Originally Posted By: kschachn
When I was in high school I equated a liking for science as a predisposition for engineering, which now looking back was a mistake. I'll also disagree with you a bit on your last statement, I found that not all good engineers excel in math and science. Some or many do not. They were not good at it and only looked at it as a necessary evil to getting a degree in engineering.
My experience having gone through an accredited BSEE program at a major university (late 70's to early 80's)was that I wasn't a very good test-taker, but I aced all lab work. Lab practicals & finals came naturally as I excelled at lab work. Unfortunately, they don't count near as much as taking tests.
I found it very odd during all that time I never had to pick up a soldering iron! Fortunately, I learned this valuable skill in jr. high and tinkered a lot with old gear.
I'm a bit concerned with how engineering is being sold in HS by those who don't understand what it really is. It's not playing with robots or rockets as in some STEM programs. It's really difficult, tedious studying, learning, understanding number-crunching and difficult concepts. Labs were a relief in contrast. However, I kept thinking "so when am I going to learn how to build my own 100W/ch audio power amplifier?" When I went through, transformer-coupled outputs were still being taught! Push-pull power amps??? We never got to that. Some active filters, but not much.
Back to the OP...given the cost of post HS education these days, it's very expensive to 'find yourself' by taking several different classes to see what you like. When I was enrolled, you could do that as expenses were dirt cheap compared to now. Further, many universities want YOU GONE in four years! Gotta make room so we can enroll more fish.
Given this, "Parachute" thinking is critical to examining yourself, your interests, habits, likes, dislikes, apptitudes, etc. It truly is homework about yourself: It's not just a grade.
This "everyone should go to college" nonsense is just that: non-sense. Further, it degrades those who work with their hands and the trades, which is ridiculous and ^%$#! (My jr high had a large wood shop; full of serious old-school machinery).
If more HS kids had a chance to explore using their hands & the trades and "get the feel" of it, I'm betting fewer would feel "lost". A good deal of education comes from doing, experimenting, trying-it-out, investigating, etc. not just reading about it in some book.
/rant
