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I'm aware of the problems of college. However, if you ever have to go, here's some advice:

  • Do your prereqs first before courses for your major
  • CELP out of any class you can. Don't listen to the teachers who said or implied you were too stupid to do it. You can do it and I believe in you
  • Get a major that will help you land a job or start a business
  • Go to a local community college. There's almost no wackjob professors there. I had a liberal professor that taught me an excellent writing method. I'll never have writer's block again thanks to what she taught me. A lot of conservatives go local as well
  • If you can, for your Bachelor's, find a college that's near by. You can commute to attend class. You'll waste a lot of unnecessary money on housing
  • Apply for as many scholarships as possible
  • Work part time
  • Pay college in cash. If you can, save up before attending
  • Use ratemyprofessor.com to check professors. The site is a lifesaver and has helped me to get some awesome professors
  • For math classes, take College Algebra and Statistics. Also, consider taking on some type of Calculus if needed. It'll help if you change your mind on your major
I'm aware of the problems of college. However, if you ever have to go, here's some advice: - Do your prereqs first before courses for your major - CELP out of any class you can. Don't listen to the teachers who said or implied you were too stupid to do it. You can do it and I believe in you - Get a major that will help you land a job or start a business - Go to a local community college. There's almost no wackjob professors there. I had a liberal professor that taught me an excellent writing method. I'll never have writer's block again thanks to what she taught me. A lot of conservatives go local as well - If you can, for your Bachelor's, find a college that's near by. You can commute to attend class. You'll waste a lot of unnecessary money on housing - Apply for as many scholarships as possible - Work part time - Pay college in cash. If you can, save up before attending - Use ratemyprofessor.com to check professors. The site is a lifesaver and has helped me to get some awesome professors - For math classes, take College Algebra and Statistics. Also, consider taking on some type of Calculus if needed. It'll help if you change your mind on your major

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[–] • 1 pt

Pace yourself when studying. If you need to stay up all night to study, do it one day ahead, so you get at least 6 hours or more on the night before the test. Your brain needs sleep to consolidate memories and should be rested before the test.

Remember the concept of "state dependent memory" If you consume caffeine when studying, consume a similar amount before the test.

Get old tests to study from.

Smart drugs (aka Nootropics), vitamines and nutrients to increase brain power are a thing. Read Dean & Morganthaler's "Smart Drugs" & "Smart Drugs II" books. Got to examine.com for reference (but don't buy anything there). Go to that "alien" site and check out r/nootropics which has great info on mail ordering. I do not advocate anything that is related to a strong stimulant like adderal or modafinil (probably misspelled), but my neurochemistry is such that, for me, caffeine and L-tyrosine suffice. Be a bit careful as taking too many powders can loosen the bowels, but the intelligence is worth an occasional inconvenience.

On the first few days of every class, get numbers of fellow students to work with.

Practice. Even if you know the material, practice brings speed, which is helpful for being complete and doing your best when there is a question you don't know. When studying for a major exam in engineering grad school, I worked through a large number of problems 3x. The first time, they would take about 15 minutes, the second about 8, the 3rd about 3 or 4 minutes.

Do not be shy about asking teaching assistants and professors for help. One grad school prof was new and very happy to be teaching. If I didn't understand a homework problem, I'd go to his office before class, and he would be happy to work it for me.

Watch classes in person if you can. Comprehension in person really is much greater than through video.

Difference schools and different professors present different materials, at different levels of comprehensibility and the relevance of materials taught also varies.

If you go for an engineering degree, you will spend 80 to 90 percent of your time studying engineering, programming, math or science, which will leave little time for having political propaganda shoved down your throat.

[–] • 2 pts

If you go for an engineering degree, you will spend 80 to 90 percent of your time studying engineering, programming, math or science, which will leave little time for having political propaganda shoved down your throat.

And it will feel great! You'll smirk walking your privileged straight white male ass right on by the protestors or daydrinkers or pajamawearers, on the road to building civilization.

[–] • 1 pt

Yes, it will feel great.

Of course, the job may have office politics and other negatives, but that can happen anywhere. Some engineers design weapons, ergo, they are on the way to destroying civilizations. :-)

With the internet, engineering jobs are often subject to being shipped overseas. Having a security clearance is protection from this, but such is not suitable for everyone. The other approach is to go for a job where the engineer will need to be on-site. I'd think electrical or mechanical for construction engineer would generally need to be on site. I'd guess chemical plants still need engineers on site.

differences of engineering vs trade (from an engineer's perspective)

  1. Engineering generally does require more schooling an intelligence, but as an engineer, I've had some contact with tradesman, and trades can be amazingly technical and specialized. Anyone accomplished at his work has my respect, especially tradesmen.

  2. Projects engineers work on are normally large, requiring much corporate infrastructure to make a finished product. For instance, think of on aeronautical engineer working for Boeing. Tradesmen generally do many smaller projects; hence, it is much easier to be self-employed. The ease of becoming self-employed forces wages up.

  3. Engineers tend to be very open/sharing with their knowledge. Sometimes getting them to shut up after being asked a question is a problem. Tradesmen are often very protective/defensive. Engineers have a tradition of working well with each other. It may not be so strong in the trades; I really don't know.

  4. An electrical engineer has a theoretical background well suited for work as an electrician. However, there is still much to learn that you will have no clue about until you start reading up, like anti-oxidants in breaker panels. Also, the high-leg of 3 phase may catch you off guard; hopefully, the building won't go up in flames.

  5. Engineering is often easy to ship overseas. Trade work, by definition, is local. I postulate things will become more modular over time, so that trade work will slowly be move a bit into overseas manufacturing, but this will have great limits.