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One word reason: math

True. One of the calculus courses at my college is a weeder class. I have met so many people who gave up on their dreams of being scientists and engineers because they couldn't handle the intensity of the course. I was among the majority that didn't pass the class. I admit I'm not the brightest math student, but I truly enjoy learning about Computer Science so I'm gonna power through those classes for as long as it takes. I'll be retaking the class again this upcoming semester.

The article has a point, the quantity of homework assigned in technical classes is insane. People burn out. Some people put in the hours, yet pull off mediocre grades at best. Its highly discouraging and destroys peoples egos. My friends attending Top 5 engineering universities are simply broken on the inside. Doing homework for 10+ hours a day, every day, as long as you can handle it, just to earn a shitty GPA barely above 3.0. Luckily they're all stubborn enough to continue pursuing their goals.

It wasn't so bad for me. I suppose I wound up working an average of about 9 hours a day, 5 hours a week. But a lot of that time was in "troll sessions" with friends, and it was fun. I also really enjoyed being around smart and motivated people.

All in all, it was a very positive experience for me, and has paid off handsomely over the years. (Not the degree, I don't give a crap about that, but what I learned. A friend summed it up succinctly with "it's not about learning facts, it's about learning how to think." Learning engineering and science rewires your brain.)

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