What are /r/EngineeringStudents' favorite Products & Services?

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I had a feeling it was going to be considered better than nothing but he had already said he was going to post a study guide almost a week before. This is his ratemyprofessor for reference

I used to have trouble writing for long periods as it would make my hand hurt. Tried many pencils and none of them worked then one day Amazon had a sale on the graphgear 500. Been using them ever since and the hand pain all but disappeared. I recently upgraded to the 1000 and I enjoy the full metal barrel as well as the other features.

I can confirm that /u/scottpid was there.

To summarize a rather long story:

I was boiling sulfuric acid to remove the packaging of some integrated circuits. I accidentally set the hotplate to the wrong setting and the sulfuric acid ended up violently boiling over and splashing out of the beaker it was contained in. A not so insignificant quantity of acid splashed onto a nearby wooden table.

Unfortunately, many organic materials are decomposed by acid and this is exactly what happened when the acid splashed onto the wooden table. This horrible black smoke gushed from the decomposing table and set off a nearby fire alarm (smoke was caused by acid reaction, not fire).

The entire building was evacuated when the fire alarm was set off. When the fire department arrived they called the HAZMAT team to deal with the spill. The HAZMAT team went in to check out the spill and basically came back and just said "ok, it's safe to reenter the building. We will leave cleanup to you", and then left.

The faculty member who commented on the pie chart was unfortunately the one that had to deal with all the paperwork afterwards. I thought he would appreciate the humour. This is a really short summary that leaves out a lot of details, many of which incriminate me even more ಠ_ಠ

An Amazon link for a pretty cheap one ($11) Jiulyning 6 in 1 Tech Tool Pen with Ruler, Levelgauge, Ballpoint Pen, Stylus and 2 Screw Driver, Multifunction Tool Fit for Mens Gift (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W0SW0YO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_trKlCbJ8ZMTW0

Edit: for all looking for a US link

It's called a Boogie Board - it's an LCD tablet that allows you to do quick scratch work without needing to bust out a pen/paper. It's powered by a small button cell battery and the only time it uses that power is when it's 'erasing' the screen so the battery life is basically indefinite.

https://www.amazon.com/Boogie-Board-eWriter-Blue-J32220001/dp/B010HWCEAO/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1520352690&sr=1-4&keywords=boogie+board
that's the latest version.

Have you heard of digital fingerprinting? It's when a website looks at the information of your device or browser you are connecting from such as but not limited to your device hardware, IP, time zone, language, screen resolution, etc. This digital profile is compared to other digital profiles and chances are there is a match that they can use to identify you and your behaviors online to serve you more targeted ads and results. www.deviceinfo.me should give you an idea of what data websites are able to collect about you.

2 methods of breaking apart that integral to make it easier to solve.

Converting to Exponents

Integration by Parts

...after a few night classes it's starting to come back to me.

The CRC Standard Mathematical Tables book was my bible in engineering, back before graphing calculators were a thing. https://www.amazon.com/Standard-Mathematical-Formulae-Advances-Mathematics/dp/1439835489 I ended up with 2 copies, one in my car, one at home. Another good reference to have

No idea if it’s helpful at this point, but here are some one-sheets on some major topics from the Oklahoma State diff eq I put together when I ran the math tutoring center

Notes

Is there a paper or anything with the methods used for this?

EDIT: I found it https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283634852_Optimizing_Structural_Building_Elements_in_Metal_by_using_Additive_Manufacturing

The Design of Everyday Things can be useful to keep things in perspective, particularly if you're interested in working on things that people interact with.

A Taylor series is just a way of approximating a function. It's how your calculator might actually calculate sine, cosine, e^x, etc.

To do this, make a function that has the same value at a particular x value. Then make sure it has the same rate of change at that same particular x value. Then give it the same second order rate of change at that same x and so on. When you do this you end up getting a sum of terms that have these weird x^n/n! things in them due to the power rule. For example, this is the Taylor series of e^x at x=0.

e^x = 1 + x + x^2/2! + x^3/3! + ...

At x=0, the function e^x is 1. The formula for its rate of change is also e^x which equals 1 at x=0 and the formula for its acceleration is also e^x which is 1 at x=0. This keeps going as you'd expect so that at x=0 the function and all of its particular higher order rates of changes are all equal to 1. If you find the derivatives for series equation above you'll find they are all also equal to 1 at x=0. Surprisingly, to me, this gives a good approximation for the entire function.

https://www.desmos.com/calculator/eqicv0gnaj

Taylor series get a bit more complicated if they're evaluated at a non-zero x values and technically a Taylor series at x=0 is a MacLaurin series but who cares.

For bonus points look at Euler's identity with Taylor series :)

I strongly recommend The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman. (The original title was The Psychology of Everyday Things but it kept being put on the psychology and self-help shelves at bookstores.)

It's about how humans deal with the things in their environment, and how to design tools and fixtures that users will understand. For example, have you ever run across a door that everybody seems to push from the "pull" side and vice versa? This guy knows why.

Yeah buddy good idea! Its a LVAD or left ventricular assistive device- it takes over the function of a failing heart by a rotor which 'pumps' blood up to 10 Litres/minute, which is the full output of a healthy heart.

The fascinating bit comes from the design of the device itself - it propels blood with a constant flow, which leaves the user without a regular human pulse. Sustaining life whilst removing the clinical definition of life itself - the heartbeat.

Here's my one page written report for more info: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7FY2ZN82m2aTFJyaTVINkVKZFU/edit?usp=sharing

I suggest taking the weekend and "starting over," take your time re-learning everything from the first month. Now that the midterm stress is over, you can re-learn at your own comfortable pace. Take a lot of time to really hammer in the most basic concepts of functions, finding roots, log/exponent rules, limits, deriving, etc, because if you're not totally confident with them, it will make exam questions that much harder. Getting overly confident with the basics will mean that no word problem or slight variation can throw you off. Don't worry about the mark on this test, just focus the basic / fundamental concepts, then build on them and you will crush the next test. I made 46 calc 1 YouTube tutorials, and recommend that you watch them all from the start if you have time. I think the total duration of all of them is like 4.5 hours, so just watching up until where you've already covered will be manageable across a few evenings. Good luck and don't give up!

I have one called "Electrical Power Systems", 300-level. Textbook is "Electric Machinery and Power System Fundamentals" by Chapman. Perhaps the same sort of class?

"Power system hardware; transformers, and electromechanical machinery; introduction to power system operation.

"This is a gateway course for power engineering. This course discusses the basic components of a power system, e.g., three-phase circuits, different types of electric machines, transformers, and transmission lines. You see several applications and examples."

I'm probably going to do Power but I'm only second year.

Graphgear 500

• Cheap
• Most durable lead sleeve of any drafting pencil I've tried (a lot)
• Lightweight (adds to durability of the lead sleeve, looking at you Rotring 600)
• Ideal balance (cg very close to fingers/pivot point, low moment of inertia)
• Nice size knurled grip

This pencil has a very robust mechanism with a satisfying click. I do not recommend the kuru toga pencils as the mechanism exhibits considerable backlash/wobble (I have not tried the "advance" model which supposedly improves on this). I also prefer managing the lead under my own power, which is basically second nature, without any guesswork added by rotation.

Additional recommendations:

• Get some Foam erasers. Simply erases more with less effort needed. Sadly any pencil sporting a decent lead sleeve will have a dinky eraser good for only precision erasure. It is not a bad trade off imo to carry a big one as well as most people do this anyway. You really have to try a foam one to understand - I will never buy another Pentel High polymer.
• Try out 0.3 mm. This one is slightly dependent on your preferences, but I like .3 because It fits my small math handwriting and allows for more dense notes that fit better in the lines on engineering paper. It takes a bit of getting used to coming from .5 mm in order to not break lead, but I now vastly prefer it and you can improve this if you also play around with different lead hardness.

Check out r/mechanicalpencils

edit, Honorable mentions:

• Pro use II, unique premium feel, beautiful design with a larger grip
• rOtring 600, massively hyped, satisfying construction and weight but expensive and fragile. Will last but needs to be babied.

Get the uni kuru toga roulette! It’s only $8 and an awesome mechanical pencil. It even rotates the lead for you every time you pick it up off the paper so you don’t have super flat spots while you write

Pencil of choice. Practically indestructible after 4 years of use I still have mine and works perfectly. Cant imagine using pens all the time. Espically on exams. Pentel GraphGear 1000 Mechanical Pencil 0.5mm (PG1015EBP) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CEC0JRQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_qNTaBbYVQS7WA

I know it is in the sidebar, but I am just going to plug KhanAcademy.org again. Seriously, if you are struggling in calculus or other basic undergrad courses(chemistry/physics) this is such a wonderful resource. If you take time with these videos I am certain you can get an A in any of the subjects that he fully covers while gaining a better understanding than you do in a bland classroom. Another useful useful source for math is www.patrickjmt.com

Better luck next time around.

Things that I would do

• Software design in C/C++ or Java, I recommend Tutorials Point or Codecademy for either language. (Computer Science/Computer Engineering)
• Hardware design with the basics of BJT, MOSFET, Op-Amp, LED s, 555 Timers, 74 Series Logic Gates etc... (Electrical Engineering)
• Statics project where you build a bridge out of balsa wood, calculate the weight it can handle and then break it. (Mechanical/Civil Engineering)

Things that i would not do

• In depth work in Calc I, Calc II, Calc III, Differential Equations, Physics, other STEM gen eds.
• Super high level engineering classes such as Thermodynamics

There are just so many different fields of engineering that it is difficult to cram them all in a year or so, but this is what i see on a day to day basis at my university in the freshmen/sophomore level classes.

I think one of the most discouraging things is that many, many girls are raised thinking that you're only acceptable if you're perfect. Later in life they're far less likely to try things b/c they're so worried they're going to be bad at it // fail.
Doesn't mesh well w/ engineering, which says "you don't know shit until you've completely fucked it up at least three times, repaired it, accidentally stepped on it, and finally rebuilt it from scratch!" Moreover, we're not given much room to fail in school-- that's why everyone wants us to have work experience, after all-- so leaving the formulaic-environment of school is probably a total "culture" shock. Perfect no longer exists; hell "problem statements" don't even exist, let alone "solutions" to grade oneself against. That's all very scary if the pillar of your confidence comes from grades and being able to do everything correct on the first attempt.

.
...a couple articles on the topic:
http://ed.ted.com/featured/16DCJILa
http://time.com/4008357/girls-failure-practice/

I listen the orchestral movie scores (John Williams, Hans Zimmer, etc) on spotify while studying. Those help drown out background noise so I don't get distracted while also not distracting me themselves. Sometimes I use also use this site for white noise.

Extremely high strength cable material. Used in things like waterskiing and wakeboarding lines. I'll edit this with a link to some line on Amazon.

[edit]: FMS Multi-Color 2.2mm Heavy Duty Utility Cord Spectra Line For Professional and Sport Enthusiasts (Green & White x 200 Feet) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XPCZV8Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_xAoOzb3M4N8CZ Seems like the stuff to buy. Assuming I'm reading the specs right, 1.8mm diameter for 350 lb "strength", not described as ultimate or static. Expect extremely low stretchiness for relatively high tensile strength, i.e. very low energy storage.

Khan Academy has a lot of material on trig, usually very well explained. Maybe start here. Or are you looking for somethng else?

If its just some basic concepts you're struggling with, you might find some videos on KhanAcademy to be of help. Try here for physics and look in the menu for Maths videos.

An excellent place to start is the Khan Academy. A very thorough playlist is freely available, with each lesson given in short ten to twenty minute view times. Additional practice material is available on the site to drill you on the fundamentals you've just learned. I still frequently reference it to freshen up Calc I -III, Physics, etc.

Don't use positional bargaining (haggling). Do use objective metrics, and try to engage in a conversation about those metrics ("I'm using this data that says that median salary for a comparable position in this market is 65k"). Consider the overall compensation package; are they offering you 52k base salary plus gym membership, free food, etc? Think about things they might be able to offer you other than base salary that might be more amenable to the person you're negotiating with. Finally, never negotiate without a plan to walk away. If you think 52k is unacceptable then say so and mean it. If it's just on the low side of what you find acceptable, then you should seriously consider the risk to reward of entering negotiation. Is 10k/year worth not getting this job? That's up to you. For more detailed objective oriented negotiation strategy, take a look at 'Getting to Yes' written by the Harvard Negotiation Project. It has led me to many successful negotiations.

I think you're approaching this with the wrong attitude. Getting an engineering degree is not about being good at math. Getting an engineering degree is about being able to wade into a subject you know nothing about and saying "I don't know anything about this, but I can learn it". Treat struggling with fractions the same as struggling with any other subject. Find out the sources of your confusion, do problems, ask questions and make use of all the resources available to you.

If you've been out of school for 10 years your study skills could probably use some work. Make it stick is a good read with some very practical advice. There's also a coursera course on study skills running at the moment which might be worth a look.

Listen, I know engineering isn't computer science, but in the real world you're going to have to know have to deal with files you're sent. You should also install a flipside or whatever the retarded mac name for a dual boot is, so that you can run windows programs on windows in case of compatibility issues. I guarantee you've got at least one classmate that can help you with that, find them. In the meantime, this download should allow you to open RAR archives. The link is in the comma after "meantime" so that you'll actually read this post instead of just jumping to the link. Inside the rar are the pdfs of each individual problem.

GOOD THING FOR YOU GOOGLE NOW HIRES AEROSPACE ENGINEERS BECAUSE THEY BOUGHT A UAV COMPANY. https://www.linkedin.com/company/titan-aerospace

er caps

any of those universities are plenty good for engineering, with purdue being the best. AF ROTC is always a good resume booster, and of course is good if you want to go to OCS or something.

I like these two apps in terms of free meditation options:

https://plumvillage.org/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=meditofoundation.medito&hl=en_US&gl=US

10% happier is nice too, but somewhat pricy now unfortunately

"The C Programming Language" (aka K&R) is always recommended. It's co-written by the creator of the C language.

You can find it as a PDF easily online.

I haven't read any of these myself, but some I have had recommended/mean to read are:

Why Buildings Fall Down - Levy & Salvadori Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down - J.E. Gordon The Design of Everyday Things - Don Norman

Honestly though I would love something of the quality that you get for space, quantum physics and economics.

Use Lecture Notes. You can import pdf's, write directly on your tablet, and export back as pdf's or pngs of pages.

It also has layers, multiple pen designs, graphics, typing capability, editing... it's way better than one note for classes.

It also has two other add ons if you want. Audio and video recording. When you play those back it automatically scrolls to that point in your notes so you can follow along what you were writing at the time.

I used it for 3 years in college for every class without a problem.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.acadoid.lecturenotes&hl=en

There's one called Wabbitemu, it can emulate any of the TI series calculator. I use it as my 89 when the batteries die!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Revsoft.Wabbitemu&hl=en

If taking pictures on mobile of documents, whiteboards, etc, try using Microsoft Office Lens. It automatically "flattens" the document for you, too.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.officelens

An introduction to LaTex

Page containing links to LaTex examples and tutorials

Check out a book called “The Perfectionists”. It’s about the history of precision tools and things. Really interesting something we take for granted these days Link:

https://www.amazon.com/Perfectionists-Precision-Engineers-Created-Modern/dp/0062652559

For Computer Engineering first and foremost you need to have your algebra down pat. Most engineering students I see dropping don't have the proper mathematics knowledge to understand some concepts presented. When I came back to school I took online classes in Algebra and Trigonometry and they got me back on path for Calculus. Calculus is a breeze if you truly understand algebra and trig.

Computer Engineering also requires programming knowledge. Do you know any programming languages? Computer Engineers tend to focus on C rather than high-level languages like C++ and Java, but knowledge of Object Oriented concepts present in C++/Java are very beneficial overall. There are plenty of times you will need a basic understanding of many other languages such as Python, etc. I recommend going through a few of the free language tutorials on Codecademy.

Hardware is another thing you need to know for Computer Engineering but most of the hardware stuff comes after you take Calculus 1 and 2, and Physics 1 and 2 since the knowledge to analyze circuits depends on electromagnetism and other non-intuitive concepts.

There are quite a lot of books out there that would give you a great basic understanding of Computer Engineering concepts without going into crazy math or theory. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold

Bebop to the Boolean Boogie: An Unconventional Guide to Electronics by Clive Maxfield

I would also recommend purchasing a basic Arduino kit and just mess around with making stuff! It can start out with just a blinking light and you can add so many different sensors and displays and motors and devices one at a time so you really learn how they all work and how a system of devices communicates and works together.

Can't say I know exactly what you're looking for, but khanacademy.org might be of some help. Haven't worked threw it myself but they seem to have "courses" on chem, calc, and such.

Is it mechanically mated such that you could create an animation or motion study? If your copy of SW has PhotoView how about some sweet renders?

Also, Grabcad would love this.

There are a lot of different SW certification types, talk to a professor about what would be best for you depending on the type of work you want to do, the basic one CSWA covers making models and using basic SW features to analyses them. There are practice exams online

That being said, do you need this? It cost $100 to purchase an exam and all it does it says to potential employers is "I am experienced with SW" which you could also tell them by saying it on your resume and including how long you've been doing it and what you've been doing with it, as well as going into detail in a cover letter.

Personally I held off getting it till SW had a promotion and I could get a free coupon for it, which I did last summer. I don't know if they will have an event like that again any time soon.

If you haven't started learning calculus yet I would start with that. Otherwise, I'd start with Statics. Engineer4Free has both courses. Links for the lazy: calculus, statics

Couple of options:

1) See if your university has Matlab licenses for students. Often they have free Matlab for your time at university.

2) If not, download GNU Octave (the MinGW version is the easiest option if you're on Windows, though it can sometimes take a little work to get up and running)--as long as you're not planning on using any toolboxes in either (which, just starting out in Matlab, you won't), any syntax that will work in Matlab will work in Octave. (The other way is not true--so make sure you use Matlab-compatible syntax at all times). Thus, you can use Octave to run Matlab code and practice your Matlab skills.

Codifying the knowledge into flashcard/spaced repetition software like Anki may be helpful. The downside is that the initial workload may be higher than you want. It is possible to download other people's decks if they have shared them, so you may be able to find something to help you, but these decks fit how the creator's mind works, not yours.

Edit: I realised the above didn't answer the question of what content. I'd look at doing the most recent stuff first, and if you need to relearn anything in the process then add that to your database too. Memorisation of things is much easier if you understand what you're memorising, so anything you're struggling to remember might need you to take a step down the complexity chain towards the basics.

Here you go

My CS teacher is writing the book as we go along, so it's free. It's actually pretty great.

If you're interested in learning some Python, but mainly important concepts in computer science, I recommend checking it out:

Note: It's based on "The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" by Abelson and Sussman, but reworked for Python instead of Scheme including some of its language fundamentals.

http://wla.berkeley.edu/~cs61a/fa11/lectures/functions.html#introduction

I have said it many times, but use KhanAcademy! The link is in the sidebar too but I am too often worried people do not see it. KhanAcademy is a series of video tutorials on all sorts of subjects; all types of math courses, chemistry, physics and a tons more, including probably every bit of Calc III that your professor will cover. You don't have to pay anything or watch any ads. I am totally confident that you would be able to get an A in the course and actually get a better understanding of the material than you would reading from your book or interpreting your teacher's notes. It is such an amazing resource and I owe Sal Khan so much for the ease with which I passed so many courses.

Good Luck!

I have made a dropbox with the books I have found so far:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/26uy03jn5yo90cl/VScdtR_uQh

not sure if it works me putting it here but if somebody wants to try it let me know

MATLAB in my experience is a really good language for beginners, since it doesn't have too many stringent syntax requirements.

Since you've never programmed before, the only thing you might run into trouble with is basic stuff like for loops, while loops, strings, etc. If I were you, I'd take a look at Code Academy's Python tutorials. Python is extremely similar to MATLAB, and if you start the lessons before your class starts. you'll have an understanding of basic programming methodology that you can easily apply to your MATLAB class.

It also doesn't hurt that Python is open source and is widely used in industry as well.

Saturn, Uranus, Neptune = SUN

When teaching, "F_net and a point the same way." (That's called "Newton's Little Law" in this textbook.)

Roy G. Biv

"5678" for the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, 5.67 x 10^(-8) in SI units

6562.8 angstroms for the H-alpha line: It has 56 and 28 right next to one another, and that's noticeable because 28 + 28 = 56). A weird one, I know! That's just how I do it.

"yz/zx/xy" for cross products, curl of a vector field, etc.

This free self-paced online course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/engineering-mechanics-statics

It's just some statics, but I guess it is useful for you when you take strength of materials. Fluid mechanics is different, but as long as you remember Bernoulli's equation and the (volume1)(Area1)=(volume2)(Area2) rule I think you are ready for most things, the rest I assume they will give a reminder of. Maybe freshen up on how buoyancy works.

I had soil mechanics at some point, but I am not any good so can't help you there.

No idea if it’s helpful at this point, but here are some one-sheets on some major topics from the Oklahoma State diff eq I put together when I ran the math tutoring center

No critiquing the LaTeX. I was an undergrad

Notes

My advice would be to start with overleaf. It's free, there's no ads (I think), endorsed by the IEEE (among others) and it requires no downloading stuff or configuring a compiler so you can use it on any platform with a web browser. It also provides an automatically updating render of the document as you write it so you get instant feedback about what you're doing. You can share your document with other people and it will update the document in near real time as everyone works on it. It also saves revisions so you can revert major mistakes if necessary. As far as I'm aware paid accounts just provide more storage space and customer support. I wouldn't bother with a paid account as a student.

If you click create new document on the front page it provides a sample document which gives a guide on how most of the syntax works for sections, titles, tables and images so you can see how the syntax corresponds side by side with the render. So you can play around with the syntax without needing to sign up to anything. It also provides video on how to use .bibtex files for a bibliography. Bibtex is pretty standard format and most on-line journals will provide a Bibtex file for a particular citation. I'd share a decent Latex tutorial if I had used one but this got me most of the way personally. I'm sure good Latex tutorials can be found pretty easily though. If you end up needing to do something unusual, the Latex stack exchange helped me a lot. Overleaf has access to a number of packages that you can include to bring in extra functionality for example I've used a Gantt chart package before.

RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) is worth it, once you get the hang of it, much like riding a bicycle.

If you are anything like me, it will be a bit frustrating at first, but eventually you'll get over the learning curve and, free from the tyranny of parentheses, will be able to calculate stuff faster and more confidently than ever before. RPN means that you enter exactly what you mean into the machine. You know exactly what every button press is going to do, rather than keying the whole expression in at once, pressing "=", and hoping you got all your parentheses right.

That said, definitely try it out first to see if you like it, as I'm a bit biased (if you can't tell :) ). Give it up to a week of using nothing but RPN for your calculations for it to set in.

To try RPN out, just download Excalibur, an RPN desktop calculator. (Version 1.06 works better on Windows 8 compared to Version 2.00).

An intro to how to do RPN, and some of its merits.

Just a heads-up: the 50g has a bit of a learning curve, but this is mainly due to the fact that it just does things a bit differently coming from a TI.

Dude, just use FreeMat. It's free, it's on every platform, it's free, it's open-source, it's free, it runs every MATLAB function I've thrown at it, and best of all, it's free.

I discovered Falstad's simulator in high school. I've spent a few years playing around with it and using it to check my homework. It's helped a lot. I'm not an EE but circuits still seem very intuitive to me and I'm sure it's because of how much time I've spent there.

HP50G, best calculator out there IMO. And it's under $60 right now on Amazon.

Why I think that.

1.) buy a high quality document scanner from best buy/Amazon. I have used this for years.

2.) scan textbook in under an hour

3.) organize textbook in PDF program of your choice

4.) return scanner for not meeting your speed requirements

5.) ???

6.) profit

ProTip: works great for unbinding books as well. Hypothetically, a few students could go in and buy one expensive book at like $10/each and then all have the pdf.

Forest.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cc.forestapp

Also, if you listen to the podcast Cortex, CGP Grey (YouTuber guy) discusses his strategies for being more productive. That's not a "right now solution," but learning how to trick yourself into doing what you want is good info to have.

Current GD&T student here. Our class utilizes a Pocket Guide , which is super helpful and includes quick references to anything you might need. It’s relatively inexpensive and helps a ton. Hope this helps you out!

Well, this is a book I live by regardless of profession, but I find it just as applicable to EE: The Pragmatic Programmer

Granted, it is aimed toward computer programming, but who doesn't do that now, too? Nevertheless, the ideas apply to engineers, as well:

• don't repeat yourself
• know your tools
• delight your users
• understand why your stuff works
• test everything and test often
• and much, much more!

And ~~if~~ when you enjoy Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, make sure to pick up the "sequel", What Do You Care What Other People Think?. Engineering students will probably find his examination of the human factors that led to the Challenger disaster especially relevant.

You could Arduino. It's under $30 and uses a C-like language. I made a halloween costume for my daughter last year using one. There's a ton of stuff you could do with that.

If you've joined IEEE and IEEE Computer Society ($40/year total 100% worth it) you get access to the Safari Online Library (if you're a US student). I've been doing a little "Head First Java" and Algorithms on there in my "spare time." There's a bunch of books on there that you could use to teach yourself a new language or learn the languages you use now better.

You could try to get into a Coursera course. Although, this may have some unpleasant overlap with your classes.

If you've not taken Data Structures (or even if you have and want a refresher), I would heartily recommend familiarizing yourself with the concepts contained in that class. Classes, Structs, Lists, Binary Trees, recursive functions and pointers, pointers, pointers, pointers.

That's my $.02.

The math in engineering, especially EE, gets significantly harder than calc 1. You will need to take, and become good at, linear algebra, differential equations, and complex analysis, all of which will make you remember basic calculus fondly. If you are having trouble with calculus, you will need to spend some serious time figuring it out and becoming proficient if you want to be able to succeed in those higher math classes.

Take a look at Khan Academy - he does a really good job of making complicated subjects seem much easier, and he has videos that cover every math up through diffy q.

This was the resume I used to get a job designing planes. Basically you need a lot more about what you did and yeah, definitely better formatting. So you did a bunch of extracurriculars, what was your job in those groups? Also hate to say it, but in today's market a 3.0 looking for an aero job is not a great position to be in.

It's not my field so I'm not sure of the accuracy of any statements.

But, welcome to the academic world of publications! Where hiding potentially damning test data about an idea is the name of the game. Half of the learning in getting a PhD or MS, in my opinion, is the ability to distinguish the quality of a publication.

Here are some guidelines:

1. This looks like a conference paper. Conference papers < journal articles due to the peer review process.
2. Cross-reference. Look at who they cited versus who cited them.
3. Find well established, highly cited papers on the topic and see what and how they talk about things.
4. If you have a question on efficiency vs. power loss, find similar papers and see what they say.

The first thing I would do is find some journal articles on at least something similar. Google Scholar is your friend when it comes to this.

Most of us are in college or will be soon. Since I'm from the US, I don't know exactly what the higher education system is like in Australia.

In the US, after graduating high school, you need to apply and be admitted to a college/university. Older people can go directly into community college and transfer into a university if they're doing well. Once in, you must take classes in calculus, physics, chemistry, and usually computer science and English. After the first or second year, you need to have decided what engineering field you want to specialize in. Your options are generally Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, Industrial, Aerospace, Biomedical, or Systems. The last 4 disciplines are less common and harder to get into. You will continue by taking college classes in your field. To be successful, you should get as many internships as you can before you graduate. Grades are important too.

After you have been taken classes for 4 years, you should be ready to graduate and start working as an entry level engineer. If you did well and got at least one internship, you should get a job. Depending on how much money you want to make and how well you did, you might want to/have to move to a different city.

The Australian system may be different. I would look up universities or community colleges that might accept you and find out what you need to get in. If your math skills are not good enough, you'll need to master algebra and trigonometry before you can start any calc classes. Community colleges will offer classes for a few hundred bucks, and Khan Academy does it for free.

Never look back, If the credit transfers keep moving forward. Physics II at most universities is more important than physics I for an EE. Watch the Khan academy films on anything topic you have taken but aren't sure about as a review. I did the same thing as you and entered Calc II 6-7 years after I had taken Calc I and all i did was review with a self study book I got off amazon.

Story time:

Graduated with an engineering degree and no internship experience in Dec 2014 (that's right! Fall graduation rocks!). Worked as a high school math tutor and at a fried chicken joint for 4 months. Quit, cause, OMG why?! Went to my girlfriend's graduation party in month 5 (that's May for all you lazy engineers). Met her brother who worked (and still works) for a company supplying tools to the aerospace industry. Turned out they were looking for someone exactly like me. Interview with bro's boss in month 6. Student loans??? What student loans??? Fuuuuuck.... Get jobbie in month 8 and move to Seattle. Happy as a clam.

Point is internships aren't everything. Not going to lie, it helps when you have real world knowledge to add to the interview conversation but it's not the end of the world. Any engineering program worth its salt will give you hands-on experience by your third year. That stuff is what you talk about on your resume(s) and during interviews. Be upfront about your lack of experience and don't sell yourself more than you can backup. Your lack of experience is your best friend. You are moldable and can be hired for basically a living wage. Make it into a challenge for you boss to train you and help you grow. (I have and I'm learning way more than in school.)

As far as the comp-si question, I would look into a minor or certificate. The other poster is right, it's too late for you to switch and graduate at the same time. By your third year you've put a lot of effort into the classes you took and it'll only be worth it if you add to your work. You can also try the sites mentioned here if you don't want to go through your current school. It doesn't really matter how you get the knowledge as long as you can demonstrate it. If a company shuts you down because you don't have a degree in it then they are small-minded and not a place for an intern.

Google. Type in "Petroleum Refinery". Click on link. Read it. Write about it.

If you're feeling ambitious, go to this Google site.

Dude, if googling something and writing a half page is difficult for you, quit engineering. This assignment should be so easy you could watch the Daily Show and masturbate while doing it.

How long were you gone? Some calc review would be good, as well as math in general. I use Khan Acadamey and it's amazing (link). Other then that you should be able to get back into it pretty quick I would imagine.

I will absolutely post it. I have to wait until next semester so I can sneak into the ME machine shop and use their laser cutter.

Here is the Project Description, it was literally for a "mobile backpack carrier", so there wasn't too much flexibility. This was more a study on four-bar linkages, precision manufacturing, and technical communication with some design process thrown in, rather than the opposite.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hhp7gld18crbt5h/ME350%2BProject%2BDescription%2B09-03-2012%20-%20Copy.pdf

When working with flip flops, I found Logisim to be an amazing resource. I used it a lot during my digital logic class when I wanted to see if my up/down counters worked. I'd recommend putting together your design using it and see if it works as intended.

I love my surface pro 3. I can run autocad on it, use the pen to take math notes while recording the lecture (with onenote you can skip to the part of the recording for when you were writing something down). Being able to run a full OS has it's many advantages and I wouldn't think of going with a Ipad Pro.

Here's a sample of some of my notes. They're a bit messy, but they get the point across I guess: https://www.scribd.com/doc/280918163/3-4-Trigonometric-Functions

For #1, the units of v are given as m/s, and the units of t are given as seconds. If you think of it in purely symbolic terms, then (m/s) = a(s^3 ) + b(s^4 ). a must be m/s^4 because m/s^4 * s^3 = m/s -- the seconds units cancel out. Similar logic follows for b.

For #2, the integral from 0 to t of the acceleration (i.e. the area under the graph) represents the velocity at time t, because acceleration is the derivative of velocity and because the object starts at rest. Therefore, v=0 when the total area under the graph is equal to 0. Areas above the x-axis are positive, and areas under the x-axis are negative. There is a lot of positive area from t=0 to t=3.5, and the negative area from t=3.5 to t=5 is simply not big enough to cancel out, so v>0 for all 0<t<5.

Also, the drawings (which I'm assuming are for velocity) are incorrect. I made this graph to help you understand what they should look like.

Precalc is nothing like calc, it's just the details that you need to have down to understand the specific problems of calculus. IE you don't need to understand logarithms to understand derivatives, but you'll need to be able to take a derivative of a function that may or may not contain a logarithm in it. Same goes for trigonometry. You have plenty of time to get good at math, don't just rule engineering out simply because you screwed can't follow one class. Try watching a few videos from khanacademy and see if you can follow along the calculus, most likely you probably will. Calc isn't hard but the details can get difficult, which is where a good background in precalc will come in handy.

Right, well even if you don't provide more detail, I've just done a quick sketch of how this is performed for a 2DoF beam-type problem. It can easily be extended to more dimensions.

Remember that linear stiffness matrices will be symmetrical and you'll need to apply your BCs to solve it. I've just included a quick sketch because people can explain this as much as you want, and textbooks explain it in detail but it's sometimes easiest to see where matrices fit into the global system.

Think about how your element DoF array is structured and how you want your global one to be. Then you can visualise (trickier for more dimensions!) how they fit into one another.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8inegd8x4u980va/FEA_GlobalConstruction.pdf

Export your resume into a PNG/JPEG file and upload to imgur after you redact all personal info (actual name, address, email, phone #, etc.). Put down the imgur link for your resume as a comment along with any questions you have.

You can also use DocDroid and post the appropriate link here as well.

Also, if you need a more robust blocker I recommend Cold Turkey, you can block any website or program, set timers, create schedules, and then lock it so you can’t get around it. I’ve been using it for years, it’s been a huge help for me!

Learn how to use vi and the Linux commandline including writing bash scripts.

Go to http://projecteuler.net/ and solve a few problems while learning the basics of a few different programming languages. C, C++, Java, Python, etc.

Learn how to write articles in LaTeX.

I've tried a few Linux-like shells on Windows but they were a pain to configure, and didn't play well with Vim or other applications. Check out Babun: super easy to set up and comes with everything you'll need pre-configured. I mostly use that now instead of firing up my Ubuntu VM.

Was gonna say while I use f.lux on Windows, and Lux on my mobiles, redshift is great on my linux running laptop.

Edit: Also an FF equivalent for Chrome plug is Blank Your Screen, which runs off a hotkey.

Solidworks

AutoCAD

I've heard these are kinda a pain in the ass so make sure you need the certification for your job. I haven't ever heard of that being a requirement but I might be in a different industry so idk

I made a Pandora Station based off the pianist Ludovico Einaudi that gets me all kinds of focused.

More often than not, I end up listening to their 90's Alternative station, though.

I'm not civil, but Ansys can do dis. You can do FEA in a 2D. Download Ansys Student 18.2 and run Mechanical APDL.

Again, sorry I'm not civil. I understand that their industry employs a different standard software for stress analysis

I would check this site out, Where Can I Find COMSOL Multiphysics Tutorial Models?.

I had to use COMSOL to model EM radiation of different antennas during school. Going through those tutorials/models really helped me understand how the software worked. They're step-by-step guides, so they are not the best reference material.

Good luck!

on a serious note, this is pretty cool, a series of videos made by someone on this sub. Helped me getting through mid semester slump haha

u/engineer4free sponsor me please

Check out my site, I've made a few hundred free tutorials, mostly for 1st year courses. I've got a full Calculus course, and a few others too. Should help you to get ahead, or just to supplement your lectures. Good luck!

Just finished a basic circuits class. The thing I had most trouble with was capacitors and inductors in a circuit. Your best bet would be to just play around with some basic circuits in a circuit simulator. Look at how voltage division, current division work. Behavior of capacitors and inductors with respect to time etc. http://www.falstad.com/circuit/ This simulator is amazing for just basic understanding of circuits and easy to work with.

Using the branch (another country so we might call it differently) method.

You can tell, by the current sources right away, that the current on the left branch is 10 A and going upwards. On the right side it is 15 A and downwards. Now look at the nodes. Draw them. Think of water hoses. On the top, the right (upwards) current goes into the left (downwards). 10 A go in, 15 A come out. Where did those extra 5 ampere come from? From the middle branch. So the middle branch has 5 A and is going upwards. In math talk it would be I1(left side current)+I2=I13(right side current)

Now we invoke Kirchhoff on the left hand circuit and we get +V[A]+2*5-12-6=0 V[A] = -10+12+6 V[A] = 8 (V)

Here is a pic of a software running the simulation to ensure that it is 8V. I really reccomend you using this app it will help you understand and verify your results.

Have fun!

Scilab did it for me when I didn't have access to MATLAB. I'm not sure if it performs all the advanced tasks cause I only needed some basic functions, like long matrix multiplications to save me some time. It's definitely worth a download though. http://www.scilab.org/

Sounds like the problem was with your learning environment, not you. Getting started with programming is very tough at first; you need all the advantages you can get. But I see a number of things in your post that are serious disadvantages:

• C++: Too much complexity, arcane compiler error messages, requires lots of skill and knowledge to debug, many powerful yet dangerous features you will stumble across before you are ready. NOT a good first language, especially if you don't have a great mentor.
• Restricted access to the IDE: hopefully you downloaded a free IDE and practiced a lot at home...
• Lackluster book / instructor: this is very important; you need better resources here. I would suggest you dedicate your summer to mastering K&amp;R C. Your mentor would be an online forum of your choosing, such as stackoverflow or r/learnprogramming.

Stick with it! Things get a lot less scary / frustrating once you develop a solid foundation!

My HS physics professor did an awesome engineering type class. It was basically a series of design challenges. I'd definitely include some kind of programing/microcontrollers/robotics unit - it's only going to get more important as time goes on. If you/they can handle it, machine learning too.

Maybe something like:

• Statics (hard to go wrong with the sphaggeti, tongue depressor, toothpick, pick your favorite cheap stick material... bridge)

• Dynamics (spinning top?)

• Electronics/Circuits (some kind of simple non-programmable thing, to teach the basics of circuits - miniature solar racecars come to mind)

• Robotics/Programming (arduinos? Not sure what kind of funding you have available)

• Fluids or thermo would be good, but I'm not sure how you'd approach this in a high school setting. Bernouli's equation is pretty simple - but I don't know how you'd use it in an interesting way. Fluidsy things I'm thinking bottle rockets, balloon cars...

I think it'd be best if you built upon each one. For instance, if they let you do rockets, you could bring in the dynamics of them spinning, and then use the robotics knowledge to put sensors on them so you can see how fast and how high they go?

Sounds like fun! Good luck!

If you're looking for a way to learn coding on your own, there is a great website that a friend of mine showed me called http://www.codecademy.com/ that is full of user-made tutorials, where you code in that language on the website. He seemed to find it very useful, you might too!

My EM Theory class. Homeworks are brutal, graded for correctness and assigned once a week. I've easily spent 10-15 hours on a single problem set before.

These are the solutions to a recent assignment. The first problem's solution is 4 pages long. I hate everything.

Can't wait for EM Theory II next semester.

LaTeX is sorta like a word processor. It doesn't do math, but it lets you type set math really easily and clearly. When you look through it, I can guarantee that you've had an assignment or even a textbook written in it. It's fairly distinctive. It's also completely free to use, which is very nice.

LaTeX doesn't work like Word or Google Docs or those types of word processors. It's sorta similar to coding your document. Whatever you write is compiled, and then you typically get a PDF output at the end of what your document actually looks like.

If you're interested in getting started (and you use windows), I recommend downloading MikTeX as well as TeXstudio. MikTeX is the distribution, so it's got all the interpreters and packages that you need. TeXstudio is a really nice editor. It's got code completion, code folding, a helpful bug finder, and an in window preview of the document. I've heard that there's an online version called ShareLaTeX where you can collaborate online (similar to google docs) but I haven't used it. There are really helpful tutorials online. For starting out, I recommend latex-tutorial.com. There are also some helpful people at r/latex. There's a very informative stack exchange that has answers to most things you'll need.

A big portion of beating procrastination is simply getting tasks started. I've had the most success with Beeminder, which has you set concrete goals and put money on the line. For example, you could set a goal of getting an hour of homework or study done before any Reddit 4-5 days per week. I've done something similar, which can be seen here in the 'techlast' goal.

I was gonna suggest the same. I learned LaTeX first, which was kind of rough but there are tons of guides online to help. There's another program, LyX (free download too) which uses the same language as LaTeX but doesn't require you to do as much straight coding. I'd say LyX is easier to learn for someone transitioning from Word. It seems kind of tedious and annoying at first but the output makes it totally worth it.