Are you struggling to get through your course load? Overwhelmed by all of the assignments? I know that feeling all too well so I want to let you know some tips for how to keep majoring in engineering when you feel like giving up!
Majoring in engineering is really hard. Ironically, with all of the classes that students have to juggle there’s no course or textbook to teach you how to manage it all.
College is a large adjustment to most because it is the first time you are on your own. You make your own schedule. No one is there to hold you accountable except you.
Engineering majors have to handle the college transition plus a very demanding course load. It is trial by fire because the tools needed to help you manage the overwhelm of college are acquired as you are going through it.
I know this challenge all too well. Like the time I sat in my 8am chemistry class with my stomach in knots. It was the first semester of freshman year and I was anxiously waiting for the first exam to be passed back. I had studied a lot, but I still thought the test was hard.
Then, I was handed a graded paper with a big red 68% at the top. I felt like I was going to pass out. Ashamed, I quickly shoved the test into my binder before anyone could see it.
In high school I was a straight A student. So looking at 68% after studying so much, was devastating. How could I continue pursuing an engineering degree if I couldn’t even pass freshman year chemistry?
I remember going back to my dorm almost in tears thinking I was going to have to change my major. I was so stressed by this, plus I had to go to more classes that day and I still hadn’t finished my homework for my 3pm calculus class. All I wanted to do was hide in my dorm room and try to figure out my future.
Have you ever felt this way?
I was so overwhelmed and thought that everyone else was much smarter than me. You see, I went to a smaller public high school that did not have many AP classes. I surmised I was at a large disadvantage from my peers who the majority came from private high schools. They entered freshman year with a lot of AP credits, some skipping all the way to calculus 3!
Not me, I did not have any AP credits. I felt I was so far behind, how would I catch up?
Even though this was one of my lowest points during my college years, it did teach me a lot. Here’s some of the things I learned that I hope can help you keep majoring in engineering when you feel like giving up.
How To Keep Majoring In Engineering When You Feel Like Giving Up
1. Focus On What You Can Control
Do you know the difference between people who succeed and those that do not?
Surprisingly, it is not how much money you have or how smart you are. It is your willingness to persevere through adversity. When you might be stressed out by everything you need to do, you must focus on what you can control and that is your willingness to fight through the challenges.
Henry Ford knew this when he said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t-you’re right.”
You see, when you feel like giving up you have two choices, give up and change your major or persevere and figure out how to continue pursuing your dream of becoming an engineer.
Most things we are most proud of came from overcoming a struggle or fear. Therefore, they did not come easy. Perseverance is a great skill that you will need in engineering as well.
Engineers are often solving problems they have not experienced before. Most of the time you run into a lot of failures on your way to successfully figuring out the solution.
So hang in there, look at persevering through school as practice for your career!
Choosing to fight through adversity is something that is within your control. Therefore, focus on that instead of getting distracted with worrying about all of the things out of your control.
2. Get Organized And Make A Plan
The overwhelmed feeling that makes us feel like giving up can come from all of the things we need to do. It feels like everything around you is in chaos, there are a number of competing priorities, which leaves you with no idea where to even start.
Enter, the to-do list.
When you are feeling stressed the best way is to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper. You see, the reason you feel overwhelmed is because your mind is working on overdrive trying to keep up with everything.
The moment you start writing things down, you will free up space in your head so that you can focus on more important things.
Your brain thrives on organization so creating a to-do list is one of the easiest ways to beat the feeling of anxiety and become more productive. Science supports this theory.
Professors at Wake Forest University demonstrated that individuals preformed well on tasks, when they were able to make a plan for one task and then move to the next. Even if they did not finish the first task, they were still more productive on the second task.
You see, putting the task on paper gets it out of your head so you are telling your mind it does not need to try to keep remembering that thing and that you have a plan for it. That is why having a list automatically makes you feel better. The ideas will stop swirling because you aren’t trying to remember everything.
Here are some of the steps you can take to organize your thoughts and create a plan:
- Do a brain dump and write down everything you need to do. This can be that day or that week. Whatever is causing you to stress out, write it down.
- Then, separate the tasks based on category. For students, it is helpful to have a personal category, a school category, and a work category.
- Prioritize your tasks. Put the tasks that are either most important or have a time sensitive deadline at the top.
- For larger items, try to break these down into subtasks.
Keep your to-do list somewhere that you can easily reference it. I use the Notes app on my phone for my list so that it is always with me.
To start making progress on your list implement what I call the “one most important thing of the day”. This means, whatever happens that day, your goal is to complete this one task. Life happens and even the best plan can go awry. That is why having one thing you must do that day really helps you focus and pick away at your list.
At the end of the day you can review your list and cross off the items you completed. Add any other items that came up that day. Then, you can re-prioritize your tasks so that you are ready to start the next day. Pick out your, “one most important thing of the day” as well.
Review your list in the morning so that you know what your goal is for that day.
Once you get all of your to-do’s out of your head and onto paper (or on you phone), then, you need to organize all of the other things that are not even on your radar yet. This is so that they do not stress you out when they come up.
For this step, you can use a planner, calendar, piece of paper or type it out, whatever makes the most sense to you. Next, gather all of the syllabi for each of your classes. Write down when each class is and when all assignments, tests, and quizzes are. This way you can look at your full semester and make a plan so that you are not surprised or overwhelmed when things are due.
Finally, you can create your semester roadmap. This is your plan for navigating through all of the courses simultaneously. Create a plan for when you will study, attend office hours, and work on assignments so that you make sure you are not procrastinating.
Note any weeks or days that are going to be challenging, like when you have multiple exams. Try to free up your weekends leading up to that time so you have time to dedicate to your classes. This will help you keep moving forward.
During your planning, you can use the time blocking technique. This is when you choose an amount of time (time block) and only work on that one planned task for that reserved time.
This makes you more effective because you won’t be worrying about the tasks you aren’t doing and you won’t get sidetracked starting different tasks.
3. Keep Moving Forward
Once you have your plan, keep working at it. Try to keep moving forward. You can do this by taking it one day at a time.
Look for sources of motivation to get you through the challenging times. Two sources of motivation you can use include identifying your WHY and creating a Wins List.
Whenever you set a goal you must identify your WHY for wanting to complete it. So why did you choose to major in engineering? Keeping your WHY in mind will remind you of the reason for starting your journey. It will propel you through the challenging times.
Writing your WHY down helps as well. Put it a place you’ll see often, such as on the wall above your desk or on the first page of your notebook.
Secondly, create a wins list. This is a list of everything you do that makes you proud and will motivate you through the struggles you face. You see, we tend to focus on the challenges or things that are not going well. However, I think it is just as important to celebrate the wins as well. These will help you persevere and keep moving forward towards your goal.
Like your WHY, make sure you put your wins list somewhere that you can easily refer back to it. Some examples of things to add to the list could be:
- Dealing with a difficult lab partner
- Getting an A in a class, exam or assignment
- It could be outside of school as well, maybe you dealt with a challenging roommate that pushed you out of your comfort zone
- Sports accomplishment you are proud of
It is important to note the date, situation, and outcome.
4. Leverage Campus Resources
College is expensive, so get the most out of it by using all of the resources available to you. Take the time to research what your college offers and make a list of the ones you may need now or in the future.
Some examples include:
- Study groups
- Teaching Assistant (TA) help or office hours
- Professor office hours
- Academic center help
- Tutoring center- specifically for engineering
- Upperclassmen mentor program
- Academic advising
- Clubs for your major
Engineering is a collaborative profession. You will need to get help from many different people. So, why not start practicing this now? Reach out for help to the campus resources when you need it, this will help you keep majoring in engineering when you feel like giving up.
Summary
Majoring in engineering is challenging, but once you get through college you will be rewarded with a great paying job. A career that you will be using your skills to help society and benefit people’s lives. Engineering is one of the few high paying professions you only need a bachelor’s for. Therefore, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Hopefully these four tips will have you keep majoring in engineering when you feel like giving up.
- Focus on what you can control
- Get organized and make a plan
- Keep moving forward
- Leverage campus resources
If you enjoyed this article on how to keep majoring in engineering when you feel like giving up or have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below!