I failed first semester math - should I stay in engineering?

This is a question I can relate to. In high school, I failed math miserably and was even told to drop calculus by my teacher. I had a hard time learning until I found out I’m auditory. I have the ability to remember sounds (like others with photographic memory). I found out that I could apply sound to how I learned.

In college, I re-took calculus and was taught using a Greek method which clicked for me. I learned that by following that methodology, it became easy and simple. I was solving theorems in a very short time, and I was enjoying it!

Sometimes, it takes a different method and a different professor for it to click. Try different approaches that work with your way of learning. If teachers aren’t willing to bend, they aren’t good teachers. Talk to your counselors and parents about helping yourself.

Don’t let people make you think engineering or technology is hard or requires a different level of intelligence. It doesn’t, it just requires an open mind about thinking.

Let me start off with my two experiences.

In my junior year in college (very intense Electrical Engineering department), I realized that I am “average”. I studied and studied but my scores were always average. So, I decided to quit. I called my dad and told him I am coming home. Deep inside, I was expecting him to encourage me to stay. However, to my surprise, he told me that it’s my decision. That ignited something deep inside of me. So, I decided to stay with a different perspective and determination. I made my “learning” top priority. I graduated from college with a BSEE degree.

Second experience is really my daughter’s experience: She called me after her first math mid-term and started crying. She said she flunked her math test. She said she couldn’t do engineering. My response to her was, “Don’t let the test score deter you from doing what you want. The most important thing is learning the subject and making sure that you continue to build the knowledge one block at a time.” She graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

Only you can decide which path to take. Just remember that we all struggle in different ways. Engineering is a challenging subject. The Engineering discipline challenges us to be practical, systematic, and methodical. Also, the first semester is always very hard due to the new environment, new expectations, new support group, new everything.

It is true that the Engineering curriculum will require additional math classes. Before you get too discouraged, I would ask yourself what encouraged you to be an Engineering major. Remember that feeling, that excitement! Then, I would think about what challenges you in math and see how you want to overcome it. Once you decide, you can find support groups all around you.

I got a D in thermodynamics in college as my final grade in the class. At the time I was HORRIFIED! I didn't get D's ever. I was an almost straight A student. But looking back I wear it as a badge of honor that despite the D, I still graduated and am a successful engineer today.

Failure is not the end, but merely the beginning. FAIL is the First Attempt In Learning. What is infinitely more important is what did you learn from the failure? Because if we don't fail and everything always comes easy, we don't learn. Engineers are the best problem solvers because they try things, fail, learn, and adjust. So don't let one failure define you, let it help you learn and grow into an amazing engineer.

I wrote more about my experience in this blog post for SWE.

My honest truth… I failed Algebra more than once! I don't know why I could just not grasp it! After I think the second try I passed it, but only by the skin of my teeth. I went on to take other math classes and I found that differential equations I was a wiz at! So don't worry that you failed one aspect of a math class. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Some choose to work hard on it with grit and determination while others just walk away in defeat or indifference.

With regards to staying with your chosen curriculum, that is a question that only you can answer. How passionate are you about it? Why have you chosen industrial engineering? What are you passionate about and how can you make that passion a career?

My best advice is never give up. Remember the old saying that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Enjoy the journey finding what you are passionate about and making it your career!

Thank you for having the courage to ask this question. Believe it or not, many of us have struggled with a math course a time or two in our quest to become engineers. I personally remember taking a college statistics class and struggling on one of the first exams. This was an unusual experience for me because I had always been great in math. I too contemplated changing my major but had a conversation with one of my mentors, who was a math teacher, and she gave me a few tips to pursue before making such a big decision.

First she encouraged me to speak with my instructor and set up a regular office hour appointment. Professors really do want you to understand the material and are willing to help break down concepts that may be difficult to grasp in a classroom setting.

Second she told me to spend at least 3 hours outside of class reviewing the material that was covered in each 1 hour lesson.

Third, she recommended I also seek out a study group. After taking all these steps I was able to ace my next exam and had developed a study approach that I could use in all of my courses going forward.

With that said I would encourage you to pursue tutoring assistance before giving up on engineering all together. Math skills can be improved with a little extra effort and support.

Yes absolutely! I'm sure you can do it. Although math classes are part of the curriculum, you may not need that level of math in everyday engineering jobs. So don't give up. Make sure you get tutors, talk to TAs, make a study group with 1-2 classmates, and go to professor office hours for help if/when you re-take the math class.

Math classes are hard even for engineering majors who are "good" at it. Talk to your advisor about how to plan out the course load so that you can take easier classes during math semesters to help you have enough time to study for all of them. Most engineers don't love math or are good at it - that's a myth. Keep going, and once you overcome this challenge, future challenges will become easier to face.

I also struggled with Math and almost failed the class my first semester of college. After that semester, I decided to continue in engineering because I still enjoyed my other engineering-oriented classes.

Introductory engineering classes can be hard for many reasons- they can compress a large amount of information and learning into a short amount of time, college-grade tests can be difficult, and adjusting to the new lifestyle that comes with going to college can be challenging. I was never (and still am not) a great test-taker, so I learned after that semester that I needed to take the extra effort to work with my professors to ensure that they understood my comprehension of the material.

My advice for you is to follow your passion and the rest will fall into place. If that’s in engineering, give it another semester before making a decision on whether or not to switch. Either way, you don’t need perfect grades to be a good engineer.

Do not make one failed math class be the reason to move from engineering. You can always take the course again, try another instructor, get a tutor and/or find a study group. It is not uncommon for very good engineers to not pass a math class the first time. Take a deep breath, sign up again, and know you can learn and get through.

Math is important in engineering, but as long as you are understanding the concepts, that will take you far in engineering. If you like everything else you are doing, then, again, one class is not a reason to jump ship. The next time, come fully prepared, make sure you have sufficient time to study, do homework, review class notes, ask questions, etc.

No one is born knowing this and everyone learns at a different pace and in a different way. Stick to it, don’t stress, you will endure!

I also failed math my first semester, Algebra II, and with the projections of Calculus and Trigonometry in front of me I dropped out of college. I enlisted in the U.S. Navy and although I went in as a Maintenance Technician for Computers; I ended my military career (10 years) engineering and building LAN/WAN networks. Then started my civilian career with Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) as an Outside Plant Engineer.

Fast forward 10 years, my supervisor comes to me and says I cannot move up and may lose my position if I do not obtain a Bachelors Degree in the next 3 years. Looking at 20 years out of high school/college and facing those same math fears I moved forward. I had to take my math class as the only class for the semester. So that I was 100% dedicated to it. (Note I was also a single parent and raising a 2 year old and an 8 year old).

I don't recall what website it was, talk to your math instructors or research yourself, but in preparation I went to a website which tested my knowledge and then gave me tutorials which I couldn't move to the next subject until I answered 5 questions correctly. So before I would take the official class I would make sure I had some understanding with this website.

Lastly, you need a good foundation of math skills to understand when a spreadsheet calculation or applied system calculation just doesn't make sense from the data or output you're seeing. Yet projections and detailed calculations are often done by systems today in effort to alleviate the human error factors.

I hope you can take some lessons learned from my story and continue with your dreams.

Engineering is a lot more than Maths. While Maths is an integral part, it will be limited to a few semesters. Then you start studying the specialization subjects that you have opted for in your Engineering. Besides, you only need to pass in Maths. So, find out the question paper pattern, important question types and such related information from past year papers. Check if guides (books) are available and stay focussed on passing.

Once you have completed Engineering, you will be proud of yourself that you didn’t quit and managed to overcome your anxieties which are actually short-lived, but in the present they seem too difficult to overcome. So keep going, keep pushing.