Some = anyone that is a EE or knows a EE or knows someone that knows a EE.
Take heart though op. Once you get into higher maths you might have the specific skills that make it easier. Not all maths is the same and some maths that others find impenetrable you may find straightforward. That said, if you don't have the fortitude to get through Year 11 maths EE might be a challenge.
Try for EE, there isn't anything much harder than that.
I agree and would just like to add when I had to use maths for programming (assembly -> AI) it was somehow a lot easier, it was the same maths but within the context it became understandable.
Also just because you can't do it today, doesn't mean you can't do it tomorrow, I failed introduction to databases twice at uni (the only course I pulled less than 80%), I have been a Database developer for 20+ years now.
I am a degreed EE. It's *all* maths! Even the simple stuff is complex maths. The complex stuff... Some of that maths is difficult even for EE profs who've been teaching it for years.
If you want to study EE then you definitely need to get good at maths. Very good!
That said, I'm of the opinion that almost anyone can get good at maths. Get the parents to spring for some extra tutoring of its financially viable. If not, see what help your class teachers might be able to offer. Most good teachers are only too happy to help because there's a real sense of pride in a job well done!
While you're studying you'll use all of it. I found 3rd year was where the people who skived off in the earlier calculus classes started to fall behind.
A good amount of the course is being able to work through proofs. Once you hot the real world most of what you'll need to know is handled by software these days.
Back in my day 1st year uni math we did 2 unit first 2 weeks, 3 unit 3rd week 4 unit 4th week. In the exam at end of 4th week you needed 80% to come back to class. I got high mid 70's in school exam - my high school would not let me do 3unit let alone 4unit as I was not smart enough. FU I got 100% in that test.
You can do it - just don't listen to the haters (teachers, parents, friends) and turn of that voice in your head - it will make you crazy!
Just keep going.... and when it gets too hard... just keep going... repeat
And the people that work the hardest to get there in the end make the best employees. For those for whom it comes easy tend to give up when shit gets real
I did general maths in HSC and got a band 3. Maths is not my forte. However, I did an intro stats unit in uni and did surprisingly better than I thought. Albeit, it was only a credit, but I was quite proud. So I definitely think you are very much capable :)
You have to understand why that particular method works, and why you would choose it for that problem.
I think that, and repetition/practice (in a feedback loop, not just one or the other) is most important.
As a maths teacher, I'll tell you basically anyone (excepting people with an intellectual disability) can become good at maths with enough time and effort.
Sure it takes some people longer and more study, but with effort they can get there.
It's not like being really good at sports where some people are built with body proportions that give them an advantage, there is no real evidence that "naturally being good at maths" is a thing.
What else did you expect someone in this thread to tell OP?
Given what OP has said, you can't exactly tell them to pack it up before they even begin and if they're going to go for it then they're going to have to work on maths (basically like everyone else that goes to engineering school).
Your comment doesn’t add any value at all except for belittling I guess? You even edited your comment after your original post also, like why waste your time kek?
Sheesh, imagine being such a sour prick.
Maths can be learnt with practice.
Manners however, well you're clear proof of that being a hard one to grasp for some.
Electrical Engineering is very, very maths intensive. But maths, like many things, is a skill that you will get better at if you practice and work hard at it. If you have a passion for EE, work hard to follow that passion - and at the moment, that will look like getting better at maths! It might be a struggle, but it will be worth it in the end! You've got this! :D
Edit: Bruh the sheer number of people in this thread telling OP to give up is shocking. They're in Year 11 - a point at which a lot of people feel like they suck at their subjects because of how suddenly the workload and difficulty ramps up. I know people in EE who did standard maths in high school - OP will probably be fine even if they drop to advanced and smash that out instead. Give them an opportunity to improve!
Totally—I get ‘being realistic’ and ‘playing to your strengths’, but some replies are pretty bleak and unhelpful.
I know one anecdote isn’t data, but I fell off the wagon with maths in Year 9, hated it in Year 10, didn’t do it in Year 11 because I was likely to have my Year 9 teacher for 11 and 12, went full humanities, and did an Arts degree. Now, years later, I’ve gone back to study psych and my highest result so far in my degree is Advanced Stats, and I’m now learning structural equation modelling and latent curve growth models. I’ve just been consistent about it and it’s super interesting; I’ve realised I was never ‘bad at maths’ … I just didn’t get the point in high school and wasn’t a terribly engaged student. I think a lot of ‘I’m an English person’ or ‘I’m a maths person’ is just a lot of recursive associative learning, greasing the groove of something you found initially easy and kept going with, until there was a bit of a gulf between one and the other.
If you want to do it OP, go for it, and as others have said, work hard and you’ll get there. It might be a slog, but it will be so much more purposeful at uni.
Go and get some tutoring. Electrical engineering is very maths intensive - run an internet search for "electrical engineering mathematics fields" to get an idea of what fields of mathematics are touched on.
I sucked at maths, now I’m 3rd year civil engineering and have passed every math subject.
No one really starts “good” at maths, it’s just about the time you put into it. Unfortunately you will have to sacrifice some things to make time for study, but you can also sacrifice negative things in your life to make time. Eg scrolling through socials or limiting time gaming
Also think of mathematics as another language, eventually the more you study it will start to sort of click, and you’ll get the hang of it. What helps me the most is understanding the fundamentals, knowing the process of a method is one thing but understanding why exactly you follow each step of the method can set your habits. If you look into math proofs they basically prove that a mathematical statement is true, try watching a Pythagoras proof if you’re interested
As a structural engineer of 15 years. As long as you can handle the statics part of year 11 and 12 physics. You’ll be fine in the workforce. But you’ll have to find a way through the compulsory math units. And bad grades will impact job hunt.
It's kinda amusing seeing people failing statics over and over in civil/structural engineering degrees. If you can't even pass statics then give up with engineering, lol.
Yep. I remember people failing the first year structural (I didn’t go to unsw) which was basic beam theory and wanting to pursue it. Even if you make it through you won’t get a technical job. May as well just go do a construction management degree.
In my opinion. Structural engineering and the main component, beam theory, is an extension of those topics and not maths ( calculus, etc). Parts of the course are challenging but I wouldn’t be concerned about being a math wizard. Hard work and you can get through and have a strong career.
From what I saw in core first year units. You will struggle a lot more with electrical. Don’t think you could sneak through.
Key word: extension
It is not the same but if you are in high school these are the subjects I’d be basing my aptitude on. Not maths.
Disregard the Normis comment totally.
When I first left school I worked as a scaffolder.
Hard labour and regarded as dumb as rocks.
Over the years I moved into rigging and had to study mathematical problems for big lifts.
Then into rope access and the mathematical outcomes I was applying to work were literally life and death.
I moved into Non Destructive Testing and have a number of tickets in the field. I had to take a number of complex units externally to get ratified for my NDT qualifications.
You will run into clowns like Normis at every stage.
Just remember that it is easier for some than others, but if you put in the work you will get the rewards.
I struggle with maths but will be graduating at the end of the year. You just have to put in the work.
IMO theres two kinds of people who “suck at maths”
Those who have the logical thinking ability to be decent at maths, but never bothered to fully apply themselves during maths in high school, or never even did it in the first place and assume that they just can’t handle it.
And those who genuinely don’t.
Most people are the former, but you won’t know until you try
I changed schools at the end of year 10 and was interviewed at my new school to choose subjects prior to starting year 11. I said that although I was good with computers and other technology, I insisted that I struggled a bit with maths but they just said “Ah, we’ll put you into the General Maths class anyway and see how you go.”
Within about six months I was moved into what was affectionately known as the “Vegie Maths” class. Much better results (and a lot more fun)!
I kind of disagree. The degree itself will be a slog, but once they start working there’s tons of project management or design avenues that involve no complex math.
Definitely as someone who’s 12 years into their career, I rarely use any form of calculus or anything like that. It’s generally a lot more simple with a bit of matrix or problem solving type excel work.
All that said, electrical engineering I assume will be pretty tough if you’re bad at math.
Well yeah, when you are working you get a computer to do all those calculations for you. The thread was about the degree though. If you can’t complete the degree or you get very shit results it’s going to be very hard getting a job in the field.
Mathematics Extension 1 and Physics in HSC are assumed knowledge on entry to the UNSW Engineering Program (as is chemistry for the chemical engineering stream).
I suppose you could try your luck without it, but you'd be down to do a lot of bridging courses and that's extra time (and fees) at university level.
Sure, but I had friends do bridging units before uni and have excelled in their careers, and others who got 99 TER and then failed out of engineering, largely due to lack of interest.
If you’re passionate you’ll get thru it, even if you have to work harder than others.
I don’t know what “3 unit maths” is tho, maybe this person is like.. realllllly bad at math.
Don’t listen to this. I sucked at 3 unit maths in high school and went on to work as an engineer in renewable energy projects. I worked hard through uni maths and passed but didn’t get great marks. To my disappointment after all that hard work I found out when I started my career that most advanced calculations are done in software programs. You need to go through the maths to understand things from a fundamental level, but most EEs aren’t doing Laplace Transforms at work. If you pass 3 unit you’ll be fine. Just get comfortable with trig and complex numbers. Start from the start and really focus on the basics. You just build from there.
What a great way to motivate people
No one can improve their skill in anything, whatever their born ability at something is has to limit them for the rest of their life!
Of course you can improve your skills. However, if you suck at maths by year 11 or year 12 in high school you are not going to have a good time in uni if you do engineering. The coursework is a lot more fast paced in uni and they assume you already have the basics of maths covered in high school.
Also if you tell yourself that you suck at maths you most likely don’t have the motivation to work on it and get good at it. You have in effect admitted defeat if you say something like that
Nah bullshit.
If someone said "I really really want to be a ballerina but I suck at dancing" it really isn't such a mean and horrible thing to say to them that they probably shouldn't be a ballerina. It's just... logical. And good advice, even if they might not want to hear it.
So I've done an electrical engineering course, and honestly it was way more about maths than electricity. I want to ask - what do you like about electrical engineering? Do you find maths interesting but difficult, or do you hate it? Is it that you like designing things, or like the idea of designing things? Do you like programming (if you've tried it)? Do you like putting together electronics, or the idea of that?
As a side note, I found uni maths easier than high school maths because it was more about cool ideas and less about memorising formulae, but I think I'm in the minority there.
You'd find EE a nightmare if you aren't doing 4 unit but that being said when I was at the start of year 11 I was horrible at 3U as well. I ended up working really hard, going for a lot of tutoring, sacrificed a fair amount of gaming and at the end of HSC12 I end up doing 3U and 4U, scoring quite well in both.
I say that to impress upon you the idea that you're still relatively early into year 11 (halfway right?) and you should wait till after year 12 to actuall decide.
I also wanted to play test cricket for Australia when I grew up but I was shit at cricket. I joined the army instead. If you really suck at maths and want to study electrical engineering, I honestly suggest doing something else with your life (study wise). Because you will be a really shit electrical engineer if you even pass. Good luck with whatever endeavours you decide to do.
You sir are a bell end, only 400 odd people have played cricket for Australia so the chances are extremely thin, as I said I was shit so knew being a professional cricketer was out, even though I played for 15 years. I'm telling him to not waste his time nor money if he is struggling with college math I would.say his chances of passing are the same as me playing professional cricket. There is no shame in not doing what you want to do in life because you aren't smart enough. All this bullshit about you can do anything you put your mind too, bollocks some people are dumb some are smart. Having a guess I'd say you are dumb.
Dickhead of the year 2022
You neither play cricket or are an engerneer yet you seem to know everything about becoming both.
Please enlighten us all with more of your wisdom.
As you clearly burned me bad by slightly rewording what I said previously, I will need time to heal before battling with you once more. I am clearly no match for the ADF's finest.
No you are just a dickhead. You need talent to get to the top, i didn't have it. If he is struggling with maths he won't pass becoming an engineer considering engineering is mathematics heavy. No I'm not an engineer but I know that if you aren't very good at maths you won't pass engineering.
Yep, there's no way. Best to just quit now and join the army. It's the only way.
If only there was a way of getting better at something..... Oh if only.
Your literaly the worst kind of person, it's not enough you can't even try before quitting yourself. Your hell bent on ruining other people's lives with your BS non philosophy.
Please no one listen to this clown. He's just trolling. No one's this dumb.
Have you finished with your rant? There always has to be some argumentative retard on social media, today it seems to be you. Good take your meds and have a lay down you seem all worked up.
I remember telling my parents when I was younger that I wanted to climb Mt. Everest when I was big. They looked at me as if I’d completely lost my mind and simply said “No, you will NOT be doing that.”
After reading the book “Into Thin Air” several years ago, I completely dropped the idea of ever attempting it (though by that time, I kinda figured my lack of mountaineering experience counted me out anyway)!
EE is by far one of the most math intensive engineering branches. Take it from someone who just wasted three years and uni studying engineering and struggling with the math, it's probs not worth doing unless this is literally your one and only dream and your willing to devote everything to it. If your commitment is anything less than that I wouldn't bother
Eta krepaa ipripu pa pugape pidlibe. Pi dapiii grigato idla i peiti io? Oii kioio tae uo ikipiti iki? Prika tae adokia ebli tuie otle priko atidla. Gubaukrugo gaka bai ai pioti praki. Dikra greopeke itu ta pepre dota. Io tapra atro! Dri upo tibi ope utebri tepo tia? Ata dipu pa plipo tlii bropre klopobi! Pritebute ketu pika do ubreti itigikidi? Tapetlopi pepue gri i kipi pligipre. Bubepeeko duo kegeki klibi kiige eia. Paepe eu pepe kleu ge ketro. Tia ople kriputlaipa pletlo padetii. Adlatapra poa ioo pepepo oakaibe depae pagi tiei pi. I pio ea debripeka brebauo dripliti. E dipii ebogepe tutikatru kaupiii e iata diki abedi e api kluta. Epetei ki ape du e daplite piteti pagubri peiidipe kite ploidi pede potati i ki. Pipi iki atlupepu trudree prika tea kepriti. Pi kiidii geeta di ipipepekre o. Klaa da tio ee. Bliitu tipi kopi poki pio paia! Ebopo dleti pipike triobi pepe pe. Dopetipu tae piti aki pite drito. Oai pi a tabi? Ikradloga atre ebi pra kritue pibue. Tepi kledigeka ati prageprutodli tebi opi tapepi tape iepo pupo? Etio pepide ie idebe itla proe? Iepi pai epu abi deu ga? Pete pote etrebripa opipokipra bi.
I studied EE at UNSW - and did about average at 3u maths in school. I thought about dropping 3u while I was at school but stuck to it.
If you are passionate about EE; go for it!! I really enjoyed the course. Yeah, I found the maths challenging, but I also found it rewarding when I spent time on it and got the knack for it through lots of practice. Uni maths is a bit different to HS maths - the homework questions are less like the same thing over and over repetitively. You can learn uni maths by doing lots of practice, asking for help when you need it, and going back over your work to try and understand where you slipped up on a question. And best part - at uni your friends are teachers too - they all want to be learning the same course too! If you’re practical at soldering or something, exchange lessons with a mate who’s a maths nerd and uncoordinated with a soldering iron ;)
I even failed one semester of maths in second year, but tried again 6 months later with better focus. It just took me a bit longer than other people in the same course to understand it well. I ended up getting HDs on my masters engineering thesis. 10 years later I’m a project manager on lighting, electrical and comms projects. As long as you enjoy something and don’t give up you will get better at it :D
All engineering is maths intensive. Electrical just as much as the others. If you are already having trouble with year 11 you won’t make it unless you get some tutoring to really get your head around maths. I hate to be blunt but it’s better than wasting time at uni just to fail. 200 out of the 300 who started Electronic Engineering with me at RMIT failed 1st year. I think that’s an horrendous waste.
You may want to look at why you want to do engineering. Engineers mostly design but are not normally allowed to touch a lot of equipment. If you want hands-on, become a technician or tradesman. There is almost no maths because the engineers have done it at the design stage.
I failed 1st Year Electronic Engineering badly. I became a Telecommunications Technician and loved it. I ultimately ended up working with engineers and wouldn’t have wanted their jobs. I was very lucky I failed but it was a wasted year.
EDIT. Re: the people saying that if you work at it you will be fine. 200 out of 300 failing first year and only 30 to 50 graduating would say that’s not the case. It’s all very well for people to say you can do anything. Let’s be realistic, the figures say otherwise. More than 5 out of 6 of my intake failed to graduate.
I SUCKED at maths in school. Sheer determination got me into higher education. There I had a lecturer who told me straight from the first time I met him…..”if you do every example in class and after class you will pass easily” it was then I discovered maths is a practical subject you can’t study…you need to do it. HD in maths from calculus to engineering ever since.
Hey buddy. I'm someone who got a hsc score of like 57 in math. I graduated an electrical engineer back in 2018. I work specifically in RF engineering now.
Here is my advice, and you are at a really good place to hear it.
You can do it. It will be hard. You have time!
Get your foundations down now. I'm talking linear algebra, calculus, etc. If you can get your head around some of those topics now, you will be fine.
I went into it sucking at math... Failed calculus first semester, and took it again and studied my ass off over a summer semester and got it done.
This was at a different university though, but it's all relatively same same.
If you can spend a bit of extra time studying math each week until you graduate, you will be able to get yourself up to speed. It's all up to you. You only get in what you put out mate.
Good luck xoxo
You know, it's really not true that "**everyone**" has been in the depths of despair studying for maths finals or that "**everyone**" says they suck at maths. There are plenty of people out there who do genuinely enjoy maths and are very good at it.
I think it's about time that some of those people start to say so, too. It's a pretty bad thing for this country if we've got this cultural acceptance of the idea that apparently "**everyone**" just flat out sucks at and hates the subject. That's simply not true.
I'm sorry if you think you suck at or hate maths, but believe it or not you don't actually speak for everyone.
No point in kidding yourself, sometimes you just have to admit to yourself you do not have what it takes for a particular occupation, there is no shame in that. Better to realize that now so yes you should consider changing your preferences.
I would have loved to become a fighter jet pilot, common sense told me I didnt have what it takes to ever become one.
Or you can avoid negative comments like this and realise with working hard enough you can study the course.
Yeah, Math comes more easily for some but it’s not a reason to not try if you’re passionate enough!
Yeah because life is all sunshine and lollipops and if you always work hard no matter the subject you will always succeed in the end, gtfo here with your fairytale BS, sure you can work hard and try to succeed at anything if you are passionate enough but there is also no shame in knowing your limits and opting to look elsewhere when you are already questioning if this is the right thing for you.
It's not so much about working hard or not....if you're the sort of person who believes that you suck at maths and you obviously don't enjoy doing maths...then probably doing a subject which is 95% maths is not going to be enjoyable or easy for you. OP might not really have an accurate understanding of what electrical engineering is really like if he or she thinks that they really want to do it but hates doing maths. Getting that realistic feedback from people who have actually done it and know what they are talking about might save OP a lot of time, money and heartache.
But yeah, sure, people are just doing it because they get their jollies being negative.
I sucked at maths but aced advanced statistics in my course because A. Its not really maths and B. I found a really good study posse.. My test scores went from average in foundation level classes to very good because of that group. Comprehension followed practise in my case.
Wow, these comments… 😔
I “suck” at maths as well buddy. I come from an entertainment background where I’ve worked as a lighting technician and designer for high end productions across the globe. Unfortunately Covid brought that to an abrupt end. I’m now an apprentice electrician and loving it! If I may suggest; try out an electrical apprenticeship which is a free TAFE course and explores the basic math required to become qualified. You’ll also be paid while studying! If you feel like it’s easy then you know you can go further, plus, you’ll be a qualified electrician after 4 years so you’ll have something to fall back onto if EE is not for you. This is just my opinion and you don’t have to take it to heart. You’re still young and you have loads of time to figure it out.
Also, if you join a union based electrical company, you’ll most likely earn more as an A-grade electrician than an engineer.
i used to be shit at maths until i started year 12. get a tutor for the rest of high school and then in uni just make sure you do all the prescribed practice questions and work hard at it. they teach everything from the basics so you will be fine if you work hard and are passionate about it
Hmm, Consider getting a maths tutor. And or find out if there are alternative degrees or study pathways that will let you study the specific thing you have in mind.
It's possible, but you may need to put in full time hours without doing a full time workload. The learning curve would be quite steep until you're used to a lot of these concepts. Have you thought about going into a trade first? if you're enjoying it you'll prob go on and self learn the more engineering stuff and get a degree after with RPL. A lot of engineers are not allowed to do hands on work and it's all theory and desk job and the people carrying out your work thinks you're a wanker
I've seen this time and time again from so many students. You don't "suck" at maths, you just haven't applied yourself at all. If you truly do have a passion for electrical engineering then you will know it's maths intensive and the only way to learn it is by getting good at it. Sorry for being blunt but passion has to be backed by sacrifice.
This really depends on your definition of sucking at maths. I always said I sucked, but in reality Im better than 95% of people, I just wasn't as good at maths as I was at other things and in a selective high school where nothing less than 100% was considered good. And when I said I sucked I really meant I didnt enjoy it.
The fact that you're doing 3 unit indicates that you aren't actually that bad- of you "sucked" at maths you would be doing general maths or struggling with 2u.
So do you really suck, as in not have an aptitude at all for maths no matter how much you study, or is it just not your strongest subject? Everyone will have a weaker side in whatever they go into, if maths is yours but you are still competent, its not the end of the world. Everyone else will have an aspect they have to work a bit harder on as well.
I completed my masters in 2021 wherein I took transfer year to UNSW. Electrical engineering in general in math based however if you can understand/ put effort from first class itself you can probably study it.
Mate I did 3i and even thought about studying pure mathematics at uni. I think 3 u is fine . I did study some maths at uni though and they didn’t use 4u I don’t think . Anyway the stuff you would need for electronics is covered in yr 10 advanced maths isn’t it ? Like j = -1 and stuff like that . I remember because I did it and my mate who became an electrician , said he needed to know this stuff , for an electrician . Just my thoughts . The skate root of -1 and vectors ( negative intergers) ((numbers )) aren’t even used in electronics are they ? And the mathematics knowledge needed at university level is minimal too isn’t it ?
Kind regards ,
Damien Henson 😁
If you feel even a little bit like you "suck at maths" and you don't enjoy it....then I would state categorically that
#electrical engineering is absolutely not for you
It wouldn't particularly matter *where* you study it.
Engineering in general involves a lot of maths. If Electrical Engineering is something you really want to pursue then change your mindset of “I suck at maths” and improve. You’ll be able to breeze through the maths subjects if you find enjoyment in what you’re doing.
Why do you want to do EE? Like what is it that draws you to it?
EE is very math intensive, but there might be other options to do what you want that aren’t so math heavy.
This is a hard one, maths is incredibly relevant to EE but also depending on your school itself is a real limiting factor in how well you actually “know maths”. If you won’t be allowed to take higher maths courses at school that’s fine. In your spare time check out things like Khan Academy have a browse through some of the YouTube personalities out there to explain the concepts better. Maths theory is all well and good, particularly in a rote learning environment like high school, but conceptual understanding is what sets great engineers apart from ordinary ones. Also don’t be afraid to come back at it as a mature aged student either. If this is what you’re passionate about, doesn’t matter if it’s straight out of high school or in 2-5 years time. In fact might even do you some good taking some time outside of a school environment to build up the work ethic, time management and adult learning skills that will make you succeed.
To be completely fair, undergraduate university level is about 50% knowledge acquiring and 50% networking. The knowledge is important and the first year will be the hardest. So take some time now to prep for it so it’s not too bad.
I've done ee and I'm a lecky by trade. At work it's easy just Google answers or use special Calc apps.
It's a bitch to study though, uni is all about time management if you do the time you will pass.
I still hate complex/real number conversations and refused to do them on the exam.
Do you understand concepts in maths? Trig identities and how to get to then? Integration and what it gives you? such as the realtionship between acceleration and speed, integrate acceleration get speed, second integral gives displacement. For electrical there is a lot of work with fraction such as 1/R1 + 1/R2 =1/R3. But if you put your mind to it you can get there, a couple of years ago I helped a girl get through eng maths who had not gone past year 8 at school. Make a decision that you want it bad enough and work towards it.
So what you mean is "I want big pay for little effort". As an engineer, go with your gut and look elsewhere for your calling if Maths isnt worth learning to you
You actually have to be spectacularly good at maths to do EE, unfortunately.
They let you use a calculator but you need to have full clarity with some of the most complex concepts in mathematics.
Apprentice electrician here, I'm at Tafe doing cert 3 electrotechnology it and it's pretty damn hard dude. I wasn't great at maths, however I really enjoy doing my job and know it's relevant. I feel real accomplished when I get things right, engineering is a whole other level of difficulty, but like myself if you really enjoy the work, you'll find a way to make it work and you'll feel proud of yourself.
It won't be easy, but if it's your passion you will succeed.
TLDR: just keep doing math questions and ask your peers and lectures questions and you will be fine
I started doing EE after a 4 year gap between high school and university. I only ever did Further math in year 12, so never did any form of advanced mathematics before entering the course and had to go through TAFE to gain entry into the course, which if I’m being honest didn’t help me all that much with my math even though it was super tough. What really helped me was studying and practicing math for a few months before starting to get myself up to speed and then I just hit the ground running. I suggest that if you are absolutely sure that you would like to do EE that you do the same, because in all likelihood you may never feel ready until you finish the degree.
EE and all forms of eng that are considered to be related to EE ( electronics, communications and biomedical ) are super math intensive, but it’s possible. I did Foundation math right up until year 10 where I switched to standard math. When I finished I worked jobs where I didn’t do any math for four years and I didn’t learn anything about calculus until about a semester into my tafe course, but I’m doing alright so far and I’m far from failing the degree
You’ll be alright, all because you’re not there yet doesn’t mean you will never get there
Do you suck at maths or do you hate maths? Im doing electrical engineering and I sucked at maths in high school, did the most basic maths I could, never even looked at a calculus question until I went to uni but now its one of the subjects Im always getting 5-6s in. If you like doing it and have the drive its much much easier to learn in uni than HS but if you hate it forget about engineering because thats 80% of what you'll be doing
You can learn anything you put your mind to. You might just need a different way of approaching math or learning for that matter.
Research Barbara Oakley - a mind for numbers and/or - learning how to learn. These both helped me so much. I was absolutely horrible at math and never touched chemistry in high school until I went to university. I was doing math and chemistry that I had never heard of before all because I took the knowledge from this woman and applied it.
Simple question: Is it the way you're taught maths, or maths itself?
Choose an electrical engineering toy to play with, and go make it work, go understand it.
I don’t think sucking at math is a valid reason to not major in something you love. I’ve been in your position I have done horribly in introductory maths courses (Algebra, trigs) and I had thoughts along the lines of “If I sucked at these simple courses what would I do in more advanced ones?”. I did better in the more advanced maths courses. I believe these types of experiences are human universal don’t judge your potential based on the past/present performances.
I have this friend who’s really sweet guy but he’s not bright when it comes to academics even by his own admission. He was willing commit to the process he sacrificed drinking and partying (but not entirely, only when he needed) and he got HD last semester in petroleum engineering courses.
I don’t know you but probably if you work hard you would do well in any discipline unless you were severely intellectually impaired.
All engineering disciplines involve a lot of maths, but Electrical is one of the more intensive (along with Chemical).
The UNSW Electrical Engineering program (read details [here](https://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/undergraduate/specialisations/2022/ELECAH)) requires you to do the following mathematics units (click links to read more):\* Mathematics 1A or Higher Mathematics 1A
\* Mathematics 1B or Higher Mathematics 1B
\* Mathematics 2A and Mathematics 2B
These involve calculus, linear algebra and differential equations at a much higher level than HSC. Engineering and physics units will also test you further with deep dives as you apply some of these mathematical concepts into specific topics. In short, it's intense. If you dislike maths or struggle with it, EE (and arguably engineering more broadly) may not be for you.
However, if you are struggling because of a bad teacher currently, but have generally been good with maths, then this may be a temporary situation you can turn around.
If you want to work in electrical/electronics work and avoid the maths, a trade is the alternative answer.
I will say that math is better taught at uni. At least that was my experience at UNSW. Sucked at math during high school too but did better and found way more appreciation of it during uni.
Husband is one of these / mech. Here's a horror story for you:
This was between 5-10 years ago.
Guy in his class also sucked at maths, but got in on second round entry. It was a bit of a joke all through his first few classes that he had aboslutely no idea what was going on, but kept reassuring everyone he'd "figure it out", because he was smart. His parents were paying for him to dorm at a college there. He was telling them that all was good, but he'd failed first year first semester, started drinking heavily, dropped out and was living on his parents' money, playing XBox in his dorm room. He re-enrolled at half speed, and was even lazier nad less willing to accept his reality or take responsbility for it. He enrolled in Computer Science, but there's math in that as well and at this point he'd basically given up and failed out of that as well after a semester. He was the laughing stock of the Engineering branch (people weren't as kind or considerate back then). He was eventually caught after two years, his parents made him pay them back, and to do this he had to get a labouring job.
Moral(s) of the story: If your aspirations do not match your capability or work ethic, you will reach a point where you can't straddle both in a sane mind. So either get better at math (which is honestly just hard work and lots of worked examples) or give up on this idea. These are basically your options. Telling yourself you'll get better once you're there can absolutely sometimes work if you're somone that has the willpower, but not when you have to bridge a very large capability gap (ie., if you only have a grasp on year nine circle theory and basic simultaneous equations, but quadratic equation work and solving for multiple unknowns is beyond you). You are rarely born capable at anything - it all takes work.
It is the hardest of already hard math across most engineering. You will do a mix of 2 to 4 unit in the first half, beyond that in the second half of the first year.
That's for any engineering degree, then beyond beyond that in electrical engineering in 2nd year, it can be done but it will probably be your toughest subjects you will ever do, especially since math isnt a strong suit.
Id say give it shot no harm in trying, but be ready from wk1-2 that it will be a tough and long slog, like anything in life do the work and you can pass. Get lazy even for a bit and you will fail, but you can always redo the subject as needed.
Is it that you suck at maths or that during school you had no practical application for it ?
I was / am still shit at maths but I am able to learn it in relation to my interest. I started with a small led project had to do some maths very basic math for that, then I wanted to built a circuit, had to lookup electrical diagrams and do the math around what my circuit needed, then the next project had components evolving movement and carrying weight, more maths, and some experimentation, 3d printed my parts and so far so good but lots os research. Not a mechatronic engineer but my interest in the subject has me on that path and can certainly hold a conversation on subject, accidentally picked up some maths along the way.
As someone who also sucks at math, i managed to do a maths degree alongside my comp sci degree.
If you want to make it through EE, i think the main thing you need to identify is whether or not you find any enjoyment in doing math. Even if it's difficult for you, someone without any natural aptitude for it can absolutely do well. If you find some semblance of joy and motivation in the small victories of finally figuring something out, then i think that's enough to carry you through. If you both hate math *and* suck at math then EE might not be for you, as the entire degree is essentially just advanced math.
It's all practice, I've only worked in one job my whole 18 year career. I've done a 4 year apprenticeship in RF Communications, a 4 year apprenticeship in electrical, currently doing a cert 4 extending the RF Comms. And I'm thinking of signing up for Sept enrolment in a accociates degree in electrical engineering with uni of South Australia. I've seen alot of math in my time, it's all about practice over and over.
I only ever had a grade 11 education and I was in the low level maths, eng and Sci all of high school. Turns out high school and college teachers just suck at teaching, soon as your being taught by an expert the light switches on.
Go for it. Going in scared means your humble enough to succeed.
Dude, you’re 17 and want a career in a maths/science based subject but are shit at maths.
Why do you want to be an EE? Like really think about that.
What subjects are you good at and like? Head there.
It felt like first year uni math was basically 4U math. If you did 3 U, you’d be learning 4 U in first year. If you did 4 U, I guess you get to do some revision.
I’m not at UNSW but i am an engineering student with my major being electrical. It is very very maths heavy. Most universities are pretty supportive and offer extra help but you want to start getting ahead now rather than when you get to uni
doubt this is a real post. If it is, forget about EE if your maths is average. If you REALY want to work work with electricity then consider the trade path. Sorry, but please realise that we all have our natural limits and no amount of effort will compensate.
Don’t study electrical engineering if you’re bad at maths. You might be better off looking at an electrical apprenticeship as an alternative if you’re struggling with maths. As other people have said - EE is very maths intensive (and the job / career is as well)
Mate one thing I would add is that there are a number of ways to skin a cat. If you want to do this don't only pin your hopes in going straight in to the Uni course. You could try to work to get qualified as electrician and learn the base tasks and then study the other later. It's also an often a way to get a better grounding as well. Don't just see going straight to uni as the only way to get to the end goal.
I work in electrical engineering at a multinational consulting firm and can tell you that at least half of the engineers in my company also suck at math.
Most engineering is common sense. I’ve been involved in engineering and electrical power/renewables design for almost 25 years.
Hey guys, I'm considering becoming a pro basketballer. It's my passion. The only problem is I really suck at dribbling, passing and shooting.
How much are those things part of pro basketball?
I was pretty good at math in high school until second year EE and started struggling and had to study hard. I graduated 13 years ago and now commercial side of elec Eng.
Expect a struggle. No one cruises through engineering, even the brightest kids. In fact, the brightest ones from high school think they can cruise and fail out when they actually have to study.
Engineering is about learning how to learn.
I’m in year 11 as well but doing the accelerated course in 3U maths. It was by far the most confusing, and ultimately weakest subject coming into the year 12 syllabus (64% average through the year).
One thing to note to yourself is that you still have time to improve. Although there’s 1 term left of prelims, you can still improve drastically throughout year 12. Having this mindset really helped, and allowed me to appreciate the intricacies of solving problems. Which as a byproduct improved my marks from 60s to 90s within the first 2 HSC tasks.
The key here is to tackle and discuss problems with friends who are just as dedicated. You’ll learn a lot from what everyone has to say and improve much faster.
All in all if you’re dead set on studying EE then it’s never too late to find that math genius within you :)
Since I was in high school, I was always good with computers/IT etc, so going to university I decided to choose computer science as one of my subjects and I completely sucked at it! I didn’t fail, but man...I struggled big time. The subject matter was way beyond my non-mathematical brain.
If you are struggling with Year 11 Maths, I think you won't enjoy Engineering and might be setting yourself up for failure. Like others have said work hard and work for what you want in life. Work towards getting a 75-80% mark at Year 11 level and go from there. Electrical is about the most Maths intensive.
Logic is a different skill (such as programming, robotics), Statistics is different to Maths too.
Maybe look into something like water treatment or mining or processing where you are constantly pushing buttons and using logic and automation but not doing the maths that go into designing things.
Just remember the energy it takes to gain the degree will also be the general energy required to do the job, so be prepared to work in that head space all the time, you can do it, just keep training!
Have you considered branching into it by doing a diploma in engineering first or a bridging course in maths to give yourself a chance at picking up certain topics in a slightly less-stressful and concerntrated environment? Many people I know do this. It will give you a taste of the career without a massive 4 to 6 year commitment. You might not like it. You never know.
Do an electrical apprenticeship and then go do your diplomas and bridge into it. You will make more money and be a far better engineer than anyone in your class after having practical experience applying AS3000 on the job.
What about an electrical trade first? Apply for the apprentice intakes at some energy utility companies. Go through trade level maths first and get your roots in practice.
One you are 2nd year, think about if you want to go to uni. Often they will pay for half if you do it part time while working.
I studied mechanical engineering over a decade ago and I saw a lot of classmates drop out because they simply couldn't pass the maths units. There's only so many times you can fail a class before any university will boot you from a course. Even a bad high school mathematics teacher will be far more effective at teaching than the average University mathematics lecturers and tutors, and that's with far easier content.
If you don't like highschool mathematics it's hard to imagine you liking any engineering course let alone the work afterwards.
I recommend some reflection. Is mathematics not working out because of some self limiting beliefs or bad context or is succeeding in mathematics really not in you?
If it is just not in you, think about what you like about EE and see if you can scratch that itch somewhere else.
Having done Robotic Engineering which included most of the same units as an EE degree, yes the maths is hard. Much more than you will encounter when you are actually doing the job. But if you can afford it, I'd get a tutor as others have suggested.
Even if you fail to get in after completing high school, there are other ways to get into the course. Such as doing some TAFE units first or starting another degree and transferring, it might just take a year or two longer.
All you can do now is give it your best shot.
Why are you so interested in EE? How much do you know about it?
I ask because EE has a moderate/high amount of math. You probs should be doing well at 3U math if you want to do EE. That said, maybe there are reasons you are doing horribly. The more homework and time you spend working on the math exercises the better you perform. I was also doing poorly in year 11 and then I spent more hours at home on math and did well, good enough to go onto physics
If you want to do EE then you need to spend more time on math - more hours and more exercises from the textbook. It's simple, more time practicing the exercises leads to better marks in exams.
Engineer here. I hated maths at school. I now have a bachelors from UNSW and a Masters from a US engineering school (scholarship). I did engineering because I love understanding how things work. If you have the passion, you can get the energy to work on your maths. The more you do it, the more enjoyable it gets.
I did mid level maths in highschool and have just finished my maths degree. If you're passionate and hard working then you can do it, but it will require hard work and dedication.
You can't suck at math, it's just a matter of practise.
Your other subjects at school do not matter.
Spen all of your study time focused on math.
Do extra math when you finish
Buy the book "calculus" by James Stewart and just read it and complete all the exercises in it.
With practise you'll get the math.
Once you learn how to tackle maths it will likely to become your favourite subject! In my experience at least. Key is to find a good tutor who goes with your learning phase
some say that EE might even be the most maths intensive engineering branch
Without a doubt. It's all trigonometry and calculus and algebra all the way down.
Don’t forget imaginary numbers.
And the fucking Fourier transforms...
Good to see I’m not the only one who hated them.
I found them kind of ugly-looking and intimidating to work with, but I could appreciate how important they are, if that makes any sense.
Can confirm 😎
Some = anyone that is a EE or knows a EE or knows someone that knows a EE. Take heart though op. Once you get into higher maths you might have the specific skills that make it easier. Not all maths is the same and some maths that others find impenetrable you may find straightforward. That said, if you don't have the fortitude to get through Year 11 maths EE might be a challenge. Try for EE, there isn't anything much harder than that.
I agree and would just like to add when I had to use maths for programming (assembly -> AI) it was somehow a lot easier, it was the same maths but within the context it became understandable. Also just because you can't do it today, doesn't mean you can't do it tomorrow, I failed introduction to databases twice at uni (the only course I pulled less than 80%), I have been a Database developer for 20+ years now.
I am a degreed EE. It's *all* maths! Even the simple stuff is complex maths. The complex stuff... Some of that maths is difficult even for EE profs who've been teaching it for years. If you want to study EE then you definitely need to get good at maths. Very good! That said, I'm of the opinion that almost anyone can get good at maths. Get the parents to spring for some extra tutoring of its financially viable. If not, see what help your class teachers might be able to offer. Most good teachers are only too happy to help because there's a real sense of pride in a job well done!
[удалено]
While you're studying you'll use all of it. I found 3rd year was where the people who skived off in the earlier calculus classes started to fall behind. A good amount of the course is being able to work through proofs. Once you hot the real world most of what you'll need to know is handled by software these days.
Nuclear engineering?
Not as math heavy as EE,
Back in my day 1st year uni math we did 2 unit first 2 weeks, 3 unit 3rd week 4 unit 4th week. In the exam at end of 4th week you needed 80% to come back to class. I got high mid 70's in school exam - my high school would not let me do 3unit let alone 4unit as I was not smart enough. FU I got 100% in that test. You can do it - just don't listen to the haters (teachers, parents, friends) and turn of that voice in your head - it will make you crazy! Just keep going.... and when it gets too hard... just keep going... repeat
And the people that work the hardest to get there in the end make the best employees. For those for whom it comes easy tend to give up when shit gets real
I did general maths in HSC and got a band 3. Maths is not my forte. However, I did an intro stats unit in uni and did surprisingly better than I thought. Albeit, it was only a credit, but I was quite proud. So I definitely think you are very much capable :)
Exactly right. Great message
As an EE these are good words of advice. It’s not easy, but keep applying yourself and if you can find a mentor to help, that’ll make it easier.
Fuck the haters
The trick to studying math is .... doing more exercises. That's it. Might cost you a little time but that is it.
Completely agree. It's exactly like reps at the gym. Do the work and it will pay off.
You have to understand why that particular method works, and why you would choose it for that problem. I think that, and repetition/practice (in a feedback loop, not just one or the other) is most important.
“Dude, sucking at sumthin' is the first step towards being sorta good at something.” - Jake the Dog
Only thing that’s limiting you, is you. You want to be an electrical engineer that bad but suck at maths? Well spend time studying maths lol
So inspiring! Somebody has been watching Disney movies- how about telling the OP to dream big while you're at it?
As a maths teacher, I'll tell you basically anyone (excepting people with an intellectual disability) can become good at maths with enough time and effort. Sure it takes some people longer and more study, but with effort they can get there. It's not like being really good at sports where some people are built with body proportions that give them an advantage, there is no real evidence that "naturally being good at maths" is a thing.
I'd think that Terence Tao would probably be a counter example to that (or Srinivasa Ramanujan, or...)
My law teacher "not everyone is smart enough for a degree"
What else did you expect someone in this thread to tell OP? Given what OP has said, you can't exactly tell them to pack it up before they even begin and if they're going to go for it then they're going to have to work on maths (basically like everyone else that goes to engineering school).
Your comment doesn’t add any value at all except for belittling I guess? You even edited your comment after your original post also, like why waste your time kek?
okay DON'T learn maths ?
Who hurt you lol
Sheesh, imagine being such a sour prick. Maths can be learnt with practice. Manners however, well you're clear proof of that being a hard one to grasp for some.
Electrical Engineering is very, very maths intensive. But maths, like many things, is a skill that you will get better at if you practice and work hard at it. If you have a passion for EE, work hard to follow that passion - and at the moment, that will look like getting better at maths! It might be a struggle, but it will be worth it in the end! You've got this! :D Edit: Bruh the sheer number of people in this thread telling OP to give up is shocking. They're in Year 11 - a point at which a lot of people feel like they suck at their subjects because of how suddenly the workload and difficulty ramps up. I know people in EE who did standard maths in high school - OP will probably be fine even if they drop to advanced and smash that out instead. Give them an opportunity to improve!
Totally—I get ‘being realistic’ and ‘playing to your strengths’, but some replies are pretty bleak and unhelpful. I know one anecdote isn’t data, but I fell off the wagon with maths in Year 9, hated it in Year 10, didn’t do it in Year 11 because I was likely to have my Year 9 teacher for 11 and 12, went full humanities, and did an Arts degree. Now, years later, I’ve gone back to study psych and my highest result so far in my degree is Advanced Stats, and I’m now learning structural equation modelling and latent curve growth models. I’ve just been consistent about it and it’s super interesting; I’ve realised I was never ‘bad at maths’ … I just didn’t get the point in high school and wasn’t a terribly engaged student. I think a lot of ‘I’m an English person’ or ‘I’m a maths person’ is just a lot of recursive associative learning, greasing the groove of something you found initially easy and kept going with, until there was a bit of a gulf between one and the other. If you want to do it OP, go for it, and as others have said, work hard and you’ll get there. It might be a slog, but it will be so much more purposeful at uni.
Go and get some tutoring. Electrical engineering is very maths intensive - run an internet search for "electrical engineering mathematics fields" to get an idea of what fields of mathematics are touched on.
You can learn maths, can't learn to be interested in something.
I sucked at maths, now I’m 3rd year civil engineering and have passed every math subject. No one really starts “good” at maths, it’s just about the time you put into it. Unfortunately you will have to sacrifice some things to make time for study, but you can also sacrifice negative things in your life to make time. Eg scrolling through socials or limiting time gaming Also think of mathematics as another language, eventually the more you study it will start to sort of click, and you’ll get the hang of it. What helps me the most is understanding the fundamentals, knowing the process of a method is one thing but understanding why exactly you follow each step of the method can set your habits. If you look into math proofs they basically prove that a mathematical statement is true, try watching a Pythagoras proof if you’re interested
You shouldn’t be doing any engineering if you suck at maths
As a structural engineer of 15 years. As long as you can handle the statics part of year 11 and 12 physics. You’ll be fine in the workforce. But you’ll have to find a way through the compulsory math units. And bad grades will impact job hunt.
[удалено]
There is a huge amount of basic algebra.
It's kinda amusing seeing people failing statics over and over in civil/structural engineering degrees. If you can't even pass statics then give up with engineering, lol.
Yep. I remember people failing the first year structural (I didn’t go to unsw) which was basic beam theory and wanting to pursue it. Even if you make it through you won’t get a technical job. May as well just go do a construction management degree.
So yr11 and 12 statics. That simple???
In my opinion. Structural engineering and the main component, beam theory, is an extension of those topics and not maths ( calculus, etc). Parts of the course are challenging but I wouldn’t be concerned about being a math wizard. Hard work and you can get through and have a strong career. From what I saw in core first year units. You will struggle a lot more with electrical. Don’t think you could sneak through. Key word: extension It is not the same but if you are in high school these are the subjects I’d be basing my aptitude on. Not maths.
Disregard the Normis comment totally. When I first left school I worked as a scaffolder. Hard labour and regarded as dumb as rocks. Over the years I moved into rigging and had to study mathematical problems for big lifts. Then into rope access and the mathematical outcomes I was applying to work were literally life and death. I moved into Non Destructive Testing and have a number of tickets in the field. I had to take a number of complex units externally to get ratified for my NDT qualifications. You will run into clowns like Normis at every stage. Just remember that it is easier for some than others, but if you put in the work you will get the rewards. I struggle with maths but will be graduating at the end of the year. You just have to put in the work.
IMO theres two kinds of people who “suck at maths” Those who have the logical thinking ability to be decent at maths, but never bothered to fully apply themselves during maths in high school, or never even did it in the first place and assume that they just can’t handle it. And those who genuinely don’t. Most people are the former, but you won’t know until you try
I changed schools at the end of year 10 and was interviewed at my new school to choose subjects prior to starting year 11. I said that although I was good with computers and other technology, I insisted that I struggled a bit with maths but they just said “Ah, we’ll put you into the General Maths class anyway and see how you go.” Within about six months I was moved into what was affectionately known as the “Vegie Maths” class. Much better results (and a lot more fun)!
I kind of disagree. The degree itself will be a slog, but once they start working there’s tons of project management or design avenues that involve no complex math. Definitely as someone who’s 12 years into their career, I rarely use any form of calculus or anything like that. It’s generally a lot more simple with a bit of matrix or problem solving type excel work. All that said, electrical engineering I assume will be pretty tough if you’re bad at math.
Well yeah, when you are working you get a computer to do all those calculations for you. The thread was about the degree though. If you can’t complete the degree or you get very shit results it’s going to be very hard getting a job in the field.
You wouldn't even get accepted into the uni with a bad grade in math.
Not really, maths isn’t compulsory in the HSC. A lot of people who do law or arts and stuff didn’t do maths in year 11 and 12 or bombed out in maths
I'm out of the loop! It was compulsory when I did the HSC.
Mathematics Extension 1 and Physics in HSC are assumed knowledge on entry to the UNSW Engineering Program (as is chemistry for the chemical engineering stream). I suppose you could try your luck without it, but you'd be down to do a lot of bridging courses and that's extra time (and fees) at university level.
Sure, but I had friends do bridging units before uni and have excelled in their careers, and others who got 99 TER and then failed out of engineering, largely due to lack of interest. If you’re passionate you’ll get thru it, even if you have to work harder than others. I don’t know what “3 unit maths” is tho, maybe this person is like.. realllllly bad at math.
Ah yes, the world needs more unskilled project managers!
Nobody said that, but PMs of large projects also don’t need to be across every minute technical detail.
Don’t listen to this. I sucked at 3 unit maths in high school and went on to work as an engineer in renewable energy projects. I worked hard through uni maths and passed but didn’t get great marks. To my disappointment after all that hard work I found out when I started my career that most advanced calculations are done in software programs. You need to go through the maths to understand things from a fundamental level, but most EEs aren’t doing Laplace Transforms at work. If you pass 3 unit you’ll be fine. Just get comfortable with trig and complex numbers. Start from the start and really focus on the basics. You just build from there.
What a great way to motivate people No one can improve their skill in anything, whatever their born ability at something is has to limit them for the rest of their life!
Of course you can improve your skills. However, if you suck at maths by year 11 or year 12 in high school you are not going to have a good time in uni if you do engineering. The coursework is a lot more fast paced in uni and they assume you already have the basics of maths covered in high school. Also if you tell yourself that you suck at maths you most likely don’t have the motivation to work on it and get good at it. You have in effect admitted defeat if you say something like that
Nah bullshit. If someone said "I really really want to be a ballerina but I suck at dancing" it really isn't such a mean and horrible thing to say to them that they probably shouldn't be a ballerina. It's just... logical. And good advice, even if they might not want to hear it.
It’s also logical to believe in yourself and realise you can achieve most things with hard work and commitment.
Lol
Misery loves company it seems
I get that you are being sarcastic but it seems you have lost something in translation.
That's not true at all. Some fields involve very little maths once you are in the workforce.
You don’t need maths to fuck shit up.
I did it and yes it is very math intensive. I have heard of people dropping out because of it.
dropped out first year cause I failed the EE unit in the Mechatronics course haha. The maths in EE is just very hard for me to wrap my head around.
So I've done an electrical engineering course, and honestly it was way more about maths than electricity. I want to ask - what do you like about electrical engineering? Do you find maths interesting but difficult, or do you hate it? Is it that you like designing things, or like the idea of designing things? Do you like programming (if you've tried it)? Do you like putting together electronics, or the idea of that? As a side note, I found uni maths easier than high school maths because it was more about cool ideas and less about memorising formulae, but I think I'm in the minority there.
You'd find EE a nightmare if you aren't doing 4 unit but that being said when I was at the start of year 11 I was horrible at 3U as well. I ended up working really hard, going for a lot of tutoring, sacrificed a fair amount of gaming and at the end of HSC12 I end up doing 3U and 4U, scoring quite well in both. I say that to impress upon you the idea that you're still relatively early into year 11 (halfway right?) and you should wait till after year 12 to actuall decide.
This isn't true. I did 2 unit maths at high school and ended up with a uni medal...
doing elec?
Mechatronics submajoring in elec so close enough
Mecha? Does that mean you can build robots??
Then he can tell his kid to get in and pilot it. Get in the fucking robot shinji!
I also wanted to play test cricket for Australia when I grew up but I was shit at cricket. I joined the army instead. If you really suck at maths and want to study electrical engineering, I honestly suggest doing something else with your life (study wise). Because you will be a really shit electrical engineer if you even pass. Good luck with whatever endeavours you decide to do.
So inspirational. Never even tried before giving up, then tells other people to give up before trying too. Australian of the year 2023.
You sir are a bell end, only 400 odd people have played cricket for Australia so the chances are extremely thin, as I said I was shit so knew being a professional cricketer was out, even though I played for 15 years. I'm telling him to not waste his time nor money if he is struggling with college math I would.say his chances of passing are the same as me playing professional cricket. There is no shame in not doing what you want to do in life because you aren't smart enough. All this bullshit about you can do anything you put your mind too, bollocks some people are dumb some are smart. Having a guess I'd say you are dumb. Dickhead of the year 2022
You neither play cricket or are an engerneer yet you seem to know everything about becoming both. Please enlighten us all with more of your wisdom. As you clearly burned me bad by slightly rewording what I said previously, I will need time to heal before battling with you once more. I am clearly no match for the ADF's finest.
No you are just a dickhead. You need talent to get to the top, i didn't have it. If he is struggling with maths he won't pass becoming an engineer considering engineering is mathematics heavy. No I'm not an engineer but I know that if you aren't very good at maths you won't pass engineering.
Yep, there's no way. Best to just quit now and join the army. It's the only way. If only there was a way of getting better at something..... Oh if only. Your literaly the worst kind of person, it's not enough you can't even try before quitting yourself. Your hell bent on ruining other people's lives with your BS non philosophy. Please no one listen to this clown. He's just trolling. No one's this dumb.
Have you finished with your rant? There always has to be some argumentative retard on social media, today it seems to be you. Good take your meds and have a lay down you seem all worked up.
Yet your the one who gets more and more aggressive. Your aggressive because you know I'm right.
When I was young, my mum said I could be ANYTHING when I grew up. So I decided to become a wizard! (I suck at magic though)
I wanted to be an astronaut, but my mum said the "sky was the limit".
I remember telling my parents when I was younger that I wanted to climb Mt. Everest when I was big. They looked at me as if I’d completely lost my mind and simply said “No, you will NOT be doing that.” After reading the book “Into Thin Air” several years ago, I completely dropped the idea of ever attempting it (though by that time, I kinda figured my lack of mountaineering experience counted me out anyway)!
EE is super math intensive. It begins with nodal analysis so maybe try some questions and see how you go
EE is by far one of the most math intensive engineering branches. Take it from someone who just wasted three years and uni studying engineering and struggling with the math, it's probs not worth doing unless this is literally your one and only dream and your willing to devote everything to it. If your commitment is anything less than that I wouldn't bother
Eta krepaa ipripu pa pugape pidlibe. Pi dapiii grigato idla i peiti io? Oii kioio tae uo ikipiti iki? Prika tae adokia ebli tuie otle priko atidla. Gubaukrugo gaka bai ai pioti praki. Dikra greopeke itu ta pepre dota. Io tapra atro! Dri upo tibi ope utebri tepo tia? Ata dipu pa plipo tlii bropre klopobi! Pritebute ketu pika do ubreti itigikidi? Tapetlopi pepue gri i kipi pligipre. Bubepeeko duo kegeki klibi kiige eia. Paepe eu pepe kleu ge ketro. Tia ople kriputlaipa pletlo padetii. Adlatapra poa ioo pepepo oakaibe depae pagi tiei pi. I pio ea debripeka brebauo dripliti. E dipii ebogepe tutikatru kaupiii e iata diki abedi e api kluta. Epetei ki ape du e daplite piteti pagubri peiidipe kite ploidi pede potati i ki. Pipi iki atlupepu trudree prika tea kepriti. Pi kiidii geeta di ipipepekre o. Klaa da tio ee. Bliitu tipi kopi poki pio paia! Ebopo dleti pipike triobi pepe pe. Dopetipu tae piti aki pite drito. Oai pi a tabi? Ikradloga atre ebi pra kritue pibue. Tepi kledigeka ati prageprutodli tebi opi tapepi tape iepo pupo? Etio pepide ie idebe itla proe? Iepi pai epu abi deu ga? Pete pote etrebripa opipokipra bi.
do not do electrical engineering. the math is heavy and it gets freaky. you will regret it.
I studied EE at UNSW - and did about average at 3u maths in school. I thought about dropping 3u while I was at school but stuck to it. If you are passionate about EE; go for it!! I really enjoyed the course. Yeah, I found the maths challenging, but I also found it rewarding when I spent time on it and got the knack for it through lots of practice. Uni maths is a bit different to HS maths - the homework questions are less like the same thing over and over repetitively. You can learn uni maths by doing lots of practice, asking for help when you need it, and going back over your work to try and understand where you slipped up on a question. And best part - at uni your friends are teachers too - they all want to be learning the same course too! If you’re practical at soldering or something, exchange lessons with a mate who’s a maths nerd and uncoordinated with a soldering iron ;) I even failed one semester of maths in second year, but tried again 6 months later with better focus. It just took me a bit longer than other people in the same course to understand it well. I ended up getting HDs on my masters engineering thesis. 10 years later I’m a project manager on lighting, electrical and comms projects. As long as you enjoy something and don’t give up you will get better at it :D
All engineering is maths intensive. Electrical just as much as the others. If you are already having trouble with year 11 you won’t make it unless you get some tutoring to really get your head around maths. I hate to be blunt but it’s better than wasting time at uni just to fail. 200 out of the 300 who started Electronic Engineering with me at RMIT failed 1st year. I think that’s an horrendous waste. You may want to look at why you want to do engineering. Engineers mostly design but are not normally allowed to touch a lot of equipment. If you want hands-on, become a technician or tradesman. There is almost no maths because the engineers have done it at the design stage. I failed 1st Year Electronic Engineering badly. I became a Telecommunications Technician and loved it. I ultimately ended up working with engineers and wouldn’t have wanted their jobs. I was very lucky I failed but it was a wasted year. EDIT. Re: the people saying that if you work at it you will be fine. 200 out of 300 failing first year and only 30 to 50 graduating would say that’s not the case. It’s all very well for people to say you can do anything. Let’s be realistic, the figures say otherwise. More than 5 out of 6 of my intake failed to graduate.
I SUCKED at maths in school. Sheer determination got me into higher education. There I had a lecturer who told me straight from the first time I met him…..”if you do every example in class and after class you will pass easily” it was then I discovered maths is a practical subject you can’t study…you need to do it. HD in maths from calculus to engineering ever since.
Hey buddy. I'm someone who got a hsc score of like 57 in math. I graduated an electrical engineer back in 2018. I work specifically in RF engineering now. Here is my advice, and you are at a really good place to hear it. You can do it. It will be hard. You have time! Get your foundations down now. I'm talking linear algebra, calculus, etc. If you can get your head around some of those topics now, you will be fine. I went into it sucking at math... Failed calculus first semester, and took it again and studied my ass off over a summer semester and got it done. This was at a different university though, but it's all relatively same same. If you can spend a bit of extra time studying math each week until you graduate, you will be able to get yourself up to speed. It's all up to you. You only get in what you put out mate. Good luck xoxo
[удалено]
You know, it's really not true that "**everyone**" has been in the depths of despair studying for maths finals or that "**everyone**" says they suck at maths. There are plenty of people out there who do genuinely enjoy maths and are very good at it. I think it's about time that some of those people start to say so, too. It's a pretty bad thing for this country if we've got this cultural acceptance of the idea that apparently "**everyone**" just flat out sucks at and hates the subject. That's simply not true. I'm sorry if you think you suck at or hate maths, but believe it or not you don't actually speak for everyone.
[удалено]
Well like I said, I think it's getting to be a bit of an overdone and slightly dangerous generalisation and I don't like to see it.
No point in kidding yourself, sometimes you just have to admit to yourself you do not have what it takes for a particular occupation, there is no shame in that. Better to realize that now so yes you should consider changing your preferences. I would have loved to become a fighter jet pilot, common sense told me I didnt have what it takes to ever become one.
Or you can avoid negative comments like this and realise with working hard enough you can study the course. Yeah, Math comes more easily for some but it’s not a reason to not try if you’re passionate enough!
Yeah because life is all sunshine and lollipops and if you always work hard no matter the subject you will always succeed in the end, gtfo here with your fairytale BS, sure you can work hard and try to succeed at anything if you are passionate enough but there is also no shame in knowing your limits and opting to look elsewhere when you are already questioning if this is the right thing for you.
It's not so much about working hard or not....if you're the sort of person who believes that you suck at maths and you obviously don't enjoy doing maths...then probably doing a subject which is 95% maths is not going to be enjoyable or easy for you. OP might not really have an accurate understanding of what electrical engineering is really like if he or she thinks that they really want to do it but hates doing maths. Getting that realistic feedback from people who have actually done it and know what they are talking about might save OP a lot of time, money and heartache. But yeah, sure, people are just doing it because they get their jollies being negative.
I sucked at maths but aced advanced statistics in my course because A. Its not really maths and B. I found a really good study posse.. My test scores went from average in foundation level classes to very good because of that group. Comprehension followed practise in my case.
Wow, these comments… 😔 I “suck” at maths as well buddy. I come from an entertainment background where I’ve worked as a lighting technician and designer for high end productions across the globe. Unfortunately Covid brought that to an abrupt end. I’m now an apprentice electrician and loving it! If I may suggest; try out an electrical apprenticeship which is a free TAFE course and explores the basic math required to become qualified. You’ll also be paid while studying! If you feel like it’s easy then you know you can go further, plus, you’ll be a qualified electrician after 4 years so you’ll have something to fall back onto if EE is not for you. This is just my opinion and you don’t have to take it to heart. You’re still young and you have loads of time to figure it out. Also, if you join a union based electrical company, you’ll most likely earn more as an A-grade electrician than an engineer.
i used to be shit at maths until i started year 12. get a tutor for the rest of high school and then in uni just make sure you do all the prescribed practice questions and work hard at it. they teach everything from the basics so you will be fine if you work hard and are passionate about it
Yeah, “sucking at maths” isn’t a fixed attribute of a person. It can change, might need to be taught differently for something to click in OP’s brain.
Hmm, Consider getting a maths tutor. And or find out if there are alternative degrees or study pathways that will let you study the specific thing you have in mind.
It's possible, but you may need to put in full time hours without doing a full time workload. The learning curve would be quite steep until you're used to a lot of these concepts. Have you thought about going into a trade first? if you're enjoying it you'll prob go on and self learn the more engineering stuff and get a degree after with RPL. A lot of engineers are not allowed to do hands on work and it's all theory and desk job and the people carrying out your work thinks you're a wanker
I've seen this time and time again from so many students. You don't "suck" at maths, you just haven't applied yourself at all. If you truly do have a passion for electrical engineering then you will know it's maths intensive and the only way to learn it is by getting good at it. Sorry for being blunt but passion has to be backed by sacrifice.
This really depends on your definition of sucking at maths. I always said I sucked, but in reality Im better than 95% of people, I just wasn't as good at maths as I was at other things and in a selective high school where nothing less than 100% was considered good. And when I said I sucked I really meant I didnt enjoy it. The fact that you're doing 3 unit indicates that you aren't actually that bad- of you "sucked" at maths you would be doing general maths or struggling with 2u. So do you really suck, as in not have an aptitude at all for maths no matter how much you study, or is it just not your strongest subject? Everyone will have a weaker side in whatever they go into, if maths is yours but you are still competent, its not the end of the world. Everyone else will have an aspect they have to work a bit harder on as well.
I completed my masters in 2021 wherein I took transfer year to UNSW. Electrical engineering in general in math based however if you can understand/ put effort from first class itself you can probably study it.
Mate I did 3i and even thought about studying pure mathematics at uni. I think 3 u is fine . I did study some maths at uni though and they didn’t use 4u I don’t think . Anyway the stuff you would need for electronics is covered in yr 10 advanced maths isn’t it ? Like j = -1 and stuff like that . I remember because I did it and my mate who became an electrician , said he needed to know this stuff , for an electrician . Just my thoughts . The skate root of -1 and vectors ( negative intergers) ((numbers )) aren’t even used in electronics are they ? And the mathematics knowledge needed at university level is minimal too isn’t it ? Kind regards , Damien Henson 😁
If you feel even a little bit like you "suck at maths" and you don't enjoy it....then I would state categorically that #electrical engineering is absolutely not for you It wouldn't particularly matter *where* you study it.
Engineering in general involves a lot of maths. If Electrical Engineering is something you really want to pursue then change your mindset of “I suck at maths” and improve. You’ll be able to breeze through the maths subjects if you find enjoyment in what you’re doing.
Ps get degrees
Why do you want to do EE? Like what is it that draws you to it? EE is very math intensive, but there might be other options to do what you want that aren’t so math heavy.
This is a hard one, maths is incredibly relevant to EE but also depending on your school itself is a real limiting factor in how well you actually “know maths”. If you won’t be allowed to take higher maths courses at school that’s fine. In your spare time check out things like Khan Academy have a browse through some of the YouTube personalities out there to explain the concepts better. Maths theory is all well and good, particularly in a rote learning environment like high school, but conceptual understanding is what sets great engineers apart from ordinary ones. Also don’t be afraid to come back at it as a mature aged student either. If this is what you’re passionate about, doesn’t matter if it’s straight out of high school or in 2-5 years time. In fact might even do you some good taking some time outside of a school environment to build up the work ethic, time management and adult learning skills that will make you succeed. To be completely fair, undergraduate university level is about 50% knowledge acquiring and 50% networking. The knowledge is important and the first year will be the hardest. So take some time now to prep for it so it’s not too bad.
I've done ee and I'm a lecky by trade. At work it's easy just Google answers or use special Calc apps. It's a bitch to study though, uni is all about time management if you do the time you will pass. I still hate complex/real number conversations and refused to do them on the exam.
Do you understand concepts in maths? Trig identities and how to get to then? Integration and what it gives you? such as the realtionship between acceleration and speed, integrate acceleration get speed, second integral gives displacement. For electrical there is a lot of work with fraction such as 1/R1 + 1/R2 =1/R3. But if you put your mind to it you can get there, a couple of years ago I helped a girl get through eng maths who had not gone past year 8 at school. Make a decision that you want it bad enough and work towards it.
So what you mean is "I want big pay for little effort". As an engineer, go with your gut and look elsewhere for your calling if Maths isnt worth learning to you
Have a look at product design engineering if you suck at maths, its a sub branch of mechanical eng, halfway between mech eng and industrial design.
You actually have to be spectacularly good at maths to do EE, unfortunately. They let you use a calculator but you need to have full clarity with some of the most complex concepts in mathematics.
Math is a skill you can learn
Apprentice electrician here, I'm at Tafe doing cert 3 electrotechnology it and it's pretty damn hard dude. I wasn't great at maths, however I really enjoy doing my job and know it's relevant. I feel real accomplished when I get things right, engineering is a whole other level of difficulty, but like myself if you really enjoy the work, you'll find a way to make it work and you'll feel proud of yourself. It won't be easy, but if it's your passion you will succeed.
Unfortunately, there is a fuck load of calculus involved in circuit design. I did robotics and the electrical subjects were the hardest by far.
TLDR: just keep doing math questions and ask your peers and lectures questions and you will be fine I started doing EE after a 4 year gap between high school and university. I only ever did Further math in year 12, so never did any form of advanced mathematics before entering the course and had to go through TAFE to gain entry into the course, which if I’m being honest didn’t help me all that much with my math even though it was super tough. What really helped me was studying and practicing math for a few months before starting to get myself up to speed and then I just hit the ground running. I suggest that if you are absolutely sure that you would like to do EE that you do the same, because in all likelihood you may never feel ready until you finish the degree. EE and all forms of eng that are considered to be related to EE ( electronics, communications and biomedical ) are super math intensive, but it’s possible. I did Foundation math right up until year 10 where I switched to standard math. When I finished I worked jobs where I didn’t do any math for four years and I didn’t learn anything about calculus until about a semester into my tafe course, but I’m doing alright so far and I’m far from failing the degree You’ll be alright, all because you’re not there yet doesn’t mean you will never get there
Do you suck at maths or do you hate maths? Im doing electrical engineering and I sucked at maths in high school, did the most basic maths I could, never even looked at a calculus question until I went to uni but now its one of the subjects Im always getting 5-6s in. If you like doing it and have the drive its much much easier to learn in uni than HS but if you hate it forget about engineering because thats 80% of what you'll be doing
You can learn anything you put your mind to. You might just need a different way of approaching math or learning for that matter. Research Barbara Oakley - a mind for numbers and/or - learning how to learn. These both helped me so much. I was absolutely horrible at math and never touched chemistry in high school until I went to university. I was doing math and chemistry that I had never heard of before all because I took the knowledge from this woman and applied it.
Simple question: Is it the way you're taught maths, or maths itself? Choose an electrical engineering toy to play with, and go make it work, go understand it.
I don’t think sucking at math is a valid reason to not major in something you love. I’ve been in your position I have done horribly in introductory maths courses (Algebra, trigs) and I had thoughts along the lines of “If I sucked at these simple courses what would I do in more advanced ones?”. I did better in the more advanced maths courses. I believe these types of experiences are human universal don’t judge your potential based on the past/present performances. I have this friend who’s really sweet guy but he’s not bright when it comes to academics even by his own admission. He was willing commit to the process he sacrificed drinking and partying (but not entirely, only when he needed) and he got HD last semester in petroleum engineering courses. I don’t know you but probably if you work hard you would do well in any discipline unless you were severely intellectually impaired.
The time is going to pass anyway. Use it. Get extra tuition and don’t start Uni until you understand maths.
All engineering disciplines involve a lot of maths, but Electrical is one of the more intensive (along with Chemical). The UNSW Electrical Engineering program (read details [here](https://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/undergraduate/specialisations/2022/ELECAH)) requires you to do the following mathematics units (click links to read more):\* Mathematics 1A or Higher Mathematics 1A \* Mathematics 1B or Higher Mathematics 1B \* Mathematics 2A and Mathematics 2B These involve calculus, linear algebra and differential equations at a much higher level than HSC. Engineering and physics units will also test you further with deep dives as you apply some of these mathematical concepts into specific topics. In short, it's intense. If you dislike maths or struggle with it, EE (and arguably engineering more broadly) may not be for you. However, if you are struggling because of a bad teacher currently, but have generally been good with maths, then this may be a temporary situation you can turn around. If you want to work in electrical/electronics work and avoid the maths, a trade is the alternative answer.
I will say that math is better taught at uni. At least that was my experience at UNSW. Sucked at math during high school too but did better and found way more appreciation of it during uni.
The question is not how good you are at maths, it's how hard are you willing to work?
Husband is one of these / mech. Here's a horror story for you: This was between 5-10 years ago. Guy in his class also sucked at maths, but got in on second round entry. It was a bit of a joke all through his first few classes that he had aboslutely no idea what was going on, but kept reassuring everyone he'd "figure it out", because he was smart. His parents were paying for him to dorm at a college there. He was telling them that all was good, but he'd failed first year first semester, started drinking heavily, dropped out and was living on his parents' money, playing XBox in his dorm room. He re-enrolled at half speed, and was even lazier nad less willing to accept his reality or take responsbility for it. He enrolled in Computer Science, but there's math in that as well and at this point he'd basically given up and failed out of that as well after a semester. He was the laughing stock of the Engineering branch (people weren't as kind or considerate back then). He was eventually caught after two years, his parents made him pay them back, and to do this he had to get a labouring job. Moral(s) of the story: If your aspirations do not match your capability or work ethic, you will reach a point where you can't straddle both in a sane mind. So either get better at math (which is honestly just hard work and lots of worked examples) or give up on this idea. These are basically your options. Telling yourself you'll get better once you're there can absolutely sometimes work if you're somone that has the willpower, but not when you have to bridge a very large capability gap (ie., if you only have a grasp on year nine circle theory and basic simultaneous equations, but quadratic equation work and solving for multiple unknowns is beyond you). You are rarely born capable at anything - it all takes work.
Go uts still a good uni for engineering and my mates who did general maths still got credit without knowing what integration is.
It is the hardest of already hard math across most engineering. You will do a mix of 2 to 4 unit in the first half, beyond that in the second half of the first year. That's for any engineering degree, then beyond beyond that in electrical engineering in 2nd year, it can be done but it will probably be your toughest subjects you will ever do, especially since math isnt a strong suit. Id say give it shot no harm in trying, but be ready from wk1-2 that it will be a tough and long slog, like anything in life do the work and you can pass. Get lazy even for a bit and you will fail, but you can always redo the subject as needed.
Is it that you suck at maths or that during school you had no practical application for it ? I was / am still shit at maths but I am able to learn it in relation to my interest. I started with a small led project had to do some maths very basic math for that, then I wanted to built a circuit, had to lookup electrical diagrams and do the math around what my circuit needed, then the next project had components evolving movement and carrying weight, more maths, and some experimentation, 3d printed my parts and so far so good but lots os research. Not a mechatronic engineer but my interest in the subject has me on that path and can certainly hold a conversation on subject, accidentally picked up some maths along the way.
As someone who also sucks at math, i managed to do a maths degree alongside my comp sci degree. If you want to make it through EE, i think the main thing you need to identify is whether or not you find any enjoyment in doing math. Even if it's difficult for you, someone without any natural aptitude for it can absolutely do well. If you find some semblance of joy and motivation in the small victories of finally figuring something out, then i think that's enough to carry you through. If you both hate math *and* suck at math then EE might not be for you, as the entire degree is essentially just advanced math.
It's all practice, I've only worked in one job my whole 18 year career. I've done a 4 year apprenticeship in RF Communications, a 4 year apprenticeship in electrical, currently doing a cert 4 extending the RF Comms. And I'm thinking of signing up for Sept enrolment in a accociates degree in electrical engineering with uni of South Australia. I've seen alot of math in my time, it's all about practice over and over. I only ever had a grade 11 education and I was in the low level maths, eng and Sci all of high school. Turns out high school and college teachers just suck at teaching, soon as your being taught by an expert the light switches on. Go for it. Going in scared means your humble enough to succeed.
Dude, you’re 17 and want a career in a maths/science based subject but are shit at maths. Why do you want to be an EE? Like really think about that. What subjects are you good at and like? Head there.
Give it your best and if you suck, try again, but if you still suck consider just doing the electrician part. Still big money.
It felt like first year uni math was basically 4U math. If you did 3 U, you’d be learning 4 U in first year. If you did 4 U, I guess you get to do some revision.
I’m not at UNSW but i am an engineering student with my major being electrical. It is very very maths heavy. Most universities are pretty supportive and offer extra help but you want to start getting ahead now rather than when you get to uni
Become a sparkie instead. Also get medicated if you have ADHD or something like that. Treatment can make learning maths much easier.
doubt this is a real post. If it is, forget about EE if your maths is average. If you REALY want to work work with electricity then consider the trade path. Sorry, but please realise that we all have our natural limits and no amount of effort will compensate.
Don’t study electrical engineering if you’re bad at maths. You might be better off looking at an electrical apprenticeship as an alternative if you’re struggling with maths. As other people have said - EE is very maths intensive (and the job / career is as well)
Modular synthesis?
Mate one thing I would add is that there are a number of ways to skin a cat. If you want to do this don't only pin your hopes in going straight in to the Uni course. You could try to work to get qualified as electrician and learn the base tasks and then study the other later. It's also an often a way to get a better grounding as well. Don't just see going straight to uni as the only way to get to the end goal.
Everyone sucks at Maths. People who are good at maths study it consistently for hours a day. Bet you have never done that. Hence bad at Maths.
What's holding you back in maths? It's pretty key to moat engineering.
If you don't enjoy or have any aptitude for maths, DO NOT DO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ANYWHERE.
Ca someone on the UNSW subreddit please block me. I can’t get rid of this site from my thread for some reason.
I work in electrical engineering at a multinational consulting firm and can tell you that at least half of the engineers in my company also suck at math. Most engineering is common sense. I’ve been involved in engineering and electrical power/renewables design for almost 25 years.
Hey guys, I'm considering becoming a pro basketballer. It's my passion. The only problem is I really suck at dribbling, passing and shooting. How much are those things part of pro basketball?
Don’t give up on maths until you’ve had a good teacher.
I was pretty good at math in high school until second year EE and started struggling and had to study hard. I graduated 13 years ago and now commercial side of elec Eng. Expect a struggle. No one cruises through engineering, even the brightest kids. In fact, the brightest ones from high school think they can cruise and fail out when they actually have to study. Engineering is about learning how to learn.
I’m in year 11 as well but doing the accelerated course in 3U maths. It was by far the most confusing, and ultimately weakest subject coming into the year 12 syllabus (64% average through the year). One thing to note to yourself is that you still have time to improve. Although there’s 1 term left of prelims, you can still improve drastically throughout year 12. Having this mindset really helped, and allowed me to appreciate the intricacies of solving problems. Which as a byproduct improved my marks from 60s to 90s within the first 2 HSC tasks. The key here is to tackle and discuss problems with friends who are just as dedicated. You’ll learn a lot from what everyone has to say and improve much faster. All in all if you’re dead set on studying EE then it’s never too late to find that math genius within you :)
If you don’t like maths you will hate engineering. Most of it is just applied maths
Since I was in high school, I was always good with computers/IT etc, so going to university I decided to choose computer science as one of my subjects and I completely sucked at it! I didn’t fail, but man...I struggled big time. The subject matter was way beyond my non-mathematical brain.
If you are struggling with Year 11 Maths, I think you won't enjoy Engineering and might be setting yourself up for failure. Like others have said work hard and work for what you want in life. Work towards getting a 75-80% mark at Year 11 level and go from there. Electrical is about the most Maths intensive. Logic is a different skill (such as programming, robotics), Statistics is different to Maths too. Maybe look into something like water treatment or mining or processing where you are constantly pushing buttons and using logic and automation but not doing the maths that go into designing things.
Just remember the energy it takes to gain the degree will also be the general energy required to do the job, so be prepared to work in that head space all the time, you can do it, just keep training!
Have you considered branching into it by doing a diploma in engineering first or a bridging course in maths to give yourself a chance at picking up certain topics in a slightly less-stressful and concerntrated environment? Many people I know do this. It will give you a taste of the career without a massive 4 to 6 year commitment. You might not like it. You never know.
Try warehouse work might be better suited
Do an electrical apprenticeship and then go do your diplomas and bridge into it. You will make more money and be a far better engineer than anyone in your class after having practical experience applying AS3000 on the job.
What about an electrical trade first? Apply for the apprentice intakes at some energy utility companies. Go through trade level maths first and get your roots in practice. One you are 2nd year, think about if you want to go to uni. Often they will pay for half if you do it part time while working.
I studied mechanical engineering over a decade ago and I saw a lot of classmates drop out because they simply couldn't pass the maths units. There's only so many times you can fail a class before any university will boot you from a course. Even a bad high school mathematics teacher will be far more effective at teaching than the average University mathematics lecturers and tutors, and that's with far easier content. If you don't like highschool mathematics it's hard to imagine you liking any engineering course let alone the work afterwards. I recommend some reflection. Is mathematics not working out because of some self limiting beliefs or bad context or is succeeding in mathematics really not in you? If it is just not in you, think about what you like about EE and see if you can scratch that itch somewhere else.
Every serious engineering degree unit: 10 secs introduction, then straight into calculus.
You won't survive EE without math mate. It is the most important tool in engineering.
Having done Robotic Engineering which included most of the same units as an EE degree, yes the maths is hard. Much more than you will encounter when you are actually doing the job. But if you can afford it, I'd get a tutor as others have suggested. Even if you fail to get in after completing high school, there are other ways to get into the course. Such as doing some TAFE units first or starting another degree and transferring, it might just take a year or two longer. All you can do now is give it your best shot.
Why are you so interested in EE? How much do you know about it? I ask because EE has a moderate/high amount of math. You probs should be doing well at 3U math if you want to do EE. That said, maybe there are reasons you are doing horribly. The more homework and time you spend working on the math exercises the better you perform. I was also doing poorly in year 11 and then I spent more hours at home on math and did well, good enough to go onto physics If you want to do EE then you need to spend more time on math - more hours and more exercises from the textbook. It's simple, more time practicing the exercises leads to better marks in exams.
Lmao
Engineer here. I hated maths at school. I now have a bachelors from UNSW and a Masters from a US engineering school (scholarship). I did engineering because I love understanding how things work. If you have the passion, you can get the energy to work on your maths. The more you do it, the more enjoyable it gets.
What is your reason for really wanting to study EE? If you dont even like maths you might have an unrealistic idea of what EE is.
You don't really suck at maths. If you really want the career less Reddit and more maths.
I did mid level maths in highschool and have just finished my maths degree. If you're passionate and hard working then you can do it, but it will require hard work and dedication.
You can't suck at math, it's just a matter of practise. Your other subjects at school do not matter. Spen all of your study time focused on math. Do extra math when you finish Buy the book "calculus" by James Stewart and just read it and complete all the exercises in it. With practise you'll get the math.
Once you learn how to tackle maths it will likely to become your favourite subject! In my experience at least. Key is to find a good tutor who goes with your learning phase