In need of some life advice...

[NEOe30]

Thank you all,
I am really surprised by the amount of feedback I have received. I will continue to read this thread and reply to everyone who offers a word of advice. Even though I don't know any of you personally, I appreciate all of the responses. I think this is a great example of how the R3v community comes together.
Thanks again,
Neo

[rturbo 930]

I'm a firm believer in hands on experience vs. learning about it through books at school

Shame apprenticeships aren't a thing anymore, especially for those of us who aren't suited for a classroom environment.

[Johnnyboy101]

I too started out in ME thinking - hey I like cars and other mechanical things, I'll love being an ME. For me at least, I wasn't mature enough at 18 to decide what it is I wanted to do for the next 30+ years. I bounced out after 2 years with student loans, went to a community college and a took a wide range of classes to see what fit best. Ended up graduating with a degree in history. I still enjoy wrenching on cars, and I'm much happier knowing that I didn't waste tens (or more) thousands of dollars on a degree that wasn't a fit for me.

As an aside, even with a history degree, I've been employed in the logistics/supply chain world for the past 8 years. More than anything, most jobs are looking at that degree as proof you can complete something, not necessarily what your grades were. A great work ethic and networking will get you much further than the grades.

[Stanley Rockafella]

After the stress and aggravation of replacing a CV axel on my older bro's 80 Civic after school one day when I was 18, I was done with mechanics as a career. Especially others' cars.

Before that I really thought I'd end up being a diesel mechanic (awesome money). But after a few exhaustive days working on school projects in highschool, I knew it wasn't for me(rebuilding a Chrysler 360, as well as rebuilding an auto transmission). Sure I love working on aesthetic, cosmetic and electronics, but the physical demands on my body indicated I needed to start thinking of an alternate plan!

[rtaq]

Senior chemical engineering student here.

First thing I would say is if your school has a Formula SAE, Baja team, or something similar, join that. You get have to some practical experience and see if you actually enjoy the actual technical aspect to some degree.

Also, you can make a near six figures being on a vocational track. It can be tough work, but it's definitely hands-on and can be very satisfying. No shame in that.

If I were you, I would go all out one more semester and see what happens.
It looks like you decided to become an engineer because you like cars. But one doesn't get engineer a whole car. You get to design and optimize one specific mundane part like a door clip or just work in a plant making sure everything is running smoothly. Do some more research on a career path. Shadow people. Find out if engineering is really what you think it is. If it is, well, you stick it out, get some internships, and do your thing. A lot kids with who suck at engineering in school are successful because the classroom and a real job are two different things.

[NEOe30]

After the stress and aggravation of replacing a CV axel on my older bro's 80 Civic after school one day when I was 18, I was done with mechanics as a career. Especially others' cars.

Before that I really thought I'd end up being a diesel mechanic (awesome money). But after a few exhaustive days working on school projects in highschool, I knew it wasn't for me(rebuilding a Chrysler 360, as well as rebuilding an auto transmission). Sure I love working on aesthetic, cosmetic and electronics, but the physical demands on my body indicated I needed to start thinking of an alternate plan!

Thanks for the input,
It seems as if we may be opposites. I'm currently almost 19 and I take pride in the fact that I've put together an m50 turbo kit all on my own, mocking up, piecing together, and even installing and tuning an MS3x with a little help from a forum member, with the exception of the downpipe (can't weld yet but I want to learn). I ended up having bad compression and overheating, I expected a headgasket but i ended up melting a piston, so I'm going to replace the block on my own as well. To be honest, I love every minute of it. I find myself in the garage at 3am working on something until it's fixed, but maybe that's me.It goes without saying that I do need a day of rest afterwards though. I understand that the DIY is not for everyone.

[NEOe30]

Senior chemical engineering student here.

First thing I would say is if your school has a Formula SAE, Baja team, or something similar, join that. You get have to some practical experience and see if you actually enjoy the actual technical aspect to some degree.

Also, you can make a near six figures being on a vocational track. It can be tough work, but it's definitely hands-on and can be very satisfying. No shame in that.

If I were you, I would go all out one more semester and see what happens.
It looks like you decided to become an engineer because you like cars. But one doesn't get engineer a whole car. You get to design and optimize one specific mundane part like a door clip or just work in a plant making sure everything is running smoothly. Do some more research on a career path. Shadow people. Find out if engineering is really what you think it is. If it is, well, you stick it out, get some internships, and do your thing. A lot kids with who suck at engineering in school are successful because the classroom and a real job are two different things.

Thank you,
I do plan on finishing the semester and seeing where I stand no matter what I may decide to do, I don't believe in quitting half way. I also understand that a mechanical engineering job may leave me at a desk a lot of the time doing design work for single aspects of an automotive system. I have shadowed people at a fortune 500 oil additive corp where my step dad works (Chem engineer and now a diesel specialist) and I can tell that they are all passionate about their jobs and share an interest in cars as I do, but after spending a few hours going over their day-to-day I'm not positive that I have a lot of interest in it. Thanks for your reply.

[mrsleeve]

Learn how to weld, and weld good. Learn how to make a weld that will pass n.d.e. 99 times out of a 100, regardless of poor fit up or positioning. Learn how to read prints and how to build fabrication of things that matter, not truck beds, bumpers or put hitches in shit.

Things that are put into deadly service, like nuke plant/powerhouse/close proximity high pressure/high stress things close to human life and activity. Learn these things be highly proficient, and professional and you can earn more than most of the "engineers" drawing up your prints. But the flip.side is you will have a long and shit work filled apprenticeship to get there. College is not nessaeirly the best route for everyone, many of us are better suited to hands on type jobs

[ELVA164]

Without getting too verbose...

I got a full ride to RIT for ME, which I decided on because I love making and fixing things, and solving problems. Cars were one aspect of that, but I also designed part of my high school campus and had just as much fun with that.

Once I got to RIT I found the workload pretty shocking but the thing that made me nervous was the result of conversations with my professors: many of them said my chances of getting a hands-on job were around 20%, and those odds just weren't good enough for five years of hard work. At that point, I left there and got a teaching degree, thinking I needed a degree to have a stable job.

Now I'm taking over the family business and really enjoying it. It's hugely physical and all the onus is on me if anything is to get done, but it scratches all those itches I had when I applied to RIT. If I could do it over, I would have taken trade classes and skipped the degree.

That said, I'd only recommend that route if you're all in for it. You can do really well in a trade but you have to dedicate yourself to really mastering it.

As others have said, do some real soul searching and research multiple possible options. Full disclosure: I spend full days working on the race cars, so the E30 is not as much of a desire to tinker with now. Partly because it's mostly done, but I don't want to burn myself out with cars either. I'd be happy to chat if it would help.

[flyboyx]

when you say the class work is kicking your ass, what do you think is the reason?

you sound like you have at least an average level of intelligence.

do you think it could be a lack of comprehending what you read in your books?

could it be a difficulty of focusing your attention?

perhaps you haven't learned good study habits?

how about a lack of interest in the material causing all of the above?

getting grades like you mention is extremely discouraging. my line of thinking here is if your grades were in the mid 80's would we be having this conversation? one of the main reasons students are unsuccessful is because of an inability to foster good study habits/focus.

assuming this is the problem, do you think you would want to stick with this line of schooling if you could improve this?


i graduated #2 in my high school class. i found it really easy and almost never studied for anything and almost never had homework. i just paid attention in class, and did my assignments as the teacher was talking or finished them up while i was waiting for class to start.

college was a completely different story. my first semester of work rewarded me with a 2.7 grade point average of just pre requisite classes. i found out pretty quickly that my high school study habits weren't going to cut it by a long shot.

[mbonanni]

In need of some life advice...

I might have missed this, but I'm curious, what classes are you taking as a first semester ME? I went to community college for two years before I transferred in to a state school, and I didn't see any engineering related classes till my third year of college. Maybe you need to take more general classes and broaden your ideas of what you want in life before jumping in? Chem, history, bio, coms, econ etc Have you considered any other degrees? Like you I chose ME because I love cars, but I was also part of a competitive Robotics team throughout high school so I was able to get a taste of what engineering was like before I went off to school.

Grades are not everything. I think a big misconception about college is that you need a 3.0+ to graduate and get a good job. I had semesters with GPA above 3.5+ where I made the Deans list, and semesters I got a 1.4 or lower. Did you ask around in your class, or the professor, to see what the average test grades were? Sometimes a 64% is actually B because of the way classes are curved. Don't let a few bad grades discourage you, instead use them as motivators to improve next time.

I for one am a huge advocate of going to college, no matter the degree. In my opinion; If you get involved on campus the life skills, experiences, friends, connections/networks you can build during your 3-5 years at college outweigh your degree or any trade job you'll go through. I'm a sub par ME, and to be honest probably shouldn't even be in this degree considering I probably wont go on to be an engineer, but ever since I got involved with sports clubs, engineering clubs, greek life etc it's opened up a lot of doors. Surround yourself with people who make you happy, get involved on campus, and explore more classes.

[NEOe30]

I might have missed this, but I'm curious, what classes are you taking as a first semester ME? I went to community college for two years before I transferred in to a state school, and I didn't see any engineering related classes till my third year of college. Maybe you need to take more general classes and broaden your ideas of what you want in life before jumping in? Chem, history, bio, coms, econ etc Have you considered any other degrees? Like you I chose ME because I love cars, but I was also part of a competitive Robotics team throughout high school so I was able to get a taste of what engineering was like before I went off to school.

Grades are not everything. I think a big misconception about college is that you need a 3.0+ to graduate and get a good job. I had semesters with GPA above 3.5+ where I made the Deans list, and semesters I got a 1.4 or lower. Did you ask around in your class, or the professor, to see what the average test grades were? Sometimes a 64% is actually B because of the way classes are curved. Don't let a few bad grades discourage you, instead use them as motivators to improve next time.

I for one am a huge advocate of going to college, no matter the degree. In my opinion; If you get involved on campus the life skills, experiences, friends, connections/networks you can build during your 3-5 years at college outweigh your degree or any trade job you'll go through. I'm a sub par ME, and to be honest probably shouldn't even be in this degree considering I probably wont go on to be an engineer, but ever since I got involved with sports clubs, engineering clubs, greek life etc it's opened up a lot of doors. Surround yourself with people who make you happy, get involved on campus, and explore more classes.

You didn't miss anything, no worries.
I'm currently taking pre-calc along with advanced placement "Chem 1", a learning community, a peer led study for chem, and an intro to engineering class.

My chem and pre-calc are destroying me. Pre-calc not as much, I currently have a borderline C, but I'm well below failing my chem class. Asking around about a curve is a good idea, however my math grade already has a bump to it and I know there's no final curve.

[NEOe30]

when you say the class work is kicking your ass, what do you think is the reason?

you sound like you have at least an average level of intelligence.

do you think it could be a lack of comprehending what you read in your books?

could it be a difficulty of focusing your attention?

perhaps you haven't learned good study habits?

how about a lack of interest in the material causing all of the above?

getting grades like you mention is extremely discouraging. my line of thinking here is if your grades were in the mid 80's would we be having this conversation? one of the main reasons students are unsuccessful is because of an inability to foster good study habits/focus.

assuming this is the problem, do you think you would want to stick with this line of schooling if you could improve this?


i graduated #2 in my high school class. i found it really easy and almost never studied for anything and almost never had homework. i just paid attention in class, and did my assignments as the teacher was talking or finished them up while i was waiting for class to start.

college was a completely different story. my first semester of work rewarded me with a 2.7 grade point average of just pre requisite classes. i found out pretty quickly that my high school study habits weren't going to cut it by a long shot.

I'm not sure why to be honest...
I pay attention in class and study multiple times a week for my classes, and especially before exams. I even have a class that I get credit for studying with a small group of kids in my class.

I do have to admit that if my grades were solid Bs i probably would not be here, however I do still believe I want a job in the automotive field regardless.

I've talked to a guy who owns and runs a local performance shop that I hang out at sometimes, and he went to UNOH. He makes 6 figures, has plenty of race cars, has a growing business and he's only 30. He did say however that not a day goes by where he doesn't wish he had his degree, but he seems happy. I talked with him about these things as well and he says suck it up and get it done.

[Restoman]

Talk with your parents. Keeping them in the loop and asking for their advice will do you wonders. There is a good chance your parents had the same experience and would love to help you through it. You are trying your hardest, but it seem like you need direction. Direction to keep plowing through, change direction to a different major, or just helping you find a way to make the engineering degree path easier to achieve.
My nephew gave up on engineering at Arkansas this year. He tried very very hard, had no time to do anything but study and he kept slipping. The constant beat up he received from going in that direction just put a bad taste in his mouth for continuing. He's doing fine now as undecided. He's regrouping and just taking all of the core classes while he audits classes that interest him.
I tried going to college for computer science, but changed to marketing. I ended up going to the local university and getting a marketing degree, which I think was a bad move.......BUT overall, having a college degree gets me in the door to any interview I want. I've been working professionally for 13 years now and I'm glad I plowed through college and finished.
Hope this helped.

[Restoman]

"Suck it up and get it done" heard that before. My dad was told by my mother when he wanted to quit college that she would not marry him without a degree. I was ultimately convinced by my wife to finish. Vagina.. the great motivator.