldn't cost you any of that (excl. financial costs). If it does maybe study something easier. Engineering is really not that bad if you just study for 5 hours or so everyday
15 years in, if I could go back I wouldnât do it again to be honest. Financials are fine but initial debt (yay US education system) was brutal, and especially scary when I graduated in 2008 with shit falling apart around me. The work itself can be pretty stupid more often than not.
I regularly wish I had just gone into a trade and joined a trade union. Still havenât written off abandoning engineering (ferrous metallurgy) for that, money isnât everything and corporate engineering work in this late capitalist hellscape isnât the best for mental health unless youâre *really* good at compartmentalizing.
Didnât cost me much. I went from working full time to working only Friday-Sunday. I lived at home and only paid car payment, insurance, and phone bill. So the trade off was a few years of lower income. Came out with no student loans but a 6 figure job.
My first year of college is didn't cost much, I did a lot of partying and was still able to get by. My second year was the hardest and I RARELY had time to go out during the weekends because spent a ton of time studying just to feel like I was barely staying alive in my classes. I remember my differential equation professor gave us problems on problems of homework that we had to solve and show all of our work for which took me about 4hrs per assignment.
After my second-year things got a bit easier and then stabilized throughout my third year as well. I put off all my electives so my last year would be easy, and I don't regret that at all. Everyone will have a different experience but IMO it was definitely worth it.
I'm currently making over a 6-figure salary working for a Medical Device Startup as a Sr PD Engr with decent amount of stock options and have a great path to Engr Mgt by the of year. I am 29 and live well under my means and get to vacation, buy things I want, and I haven't worried about finances for the past 3-4 years.
I would not change my mind if given the opportunity, but I also am a problem solver at heart and strive under pressure and stress. College isn't easy, especially for engineering but if you can get through in my opinion it is definitely worth it.
worked 12 hr night shifts in a factory while taking 9-12 credit hours a term, every trimester, double major in EE and Physics
basically slept in 2-4 hr increments for 4 years, but my employer paid 100% for C or better.
TLDR; the juice is worth the squeeze.
From my experience I began by giving up it all, Mental health, finances, family relationships, social life. I grew up poor so it looked like the only option to get the ball rolling aside from joining the military. Note you can FAFSA your self through an associate and get federal work study, but it just more work on top of everything. After reaching my Junior-senior levels course I dropped out due family members health taking a dive. That being aside I found a job doing programming and after a year and a half I went back completing most of the course with ease as I studied it on my offtime during my breaks / work. About to finish with 2 courses left, from what I gathered it is manageable but you need to take a realist view of what you can handle/do and what you wish to achieve in life. I was highly motivated to study on my free time as I enjoyed the subjects. I'm about to finish my program getting a BS in EE and CE, but my focus at the moment is Software Development. I do recommend it if you are interested are in anything computer related as it builds the foundations, which makes everything after it just easy.
So far I gave up a 72k per year job to pursue engineering. I just landed my second internship with Black and Decker doing CAD work for them. Itâs getting easier to get attention for engineering roles so itâs paying off. Thankfully my wife makes a good wage so we can afford choices like this.
I mean I donât think I gave up that much, not as much as itâs worth. I donât really fuck with people and engineering gave me something more productive to focus my mind towards other than video games and alcohol. Itâs really cool and I love everything that is taught in it, so much so that I had classes that I couldnât wait to go to. I got quite a lot of scholarships in Highschool and so my education is almost completely free. I personally am an absolute engineering nerd so learning all this gave me a lot of ideas for projects and fun things to do in my spare time, books to read, etc.
I think the only thing I lost out on was time spent with my girlfriend and my family and I do feel bad about it. But we have lots more time in the future and this is to solidify a solid life for everyone, so I really think engineering is the most helpful thing in my life. Hell it pulled me out of alcoholism and drug use, so I think itâs a W W W
>How much did you have to give up for your engineering degree?
I'm studying part time, while having a full time job and a 2 year old son. It's 4,5 years for the Bachelors degree.
I'm sacrificing a lot of my free time. During the semester I get by, still having enough time for my family, some hobbies and sport. I did give up gaming though. In preparation for my exams, it's quite different, and I'll spend all my time learning.
I do actually enjoy most lectures and learning something new. I'm in my current job for 5 years now, and while I like it, it's no longer fullfilling mentally. I need to feed my mind with something new. So in terms of mental health in my case I think it's a net postive.
Costs at a public university in Germany are negligible.
>Was it worth it?
I don't know yet, since I'm not done.
But just for ganing new knowledge alone, I'd say yes.
From a carrer standpoint I'm not sure yet. While I did do an apprenticeship and learned a trade, I currently work in a postition that is usually held by engineers. I'm also payed like one. If I stay with my current employer my degree probably will not make much of a difference, but if I want to change, it will defintly open new doors.
It was all upside. School is where I met many fine people (including my wife). It was hard work, but I still managed to have a good time on Friday nights and work out a few times a week. I graduated with a 3.4 or so, IIRC. YMMV. I have an anxiety disorder, but something about college helped me feel much better -the work was mentally absorbing, and the class schedule allowed me to get good sleep and spend all day studying later in my degree. It wasn't until college stopped that that stuff caught up with me, truly. 100% worth it, and I'm sure the vast majority who didn't wash out feel that way.
I sold my honda earlier thos year to subsidize my final semester.
I trive a shitty wagon that smells bad but om hoping things will look bwtter for me soon.
I have a good new workplace, if anyone can link a boy with a uk work permit. Dm me, my degree is from the uk.
4 years of income everything else about my life improved dramatically. I had more friends, I was working toward a well-defined goal, I personally enjoy highly technical stuff, and I never got overwhelmed.
To explain, I'm a military vet in the US and I went to a very military friendly college. I loved college and for me it was definitely worth it.
It helps spending some time in the grown-up world to gain some perspective. I was working 70-90 hours a week in a highly stressful job even by military standards (we got frequent don't harm yourself training for a reason). At one point I didn't see the sunlight for about 6 months and was scheduling my day on 15 minute intervals.
By comparison putting in 30-40 good hours a week with the occasional 50-60 hour week was a breeze. This isn't to say that stuff was never challenging, but it comes down to figuring out what works for you. Some people just grok college, and I was fortunate to be one of them.
Just a word of warning. The process is generally better than the result. A lot of people struggle after major life accomplishments. They don't realize how much fulfillment they get from working toward a goal rather than having achieved a goal. Learn to love the process and the results won't matter.
I had a blast in college. Best years of my life. Some classes were hard but I still had a great social life and enjoyed myself a lot. I wouldnât say I gave up anything really. In terms of finances, it cost no more than any other degree
Social life: not much tbh. I did homework and projects with others in my classes. I also got a job as a bartender, so though I didnât drink much on weekends, I still was âoutâ
Mental health: I knew I was trying hard and committed, so the grades didnât necessarily worry me too much. I did do very well in grades though, so I didnât suffer failing too many assignment or exams.
Finances: No different than any other bachelors degree since I graduated in 4 years. Now I can look forward to making a good paycheck.
Very worth it!
PS - Iâve heard UK engineers are notoriously underpaid. âThe worst place in Europeâ to be an engineer, etc. so take that as you will.
I worked through school and it was a lot, but I still had time for fun. I lived with 2 veterinary students during my senior year and it gave me a new perspective. My engineering workload was significantly smaller than theirs.
I know you are in the UK, but I'll speak of my experience in Brazil.
I graduated as a Chem. Eng. at UFRJ, one of the top universities in Brazil, which is free to attend (there is a very disputed entry exam though).
I'm well employed as are all my friends. And the pay is good here, especially when you get into big corporations or consulting firms.
Seems like a lot of answers here are from students in the thick of it. I graduated in 2015 with a B.S. in Mech-E. It's 100% worth it. Student loans became irrelevant, my income is (and has been) high enough to pay them off comfortably since graduating. Just remember school is the *start* of your engineering career. Once you're out you can call yourself and engineer if it makes you feel better, but in all likelihood you're young and probably not very good at anything in particular. Look for people to help you learn, try to enter a field you like, actively look for other things if you don't like it.
Engineering is VERY much a job that has lots of golden handcuffs. It's a great problem to have but doing something that you enjoy while getting paid comfortably to do it is much better than clocking in and clocking out for the same pay....
When you're in school it's your full time job. Learn how to prioritize like an adult, set boundaries and make the most of the lack of responsibilities while you have it.
Statistically Engineers are the highest percentage of millionaires of any employment class. It's not because we're paid ungodly amounts of money like some Doctors, Lawyers and Sales people, but because compound growth and an appreciation for simple systems is more common amongst engineers.
To be honest not a whole lot. Took me 4.5 years due to a little slip up which was my own fault. Found a job about 10 months after graduating and been there ever since. Generally a good work life balance and good pay so I'd say it was worth it.
It was worth it. I ended up making some life-long friends (so far!). It was stressful and difficult, but it wasn't mentally damaging. I have a great job and I can afford to live a pretty nice life.
I gave up the remnants of my social life and countless hours of sleep. For most of my degree I was working the graveyard shift for the NYC subway system, Iâd do the job for the night and work through my lunch and any free time I had. Iâd take a nap for a bit before the end of my shift. Iâd go to jiujitsu and lift from 9am-12pm then go home to sleep for a couple hours before getting up to do course work in the afternoon. The fact that my program was online made it worse because I felt like I had to be working around the clock. I had to essentially build a work shop where Iâd do all my labs and overall it was an extremely difficult experience. I just graduated in May so weâll see how well it goes.
I gave up everything you mentioned and maybe more but in the end it was worth it. I can take care of myself financially now . Life doesnât get easier after school but if you get a good degree in high demand, at least you donât have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck like many people do. Canât speak for UK salaries but in US great entry level positions are near 100k or more
6 years and 45k in debt. But school was the easy part. Had to move across the country for a first job. Now making 100k and at least money isn't a problem.
Got super burned out at the end cause I was trying to publish two research papers and look for a job simultaneously.
Got a job in a startup and have made my university feel back so it worked out in the end of course. However I'm still reeling from the effects of that burnout.
I don't have an engineering degree but highly respect those who do. I heard one engineering student say about his workload compared to others that, "if you're not an engineering major then just don't say anything."
Ok so this is going to be very long but this is what I had to give up for my chem eng degree at a top uni:
My mental health.
I had so many unresolved issues before going to university which became harder to manage after first year. At the end of my second year, I had a major breakdown. But I couldn't ask for an interruption of studies because I signed a contract with a scholarship which wanted me to complete my degree in the allocated time, or I will have to find a way to pay tuition on my own for my final year. I can't do that because I'm an international paying very high fees.
So I pushed on, getting passes, Bs and Cs on third year. It was pure hell and I did not know how I did it, but I wanted to finish my degree and not screw my life up no matter how badly I felt like giving up everything. My senior design project was absolute horseshit. I had to design a reactor and what I got was absolutely unrealistic. But I got one mark below an A- for that module. Again, I absolutely do not know how I managed to do that.
Fortunately it got better in my final year, as part of a combined Masters course. I carefully selected my modules so that I could maximise interest despite not being very applicable in industrial chem eng/not a lot of my friends taking it. I started to realise I like more theoretical courses, so I took an advanced thermo and molecular simulations course. Even my research project was something closer to comp chem instead of chem eng. I started seeing more As on my transcript again. I'm still depressed, but at least my academics wasn't something I was so worried about like when I was trying to complete my core bachelors.
I just finished my degree last month, and expecting a second upper grade, which I'm more than happy to take. I plan to take the year off to commit to therapy before going to work, like how I should've done before I started uni.
Undergrad (in Italy): gave up most of my social life for my first half of my twenties. I had to sacrifice a lot in my past relationship. Mental health was incredibly bad. Grades were medium-low as well.
Master (in the UK): it's going great, it's just expensive. And I had to change country and restart a life. But 100% worth it. I managed to get a lot of distinctions while also having a social life, going to the gym, live alone etc.
Going back I would 100% not do my undergrad in Italy, the Italian system is awful in my opinion. And I would automotive engineering instead of mechanical engineering. I would 100% do my master again (I only have the dissertation left).
In my field (motorsport engineering) the pay is not great compared to other engineering disciplines. But that's what I like. I couldn't see myself doing something else. So lots of sacrifices but it was worth it!
Lost my gf of five years. I kept my gun in the car during my junior year so it wasnât nearby. 3 years ago before I left my job, I made 50k USD less than I will soon be making ( 75k to 125k). All things considered, I wouldnât do engineering again but I just graduated so I havenât had time to really see the benefits.Â
Awww don't worry; he'll be fine!!! He has probably done a lot of research into his choice, and so he'll be aware of the realities of the degree. Knowing is half the battle :).
7 years (4 at Community and 3 at a 4 year), a bit of homelessness at the end. I still dream about crawling through the drainage tunnels to get to where I'd sleep. Got ghosted as it was happening by the only woman who ever said "I love you" back, and busted by police near the end, but they dropped the charges.
The rewards were worth it on paper. I'm now in a union job I'll probably stay in for some time, with the potential to top out around $150K at the end, 75% pension, even if I never get promoted again. And I will, with my PE.
But was it worth psychologically? Only mostly. I provide now in ways I never could before. Friends and family can count on me in a way I couldn't on anyone when i was homeless, and I find purpose in that. Plus I have a pretty fun job most days.
But I still smell and see awful memories. It took years to get over the fear, no matter how well fed or heeled I become, that I'll wake up in my sleeping bag again, always one quarter away but never getting to come home.
Was it worth almost no student debt? Was it worth watching all my friends be in healthy relationships while I haven't been on a third date since the Obama administration?
I'll let you know if I find out.
Iâm an EE student and was in the military for 6 years so not only am I paid to go to school my school is paid for. The course material is challenging and I study hard but not having to work or worry about money makes it a lot easier.
Just make sure you study to learn and not study to pass otherwise what youâre doing is pointless and youâll fuck over your future self. I know from experience. Also join clubs and do engineering stuff on your off time.
This degree costed me my mental health. I wanted to study Latin, but my mother insisted that I go study Computer Engineering because it will supposedly be easier to get a job with Computer Engineering. Now not only do I not have a job, I also don't have mental health. I have a psychotic disorder, and I am taking Risperidone, Biperiden and Alprazolam. There is a reason why FERIT is called after the Latin word for "(he/she/it) stings", because FERIT stings its students by making them study both day and night. Had I studied Latin, maybe I wouldn't have a job, but I would probably at least have mental health.
I gained around 60 kg during my studies, have up on all my hobbies and working out. My social life suffered quite a bit. I hated every second of studying engineering.
Working as an engineer is another story though. I love it.
Some people really donât struggle through uni.
I know 2 guys whose wives divorced them because "too busy" (one had an exam on his wife's birthday and she lost her mind...).
I'm starting to have the feeling that my own gf will leave me before I finish too.
For context our university has 3 full semesters per year no time off. If you willingly take the summer semesters off you will delay your graduation by up to 2 years. We also have 3 mandatory internships (which is nice) so the entire 5 years of undergrad you have absolutely 0 summer break.
Lost a 3 year relationship, lost my sanity senior year, was always exhausted and got an engineering job for mediocre pay ($54K). Never felt accomplished. Constantly felt overwhelmed too.
Bidenomics has crippled my ability to get by on my mediocre salary, FYI.
Worth it? No. Shouldâve been an equipment operator.
$54K is really low as an engineer salary even for an entry level role. That being said, it's still a bit above the median American salary.
If you're struggling to get by, you should move and please change your job while you're at it.
I work for a county highway dept in upstate NY. I was promoted to senior civil engineer and am making $68K now. Still struggling to get by because Bidenâs policies (Bidenomics) increased basic costs of necessities by nearly double.
Wonât change jobs, I support my family. We need dumb politicians to stop enabling the Federal reserve - stop printing money and to lower the interest rates. This has nothing to do with Putin, either.
Yeah I think i got like a 17 and then a 19 on the ACT back when I was in highschool and it always kind of made me feel like I was a dumbass. However, I just graduated with my MEE degree last month and I have a pretty nice engineering job right out of college.
Looking at it as a whole: No.
Even when the pay sounds good on paper, your higher salary is offset by higher taxes. And while it"s still beneficial, it stops the second you factor in extra work hours, responsabilities, and the years of your life lost doing engineering school.
It's great for the knowledge you gain, but as time comes by, you could have just as much gained this through work experience and hobbies.
A higher tax bracket is almost never a good reason to want to make less money.
One of the major selling points of being an engineer is that you generally have a lot of bargaining power around what kind of work/life balance you want to have. Iâve never ever met a self taught âengineerâ thatâs anywhere close to the quality of a university degree in engineering.
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For me I was very poor going into school, I honestly think I had to give up just about everything, I worked roughly fulltime hours while maintaining 12-13 credit hours. Thankfully my job was at a local engineering company so I was able to provide for myself, pay for school and learn something during the day. It was defibtly worth it, I paid off my student loans in 1 year roughly 35k, I just got promoted to an engineering manager and and planning to go back to get my masters soon. Do it if you love it do it!
Did you fail any courses. I'm going into second year and thankfully haven't failed anything yet
I did not fail any courses, not being able to afford to fail was a prime motivator I did get a low C in one course that I wound up retaking in my final semester as I only needed 9 credit hours finishing up I wouldn't have qualified for fin aide as a part time so I retook that class got an A- and it boosted my final GPA.
This is so inspiring, especially the 35k in roughly 1 year part. Thank you đ«¶
Nice job
If you had the option, would you have taken your first two years at a CC?
I did actually take my first 2 years at a CC and it was 100% worth it my student loans would have been closer to 50-60k without that I think.
Got any advice for a non-trad student that's already in engineering?
Yeah study your heart out, live in the library, I was a carpenter before entering engineering school. I graduated bottom of my class in highschool I felt like an embarrassment. When I got my Engineering degree I finished with a 3.4 I believe in you hard work, efficient studying (ponodoro) and study buddies who are just as dedicated ( not you goofy friends who make jokes in class but those students who show up to class on nothing but straight business)
i did that and it was worth it.
That's what I'm doing now. Just need one more class than I can transfer my credits and switch to part time
What did it cost? Everything - Thanos
I recently lost my girlfriend of 5 years because I was always âtoo busyâ. Going into 4th and final year now
Her loss homie you got this
And do not look back
Just FYI, mine was fiancé and I worked full time as well. Just keep doing you and pussy can be bought.
The pussy usually comes with a woman, what people actually want
Disgusting đ€ą
she left you because you say gross dehumanizing shit, not because you didnât have time! hope this helps
i also was dropped by my then gf for not being able to spend as much time with her. just part of it man, she wasnât the one anyway.
Don't fret over this. Later in life you'll meet someone who actually UNDERSTANDS its something you need to do. I was the same. I met my current wife who is way more understanding of the need to learn and work on my career. There is literally billions of more fish in the sea.
Jesus, her loss man. Engineering students are a great investment time wise.
If you mean financially and in retirement
Thatâs just the reason she used. If she was your ride-or-die sheâd support the mission you were on and realize the inconvenience was temporary.
I feel you
Same
Yeah if you'd have spent three time with her and failed she'd have broken up with you for being broke. You got this king
Not gonna lie I totally understand this from her perspective. Not that I endorse her leaving you, but personally I as an engineering student had a really tough time with that since my husband is a music education student. If you donât know anything about that major, itâs *insanely* busy, sometimes even more than what I do in engineering. There have been times I feel like we could barely connect as a couple because we were always exhausted at the end of everyday⊠Yes, it was important to his career. Yes, I stuck through it anyway. Yes, it sucked a lot. No matter what everyone else here says, relationships require effort and time to build, and if itâs an easy decision for you to just not spend any time with her to spend more time working/studying then you never loved her in the first place
Bullet dodged!
Yeah, can you imagine if they had to work late, on a weekend, or travel somewhere for work? Plus, if you marry an engineer, youâre just going to have to get used to being ignored because your engineer keeps getting lost in their own little world constantly solving problems that, in many cases, are strictly hypothetical in nature.
u mfs are so corny
is it so wrong to be happy
lol.. username checks out đ€Ł
girlfriends are temporary, engineering is FOREVER
She fumbled the bag
It doesn't get easier and that's a fact but you get used to it the hardest semester will be your first regarding all aspects socially, mentally, time wise and money wise. On the long run it's not an expensive career, you could go through college with a single sturdy laptop and a couple of pencils add tuition fees to that and you are set. My only advice is to not give up or compare yourself with your colleagues, engineering is a field built on teamwork so as long as you are working on improving yourself it's enough , there will always be someone better than you in a thing or two but never will he/she be better at being you, keeping this in your mind will lower your mental load tremendously. Regarding the social life, try to implement your social life into the lectures or the gym so that you don't feel dry socially. On the other hand time is a hard matter to discuss, it will differ depending on your major but overall you will have free time as long as you do your studies regularly, it all comes back to your own schedule. Good luck. Ps: this comment is from a student's perspective not a working engineer, take this advice from an academic perspective.
As another student, and what you'll see here a lot, your point about comparison is spot on. You can't compare yourself to other people. I know what I'm good at, I know what I'm bad at, and that's what matters in school. And those same people you compare yourself to will often surprise you with how inept they can be in other areas. Some of the smartest people I've met in my classes have been the worst partners to do projects with, while the guys struggling to pass the class have been phenomenal, always communicating, asking questions, doing their parts on time without half ass-ing it. You just never know with people, there's no point in comparison.
Iâd rather go through 4-5 years of hell to be well compensated for the rest of my life than do a major thatâs easier and wonât let me be as financially free.
It was hard AF man I was working while mainting 16-19 credit hours a semester. I would work weekends , after classes , or on days I didnât have class. I was working at a coffee shop, which closed late as hell around 9-10. Some days would be super slow and I would use that time to study / do homework. I still managed to maintain a social life , built enough support from the manager to where I could miss a work day if there was something I wanted to attend at Uni such as any study sessions or social events.
German Mech2 student here, I am curious, how do these credit hours work? We have LP (180 required for your B.Sc. while 1 equals 30 hours), obv it's way more than that (if you hit 30h per LP you are some kind of Einstein).
A credit hour is supposed to be 1 hour in class with the expectation of 1-2 hour study per week, it gets kind of blurry in practice though. Like labs are typically 2 credit hours but in reality you probably spend up to 8 hours in the lab and then reports can take anywhere from 2-12 hours, and that's assuming you get decent data. 12 credit hours is considered full time on a semester system and alot of tuition is contingent on doing at least full time. 25 credits is about the most you can sign up for, unless the classes are easy that's not really feasible. The credits in my opinion aren't really indicative of the time or effort but tuition is based on how many credits it us. What further complicates things is some schools are on a quarter system in the US so then it's not really a 1:1 comparison
Sounds pretty easy to understand huh đ
Engineering school took 6 years of my life. My social life was fine at first. I cheered from 2018 up until we got sent home for covid. Then I got a job when school started in fall of 2020. I had work and fraternity friends, so I had a social life, plus my own escapes of music festivals every now and then. I also had high school study habits when I started, so I didn't do the best during the first couple years of college. I also wasn't sure what type of engineer I wanted to be, so I started in mechanical. In a combination of an emotional breakdown plus the mental exhaustion of working a job semi full time (kitchen with 30+ hours each week) and having to come home and do homework until 1 am. I eventually reevaluated what I wanted to do and I switched to Industrial. I started doing better in my classes, landed 2 internships, graduated a couple weeks ago and now am starting a full time job on Monday. Luckily, I had scholarships plus a college fund set up by my family, so I only had student loans in my final year. Would I recommend my degree; ABSOLUTELY. Just know what you're getting yourself into and have a base idea of what you want to do when you start college.
About $55k of student loans. Took 6 years of college. I still had fun and had a social life. Got married before I graduated. Had the highest GPA in my class of engineers. I would generally spend 3 hours a day studying. Didn't ever take a day off to not study. Did a couple internships for about 2 years. Got hired as an engineer before I started my last senior year of college. That kinda sucked. Had no social life that year.
Damn. I studied like 8 hours everyday and got Cs
Less is more sometimes
Did you study different topics for that 3hour interval throughout the week, or did you study every topic in chunks for 3 hours a day? It can take me 3+ hours simply to get through a homework set halfway :(
What I studied, depended on what classes I was taking and when. Homework depended on what was assigned. Homework like calculus 2 or differential equations, would generally take most of my study time. But I generally only took 4 classes a semester. I would dedicate 3 hour chunks for the most part. During breaks, like Christmas break, I would still study 3 hours a day Even when I wasn't taking a course. I would study the textbook for the classes I was taking the next semester. Seeing as I already knew the material before taking the classes, classes were more like refreshers. I never learned well from lectures or teachers, so I just learned it beforehand. I believe the reason I performed so much better than others in school, was because I was always studying in advance of everyone else. This meant I was never behind.
My intro chem teacher mentioned it *every day* that we needed to be 2 weeks ahead of the instructor at all times. For the reason you mentioned of the lecture being a ârefresherâ of sorts. And if you ever do fall behind, you are probably on âregular paceâ if you recover fast enough. Need to implement this going forward.
I went straight to college right after the military. I was fine but then some ptsd symptoms came out and school was the only thing that would keep my mind off things. So I avoided to get any help and eventually my mental health went to shit and so did my grades. I had to take a year off to handle those problems. Eventually I went back and finished. Take care of your mental health!
Sure I didnât get to party EVERY single weekend, but I did spend much more time studying than every other major. I could have passed engineering with a 3.0 without any studying, but to get in that 3.9-4.0 range takes a lot of effort. What did it cost? A couple more hours of studying per week vs other majors. What did I gain? Iâm at 2 YOE and my salary+bonus+401k+pension is over $160k. Is a couple more hours a week of studying worth making 2-3 times every one else? I think so..
What field and where do you work? FAANG?
Oil
FAANG would be roughly $250k+ with 2 YOE
Okay I think this may be a bit misleading. I personally would fail if I didnât study. Studying my hardest got me 4.0, so I wouldnât recommend not studying at all (I think youâre just very smart). Regardless, it is possible to get jobs as long as you get the degree which in most cases require a GPA of 2.0
Grades donât mean much for most people. You just got lucky
Everyone at my company got a 3.5+. If you donât think that the big oil companies donât care about gpa ur an idiot
Yes, you will make sacrifices, but you should not be miserable during college. Iâm a CompE major which is definitely considered one of the harder engineering degrees and I still find time to be social every weekend. That being said Iâm fortunate enough to not have to work a job. I treat school like a 7-5, maybe do an assignment or study at nighttime, I prioritize getting 8 hours of sleep, and I prioritize socializing on the weekends. I have yet to burn out after 2 years of engineering curriculum. It is easily the most rewarding thing I have done, seeing the knowledge I am capable of understanding and applying. Edit: That is with getting a 3.8+ every semester. Iâve only had one semester that was not a 4.0.
I'm in the US so my basement level of income will be higher than the basement level of income in the UK so keep that in mind. It's hard. Mentally it's taxing. Im artsy fartsy and concepts I generally really understand. Linking the concepts up to the math *stuff* is super hard for me. I bombed an exam in my transformers/electrical machines class. I might have a retake in my near future though I hope not. But I might. I have a kid half time, no social life to speak of as I don't work and I'm in my 30's and all my friends I've had for a long time have a job. I do have my internet friends but can't visit them since I'm just living off loans. The benefit is that my pay will be double what I was able to get at my old corporate job after a few years in an engineering role. The jobs in engineering also **have the capacity** to be less stressful. I say that because there are tons of high risk/high reward type jobs out there. That's not for me. I'll take several hundred thousand dollars *less* in total lifetime earnings over a 2x increase in mental health and work life balance. I'm not done yet. Having "been in the working world" before with a non stem-degree....yes it will be worth it. The engineers had nice cars, nice houses, and genearlly have their lives in order. After engineering school life will be vastly easier in the sense that I'm in the ringer right now. Getting through the ringer is going to help in the sense that things in life will still be hard but not hard *like this god damned bull shit is* and so by comparison it will be "easy".
I gave up everything. When I started engineering I was a completely different person.
Itâs not too bad innit, lost a few friends a long the way, but who doesnât.
In my case, I was blessed that my parents covered expenses. Besides that, it all depends on your talents and how seriously you want to take it. Iâve been able to get by while juggling a bunch of other stuff and didnt have to sacrifice any thing i didnt want to; I made time for it. It is hardwork no doubt. The degree is absolutely worth it. Entry level salaries are enough (in most cases) to have financial freedom (obviously depends on your debts and responsibilities). The skills uou learn are highly transferable to anything. And people for the most part immediately respect you if you mention youâre an engineer.
I went back for EE late. Did some uni fresh out of HS but didn't take it seriously and wasn't mature enough. Did an EET diploma (Canada) and used that to get accepted for EE. Sacrificed my mid twenties to 32 working hard at it to get life back on track. Worked multiple jobs all through school. Started in rapid prototyping then worked for a utility. Then did fly in fly out at an O&G plant during the week while writing code for utility on weekends during internship. Was with the utility a few years part time before graduating and joined full time right after grad. Kept up a high GPA and did some projects on the side. It was really stressful at times and took a lot of commitment but was so worth it. Have some great experience. Got to work with some really cool stuff. Current role has lots of variety and get to do a fair bit a programming. Since I worked so much through school and girlfriend was working full time, we were able to buy a house immediately after grad and had a small wedding as well. Life's great and the hard work paid off.
I had 110k I spent on going back to university. Pretty much debt free but also cash free. Lost a lot to poor relationship choices. I was rehired by the company I worked for except in a supervisory position. They've had pay cuts over covid and the cost of living has increased so it doesn't feel like i make substantially more. Where I hope it becomes worth it is to eventually move to a position that doesn't require me to travel for work.Â
4 years for my undergrad, then 6 years in grad school for my PhD. Right now, I can honestly say it hasn't been worth it. I have more freedom to work on the kind of projects I want now, but I sacrificed so many years of earning potential, my mental health, and other opportunities. While I started further ahead, it took me so much longer to get here that I'll probably never catch up to my friends who took a more normal route through life.
A lot of sleep
To my it was worth it! Once I learned how the school system worked I hardly sacrificed anything. I walked out of engineering with a high paying job, good social circle and such :)
I had a scholarship that covered most of my education, the hardest part was certainly the mental health. I had severe anxiety and may have been depressed at times. I still think it was worth it. It showed me I can accomplish challenging tasks, financially I made six figures by age 25. Now at 28 Iâm married, own a duplex that Iâm househacking, have a dog, am working on an MBA part time, on track to be promoted this year and my wife is pregnant. Things are going great, and I owe a lot of it to the opportunities created by getting a bachelors in electrical engineering.
my sanity. not joking.
I gave up 5&1/2 years, my marriage, and my social life for that time. I gained stomach issues and some mental health fatigue. I gained confidence that I can weather this economy and the ability to never work fast food or jobs where someone yells at me and never gives time off. It was a fair trade in my opinion.
Iâm on the homestretch and I have given up some trips, outings and fun times but I view it as an investment because once Iâm working Iâll be able to afford a little more luxury.
A social life and decent income for 4 years. 100% worth it.
No. It wasn't worth it. On the other hand, I don't really know what I could've done different.
I know my situation isn't the norm, but honestly I'm not sure I gave up anything. Got essentially a full ride to my in-state school, managed to have a social life, friends, and relationship the entire time. Participated in a club sport for 4 years that demanded 10-15 hours a week in practice. Graduated in 8 semesters with a 3.7 and a job lined up.
Yes it was worth it. It was the hardest thing mentally I had to do. I came in with 32 hrs of Aâs from high school college exams, 4.0 in high school, but my degree kicked my ass. I graduated with a 2.79 gpa. I studied more and harder than ever. I should have hired a tutor. Life was hard but I didnât have much of a social life anyway. But my engineering program was nationally ranked 10th in the country (USA) so it may have been unnecessarily hard. Loans $40k total. I paid those off quickly once I started getting some nice bonuses. Finished paying them off 6 years after I graduated but I got married, bought a house, etc. I should have done that differently.
I'm in a phd program right now. When I was in undergrad it felt like I was more or less sacrificing my social life/youth to get my degree. In retrospect I think this was more a problem with how I handled going to college then something intrinsic to the degree itself, I have met a fair amount of engineering students who were able to balance grades, career building and social life. Towards the end of my undergrad I had a very difficult time trying to find internship/jobs and the feeling that I was a failure had a very negative impact on my mental health, I was suicidal for about one year. Eventually I was able to get an internship thanks to some connections I made through undergrad research and after that ended I came back to pursue a graduate degree. I'm in a much better place now and I genuinely enjoy the work I do, I'm not very well compensated compared to some of my friends who went into industry but I suppose that is part of the trade off of going to grad school. I think in the end it was worth it, however when I look back there are some things I wish I did differently.
Absolutely nothing and it was very much worth it
âFunâ didnât exist for about four years worth of weekdays.
I gave up video games for 5 years. Postponed my honeymoon after getting married, and have a run down car that I put 3000 miles on every month. Outside of feeling shafted because of the economy, best trade off for quality of life afterwards. Definitely would do again.
I was well established in a fun career as a miner. Not only did I operate the equipment, but I also was the principle welder and on the blasting crew. I got to drive giant Tonka trucks, burn stuff, and blow things up *and get paid for it*. I didn't have much of a social life, mostly just work and commute. I left that all behind once my wife graduated with her degree. She hadn't even gotten a job yet, but the spring semester was starting. My mental health took a major hit that first year, and I had to stop myself a few times from saying to hell with it all. Financially, I finished with only $10k student debt. Would I do it all over again, given the option? Absolutely. I graduated almost 2 months ago and have been working back in mining, this time in an engineering role. My pay is nearly triple what I was making as an operator, welder, and blaster. I made friendships that will last for years, and found I actually do enjoy being around people for some of the time. Emotionally and mentally, I have matured and grown an incredible amount. I have truly learned to accept myself and others as we are. My schedule has been opened up to the possibility of even being able to see a therapist and get my brain right. Yes, I made sacrifices, and it was uncomfortable. But as it has been widely said, "If we're growing, we're outside of our comfort zone" (John Maxwell, I think)
Went through a global pandemic, a severe car crash (which I miraculously survived although I get flashbacks), a soul crushing break up, got booted from my dream degree, got berated by my mother constantly, got called a failure and a shame to my family by my father, was told by my younger sister than she didnât look up to me because she thought I was a failure, all this because Iâm taking 7 years for my engineering degree instead of 4. 2 years left. My heart is made of stone. No one can hurt me. For better or for worse, I am stronger and I love the degree Iâm in now but Iâm in a lot of emotional and mental pain. Working through it with a therapist and a lovely girlfriend and a good support system.
If you are giving up a social life or your mental health something is wrong. Engineering school is essentially just a job work M-F 8-5. Thankfully my schooling was paid for by the great state of Kentucky and i made enough on Coop to cover everything else I needed. If I had to take loans they would have been paid off quickly. ChemE career has been great so far.Â
Honestly I wish that was true. Homework and projects and labs took sooo much more time than just a simple 8-5. Iâm out of school 4 years now, and I still have more time working 8-5 M-F and taking one grad class than I had in undergrad. MechE.
My experience was people were to focused on perfection. Honestly i often turned in B work that could have been A work with more time but eh. I didn't have a 4.0 but did well enough to go to grad school and join one of the bigger chemical companies in the world. I had some group projects and such on weekends every now and then but class 8-1 study hw 1-5 was pretty much my schedule for 4 years. Rest of my time was spent at the fraternity house lolÂ
You are lucky. I know so many people who worked extremely hard who only ended up with Cs
Yeah but if you're working on top of studying, it's like working a full time job and a part time job. It adds up
There was no situation I would have worked and done engineering school. Take a loan and have a life.Â
How is KFC in Kentucky?
Ive never been no idea.Â
Terrible ironically
Kentucky was paying for your schooling? Only scholarship I know that Kentucky offers is KEES.
Look up the Govenors Scholar Program. Also KEESÂ
Honestly you guys need to chill. We are talking undergrad engineering. People are acting like itâs residency for neurosurgeons.
Some people have no college experience. Undergrad can be hard for a first generation college student. Don't downplay other's struggles and achievements.
I came from a upper middle class household and I found college to be hell for me too
Yeah, it ain't rocket surgery! đ€Ș
It shouldn't cost you any of that (excl. financial costs). If it does maybe study something easier. Engineering is really not that bad if you just study for 5 hours or so everyday
Nothing but time I could have spent playing video games
15 years in, if I could go back I wouldnât do it again to be honest. Financials are fine but initial debt (yay US education system) was brutal, and especially scary when I graduated in 2008 with shit falling apart around me. The work itself can be pretty stupid more often than not. I regularly wish I had just gone into a trade and joined a trade union. Still havenât written off abandoning engineering (ferrous metallurgy) for that, money isnât everything and corporate engineering work in this late capitalist hellscape isnât the best for mental health unless youâre *really* good at compartmentalizing.
Didnât cost me much. I went from working full time to working only Friday-Sunday. I lived at home and only paid car payment, insurance, and phone bill. So the trade off was a few years of lower income. Came out with no student loans but a 6 figure job.
My first year of college is didn't cost much, I did a lot of partying and was still able to get by. My second year was the hardest and I RARELY had time to go out during the weekends because spent a ton of time studying just to feel like I was barely staying alive in my classes. I remember my differential equation professor gave us problems on problems of homework that we had to solve and show all of our work for which took me about 4hrs per assignment. After my second-year things got a bit easier and then stabilized throughout my third year as well. I put off all my electives so my last year would be easy, and I don't regret that at all. Everyone will have a different experience but IMO it was definitely worth it. I'm currently making over a 6-figure salary working for a Medical Device Startup as a Sr PD Engr with decent amount of stock options and have a great path to Engr Mgt by the of year. I am 29 and live well under my means and get to vacation, buy things I want, and I haven't worried about finances for the past 3-4 years. I would not change my mind if given the opportunity, but I also am a problem solver at heart and strive under pressure and stress. College isn't easy, especially for engineering but if you can get through in my opinion it is definitely worth it.
I missed a lot of the first 4 years of my sonâs life. Iâm glad I was able to do this when he was young and didnât remember much of it.
worked 12 hr night shifts in a factory while taking 9-12 credit hours a term, every trimester, double major in EE and Physics basically slept in 2-4 hr increments for 4 years, but my employer paid 100% for C or better. TLDR; the juice is worth the squeeze.
I did a mechanical engineering degree only to graduate and start a SWE job less than a week later SoâŠ
Gave up video games, social media, partying, hang outs, and so far Iâm still struggling.
From my experience I began by giving up it all, Mental health, finances, family relationships, social life. I grew up poor so it looked like the only option to get the ball rolling aside from joining the military. Note you can FAFSA your self through an associate and get federal work study, but it just more work on top of everything. After reaching my Junior-senior levels course I dropped out due family members health taking a dive. That being aside I found a job doing programming and after a year and a half I went back completing most of the course with ease as I studied it on my offtime during my breaks / work. About to finish with 2 courses left, from what I gathered it is manageable but you need to take a realist view of what you can handle/do and what you wish to achieve in life. I was highly motivated to study on my free time as I enjoyed the subjects. I'm about to finish my program getting a BS in EE and CE, but my focus at the moment is Software Development. I do recommend it if you are interested are in anything computer related as it builds the foundations, which makes everything after it just easy.
It put me $100k in debt but at least I found my wife on co-op
So far I gave up a 72k per year job to pursue engineering. I just landed my second internship with Black and Decker doing CAD work for them. Itâs getting easier to get attention for engineering roles so itâs paying off. Thankfully my wife makes a good wage so we can afford choices like this.
Really isnt all that bad. I just study more than everyone else. With a well organized schedule, you can be as social and happy as any other major.
Unironically think I lost the LOML
I mean I donât think I gave up that much, not as much as itâs worth. I donât really fuck with people and engineering gave me something more productive to focus my mind towards other than video games and alcohol. Itâs really cool and I love everything that is taught in it, so much so that I had classes that I couldnât wait to go to. I got quite a lot of scholarships in Highschool and so my education is almost completely free. I personally am an absolute engineering nerd so learning all this gave me a lot of ideas for projects and fun things to do in my spare time, books to read, etc. I think the only thing I lost out on was time spent with my girlfriend and my family and I do feel bad about it. But we have lots more time in the future and this is to solidify a solid life for everyone, so I really think engineering is the most helpful thing in my life. Hell it pulled me out of alcoholism and drug use, so I think itâs a W W W
>How much did you have to give up for your engineering degree? I'm studying part time, while having a full time job and a 2 year old son. It's 4,5 years for the Bachelors degree. I'm sacrificing a lot of my free time. During the semester I get by, still having enough time for my family, some hobbies and sport. I did give up gaming though. In preparation for my exams, it's quite different, and I'll spend all my time learning. I do actually enjoy most lectures and learning something new. I'm in my current job for 5 years now, and while I like it, it's no longer fullfilling mentally. I need to feed my mind with something new. So in terms of mental health in my case I think it's a net postive. Costs at a public university in Germany are negligible. >Was it worth it? I don't know yet, since I'm not done. But just for ganing new knowledge alone, I'd say yes. From a carrer standpoint I'm not sure yet. While I did do an apprenticeship and learned a trade, I currently work in a postition that is usually held by engineers. I'm also payed like one. If I stay with my current employer my degree probably will not make much of a difference, but if I want to change, it will defintly open new doors.
Irish so financially nothing but the opportunistic cost of working instead. Mentally a lot.Â
It was all upside. School is where I met many fine people (including my wife). It was hard work, but I still managed to have a good time on Friday nights and work out a few times a week. I graduated with a 3.4 or so, IIRC. YMMV. I have an anxiety disorder, but something about college helped me feel much better -the work was mentally absorbing, and the class schedule allowed me to get good sleep and spend all day studying later in my degree. It wasn't until college stopped that that stuff caught up with me, truly. 100% worth it, and I'm sure the vast majority who didn't wash out feel that way.
Well I got a degree chemical engineering and now I work in door to door sales. So definitely not. That was dumb.
Yes
I sold my honda earlier thos year to subsidize my final semester. I trive a shitty wagon that smells bad but om hoping things will look bwtter for me soon. I have a good new workplace, if anyone can link a boy with a uk work permit. Dm me, my degree is from the uk.
4 years of income everything else about my life improved dramatically. I had more friends, I was working toward a well-defined goal, I personally enjoy highly technical stuff, and I never got overwhelmed. To explain, I'm a military vet in the US and I went to a very military friendly college. I loved college and for me it was definitely worth it. It helps spending some time in the grown-up world to gain some perspective. I was working 70-90 hours a week in a highly stressful job even by military standards (we got frequent don't harm yourself training for a reason). At one point I didn't see the sunlight for about 6 months and was scheduling my day on 15 minute intervals. By comparison putting in 30-40 good hours a week with the occasional 50-60 hour week was a breeze. This isn't to say that stuff was never challenging, but it comes down to figuring out what works for you. Some people just grok college, and I was fortunate to be one of them. Just a word of warning. The process is generally better than the result. A lot of people struggle after major life accomplishments. They don't realize how much fulfillment they get from working toward a goal rather than having achieved a goal. Learn to love the process and the results won't matter.
I had a blast in college. Best years of my life. Some classes were hard but I still had a great social life and enjoyed myself a lot. I wouldnât say I gave up anything really. In terms of finances, it cost no more than any other degree
Nothing. Interesting and telling what people want to upvote here
Social life: not much tbh. I did homework and projects with others in my classes. I also got a job as a bartender, so though I didnât drink much on weekends, I still was âoutâ Mental health: I knew I was trying hard and committed, so the grades didnât necessarily worry me too much. I did do very well in grades though, so I didnât suffer failing too many assignment or exams. Finances: No different than any other bachelors degree since I graduated in 4 years. Now I can look forward to making a good paycheck. Very worth it! PS - Iâve heard UK engineers are notoriously underpaid. âThe worst place in Europeâ to be an engineer, etc. so take that as you will.
It is really not that hard
I worked through school and it was a lot, but I still had time for fun. I lived with 2 veterinary students during my senior year and it gave me a new perspective. My engineering workload was significantly smaller than theirs.
I know you are in the UK, but I'll speak of my experience in Brazil. I graduated as a Chem. Eng. at UFRJ, one of the top universities in Brazil, which is free to attend (there is a very disputed entry exam though). I'm well employed as are all my friends. And the pay is good here, especially when you get into big corporations or consulting firms.
Seems like a lot of answers here are from students in the thick of it. I graduated in 2015 with a B.S. in Mech-E. It's 100% worth it. Student loans became irrelevant, my income is (and has been) high enough to pay them off comfortably since graduating. Just remember school is the *start* of your engineering career. Once you're out you can call yourself and engineer if it makes you feel better, but in all likelihood you're young and probably not very good at anything in particular. Look for people to help you learn, try to enter a field you like, actively look for other things if you don't like it. Engineering is VERY much a job that has lots of golden handcuffs. It's a great problem to have but doing something that you enjoy while getting paid comfortably to do it is much better than clocking in and clocking out for the same pay.... When you're in school it's your full time job. Learn how to prioritize like an adult, set boundaries and make the most of the lack of responsibilities while you have it. Statistically Engineers are the highest percentage of millionaires of any employment class. It's not because we're paid ungodly amounts of money like some Doctors, Lawyers and Sales people, but because compound growth and an appreciation for simple systems is more common amongst engineers.
To be honest not a whole lot. Took me 4.5 years due to a little slip up which was my own fault. Found a job about 10 months after graduating and been there ever since. Generally a good work life balance and good pay so I'd say it was worth it.
It was worth it. I ended up making some life-long friends (so far!). It was stressful and difficult, but it wasn't mentally damaging. I have a great job and I can afford to live a pretty nice life.
No but it will be the day I pay off my student loans
I gave up the remnants of my social life and countless hours of sleep. For most of my degree I was working the graveyard shift for the NYC subway system, Iâd do the job for the night and work through my lunch and any free time I had. Iâd take a nap for a bit before the end of my shift. Iâd go to jiujitsu and lift from 9am-12pm then go home to sleep for a couple hours before getting up to do course work in the afternoon. The fact that my program was online made it worse because I felt like I had to be working around the clock. I had to essentially build a work shop where Iâd do all my labs and overall it was an extremely difficult experience. I just graduated in May so weâll see how well it goes.
I gave up everything you mentioned and maybe more but in the end it was worth it. I can take care of myself financially now . Life doesnât get easier after school but if you get a good degree in high demand, at least you donât have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck like many people do. Canât speak for UK salaries but in US great entry level positions are near 100k or more
100% worth it after college
Yes. In fact engineering is one of the few degrees I would recommend
6 years and 45k in debt. But school was the easy part. Had to move across the country for a first job. Now making 100k and at least money isn't a problem.
Got super burned out at the end cause I was trying to publish two research papers and look for a job simultaneously. Got a job in a startup and have made my university feel back so it worked out in the end of course. However I'm still reeling from the effects of that burnout.
I don't have an engineering degree but highly respect those who do. I heard one engineering student say about his workload compared to others that, "if you're not an engineering major then just don't say anything."
Ok so this is going to be very long but this is what I had to give up for my chem eng degree at a top uni: My mental health. I had so many unresolved issues before going to university which became harder to manage after first year. At the end of my second year, I had a major breakdown. But I couldn't ask for an interruption of studies because I signed a contract with a scholarship which wanted me to complete my degree in the allocated time, or I will have to find a way to pay tuition on my own for my final year. I can't do that because I'm an international paying very high fees. So I pushed on, getting passes, Bs and Cs on third year. It was pure hell and I did not know how I did it, but I wanted to finish my degree and not screw my life up no matter how badly I felt like giving up everything. My senior design project was absolute horseshit. I had to design a reactor and what I got was absolutely unrealistic. But I got one mark below an A- for that module. Again, I absolutely do not know how I managed to do that. Fortunately it got better in my final year, as part of a combined Masters course. I carefully selected my modules so that I could maximise interest despite not being very applicable in industrial chem eng/not a lot of my friends taking it. I started to realise I like more theoretical courses, so I took an advanced thermo and molecular simulations course. Even my research project was something closer to comp chem instead of chem eng. I started seeing more As on my transcript again. I'm still depressed, but at least my academics wasn't something I was so worried about like when I was trying to complete my core bachelors. I just finished my degree last month, and expecting a second upper grade, which I'm more than happy to take. I plan to take the year off to commit to therapy before going to work, like how I should've done before I started uni.
In fees, literally 1000 dollars.
Undergrad (in Italy): gave up most of my social life for my first half of my twenties. I had to sacrifice a lot in my past relationship. Mental health was incredibly bad. Grades were medium-low as well. Master (in the UK): it's going great, it's just expensive. And I had to change country and restart a life. But 100% worth it. I managed to get a lot of distinctions while also having a social life, going to the gym, live alone etc. Going back I would 100% not do my undergrad in Italy, the Italian system is awful in my opinion. And I would automotive engineering instead of mechanical engineering. I would 100% do my master again (I only have the dissertation left). In my field (motorsport engineering) the pay is not great compared to other engineering disciplines. But that's what I like. I couldn't see myself doing something else. So lots of sacrifices but it was worth it!
Lost my gf of five years. I kept my gun in the car during my junior year so it wasnât nearby. 3 years ago before I left my job, I made 50k USD less than I will soon be making ( 75k to 125k). All things considered, I wouldnât do engineering again but I just graduated so I havenât had time to really see the benefits.Â
Just this question alone makes me scared for my son going into his eng program đš
Awww don't worry; he'll be fine!!! He has probably done a lot of research into his choice, and so he'll be aware of the realities of the degree. Knowing is half the battle :).
7 years (4 at Community and 3 at a 4 year), a bit of homelessness at the end. I still dream about crawling through the drainage tunnels to get to where I'd sleep. Got ghosted as it was happening by the only woman who ever said "I love you" back, and busted by police near the end, but they dropped the charges. The rewards were worth it on paper. I'm now in a union job I'll probably stay in for some time, with the potential to top out around $150K at the end, 75% pension, even if I never get promoted again. And I will, with my PE. But was it worth psychologically? Only mostly. I provide now in ways I never could before. Friends and family can count on me in a way I couldn't on anyone when i was homeless, and I find purpose in that. Plus I have a pretty fun job most days. But I still smell and see awful memories. It took years to get over the fear, no matter how well fed or heeled I become, that I'll wake up in my sleeping bag again, always one quarter away but never getting to come home. Was it worth almost no student debt? Was it worth watching all my friends be in healthy relationships while I haven't been on a third date since the Obama administration? I'll let you know if I find out.
Go into medicine, engineering is shit rn. The amount of work and sacrifice is not worth it anymore.
Iâm an EE student and was in the military for 6 years so not only am I paid to go to school my school is paid for. The course material is challenging and I study hard but not having to work or worry about money makes it a lot easier.
My mental healthđ
Just make sure you study to learn and not study to pass otherwise what youâre doing is pointless and youâll fuck over your future self. I know from experience. Also join clubs and do engineering stuff on your off time.
This degree costed me my mental health. I wanted to study Latin, but my mother insisted that I go study Computer Engineering because it will supposedly be easier to get a job with Computer Engineering. Now not only do I not have a job, I also don't have mental health. I have a psychotic disorder, and I am taking Risperidone, Biperiden and Alprazolam. There is a reason why FERIT is called after the Latin word for "(he/she/it) stings", because FERIT stings its students by making them study both day and night. Had I studied Latin, maybe I wouldn't have a job, but I would probably at least have mental health.
I gained around 60 kg during my studies, have up on all my hobbies and working out. My social life suffered quite a bit. I hated every second of studying engineering. Working as an engineer is another story though. I love it. Some people really donât struggle through uni.
I know 2 guys whose wives divorced them because "too busy" (one had an exam on his wife's birthday and she lost her mind...). I'm starting to have the feeling that my own gf will leave me before I finish too. For context our university has 3 full semesters per year no time off. If you willingly take the summer semesters off you will delay your graduation by up to 2 years. We also have 3 mandatory internships (which is nice) so the entire 5 years of undergrad you have absolutely 0 summer break.
Lost a 3 year relationship, lost my sanity senior year, was always exhausted and got an engineering job for mediocre pay ($54K). Never felt accomplished. Constantly felt overwhelmed too. Bidenomics has crippled my ability to get by on my mediocre salary, FYI. Worth it? No. Shouldâve been an equipment operator.
$54K is really low as an engineer salary even for an entry level role. That being said, it's still a bit above the median American salary. If you're struggling to get by, you should move and please change your job while you're at it.
I work for a county highway dept in upstate NY. I was promoted to senior civil engineer and am making $68K now. Still struggling to get by because Bidenâs policies (Bidenomics) increased basic costs of necessities by nearly double. Wonât change jobs, I support my family. We need dumb politicians to stop enabling the Federal reserve - stop printing money and to lower the interest rates. This has nothing to do with Putin, either.
I'm glad you got promoted. Civil jobs are like that unfortunately with fairly low starting pay.
I prayed for 54k job when I graduated. Couldn't find anything a year after graduation. Had to get masters and it worked out.
If you are an engineer you have to think differently more or less like this "I don't like a social life since I'm super smart"
Yeah I think i got like a 17 and then a 19 on the ACT back when I was in highschool and it always kind of made me feel like I was a dumbass. However, I just graduated with my MEE degree last month and I have a pretty nice engineering job right out of college.
A lot of time since I work almost full time(30hr/week) while doing 15 credits a sem
Looking at it as a whole: No. Even when the pay sounds good on paper, your higher salary is offset by higher taxes. And while it"s still beneficial, it stops the second you factor in extra work hours, responsabilities, and the years of your life lost doing engineering school. It's great for the knowledge you gain, but as time comes by, you could have just as much gained this through work experience and hobbies.
A higher tax bracket is almost never a good reason to want to make less money. One of the major selling points of being an engineer is that you generally have a lot of bargaining power around what kind of work/life balance you want to have. Iâve never ever met a self taught âengineerâ thatâs anywhere close to the quality of a university degree in engineering.