Hello, all--

Just wanted to let everyone know what I've been up to, and also to thank a lot of people here for helping to inspiring me to do it--thought my 201st post would be a good time for it.

A few people may recall that last fall, I asked some questions about teaching myself mechanical engineering.


So, last fall, I went over to the engineering department to find out what I had to do if I wanted to major in mechanical engineering, expecting to be given a long list of hoops through which I'd have to jump (e.g. take this, this, this, and this class, with GPA of at least x), which is what one has to do at the main campus. Instead, the secretary said, "I just have to change your major to engineering in the computer--do you want me to go ahead and do that?"

I thought, "what the heck--I can always change my major again later" so I said, "Sure--I'd like to keep double-majoring in math, though, too." I'm keeping my math major as a back-up (only need about four extra classes for it, although I changed my concentration from "general math" to computing, so I don't have to take second-semester linear algebra ops: ). Things have gone fairly well, for the most part, although I've had some outside time pressures (such as a second part-time job, and a new girlfriend) that have cut into my study time. I've also moved in with my parents to save money. I have struggled with math the most--partly because I started in second-semester calculus, which I'd gotten a D in 12 years earlier (due to having pneumonia for six weeks); before that, I'd had first-semester calculus four years prior. I also have ADD (recently diagnosed); I find that math is the subject in which this causes me the most difficulty. But I knew, when I decided to do this at 39, that it wouldn't be all smooth sailing. But I'm more convinced than ever that this is the right thing for me to do.

Shortly after I changed my major, I heard a story about Edwin Hubble on NPR. Hubble had gotten a law degree, passed the bar exam, and worked as a lawyer for a year, but then decided to get an astronomy degree from the University of Chicago. He "chucked the law for astronomy and I knew that, even if I were second rate or third rate, it was astronomy that mattered." In my case, just substitute "accounting" for "the law" and "engineering" for astronomy.

I still have some concerns--in particular, how my ADD might affect my job performance as an engineer; whether I'll have time for my family, should my girlfriend and I get married; what the job market will be like, etc., but I know that, paraphrasing Hubble, it's engineering that matters.

Finally, I'd like to say that my participation in this forum over the past two years was a major factor in my decision to actually do this. In addition to the specific advice people have given me, I've learned so much about the culture and work of engineering here, which is how I know "it's engineering that matters." Thanks to everyone who's contributed to that.

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--Doug

"When your statics problem becomes a dynamics problem, you're in trouble." --me

Moor's Law: "As you go from freshman engineering to Ph.D., the amount of work required per credit hour doubles approximately every 18 months." --me, inspired by Prof. Scott Moor

Best of luck Spitfire XI and good on you for taking the plunge. When I was contemplating my Masters, I complained to a friend that by the time I finished, I would be 40. He replied (with his typical Vulcan-like logic) that as I would eventually be 40 regardless of what I did, would I rather reach that milestone with a postgrad under my belt, or not?

It turned out to be one of the most rewarding things that I ever did in my life.

It's going to be hard work and you will learn all about discipline, but it can be done. Go to it!! =D>

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"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." - Douglas Adams

Good luck with your studies! You made the right choice.

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"Facts are stubborn things." --John Adams
Clavius Moon Base