[bigshoe]

how much trouble have you had in getting your degree?

I'm starting to have a tough time, but its mostly because I don't have the time to study. currently i'm only in the beginning, general chemistry(with lab) and calculus 1.

my chemistry teacher is hard to follow (foreign), i'm getting a high D
and calculus isnt that bad, I'm getting a low C
chemistry lab is a low A, but that was a pretty simple class.

my problem is i work 40 hrs during the week, and i have alot of travel time also. I have an interest in this stuff (not so much chemistry), but find it very hard to lose sleep to study.

anyways, i was able to move 24 of my work hours to the weekend for next semester, that should help greatly, I'll be taking calc 2, physics 1 (with lab), and c programming.

Ok guys, how bad do i have it???
I know i'm only in the beginnings of engineering here, and i'm not looking good, i really hope that will change next semester since i've made some changes for it.

what did you guys find tough or demanding when it came to engineering classes? I find it takes me absolutely forever to do my homework and focus on it, I blame being out of school for 5 years for that (although i know it could be alot worse).

Did you guys find the later engineering classes to be much more difficult than this earlier stuff?

btw, i'm a Mechanical engineering major, and if it matters, i've completed an associates in EET in 1999 from a tech school

[Unbalanced Engin...]

Well Bigshoe, I kept wondering if it could get any harder. It did. I was only working 10-12 hours/week, but I was also carring 17-22 units (quarter). On average, I was studing/in class 90-100 hrs/week. I do remember how good 4 hours of sleep felt when the norm was 2.

I wanted to get out in 4 years in the worst way even though the program I went through was a 4 2/3 year program. We didn't have an official weeding out process, they just kept piling on more homework/projects/labs/ect as you went along. You really have to decide how much you want it. I graduated with a guy who had taken 7 years and retaken many classes, but he made it. The good news is when you get out working 40 hours a week seems like you're on vacation all the time.

Toughest class -- machine design or physics. Even though I did very well in the machine design class, the professor assigned SO much work and projects that the class almost killed all of us in the class. The physics professor set his curve to give 2 A's and 40% F's. He was basically just an A hole.

Giving up was never an option for me, but I wasn't working full time and came out 3rd in my class. I did seriously question my 4 year goal, but I couldn't stand the Washington weather for another year so I stuck to it.

Good luck,
Jason S.