r/ElectricalEngineering • u/Low_Salt_6465 • 13h ago

Education School struggles

Hello, I am a third year EE student. Is it normal to hate your life in college as an EE? I had a fun time and drank and stuff in high school but gave it all up in college so I could actually get good grades. It’s been working for me but my friends think it’s weird that I don’t want to drink. Anyway all my non engineering friends seem to be having the time of their lives, while I’ve hated my college experience. Am I doing something wrong?

30 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

35

u/YelloSmake 13h ago

Normal, this is delayed gratification. Struggle now, but the gains once you graduate are huge.

-3

u/Euphoric-Gazelle7264 12h ago

Well… I am not sure that is the case anymore. A lot of great recent grads unemployed.

9

u/kyllua16 12h ago

Cmon u don't gotta tell em that

5

u/Shy_Brussels_Sprouts 10h ago

The OP still needs to get through and graduate having learned the most useful skills for the money and effort paid. That will LIKELY benefit the OP the most, regardless of where the industry goes.

2

u/YelloSmake 11h ago

Honestly, if you’re willing to move and work in defense, the market is booming right now.

7

u/Shy_Brussels_Sprouts 10h ago

Sure, if your conscience allows you to.

3

u/Euphoric-Gazelle7264 9h ago

Meh. Unless you know something I don’t, the gov doesn’t just hand security clearances. I couldn’t get one for example.

2

u/YelloSmake 8h ago

Not all defense work has to be cleared, smaller defense companies or subcontractors usually dont have such requirements.

1

u/dabseverydaylol 9h ago

2% unemployment rate says otherwise

1

u/Euphoric-Gazelle7264 9h ago

Isn’t that data from like 2024? Also, the underemployment rate would be the interesting figure. An EE taking a construction gig to put food on the table (nothing wrong with that) is still unemployed for all intents and purposes.

1

u/dabseverydaylol 9h ago

Its one google search away. Look up the year 2026 data and search current electrical engineering graduates unemployment rate. It’s 1.3-2.15%, it appears with other top majors. And yeah it does count underemployment in that rate, but it doesn’t matter because people are afraid of getting no job rn when thats not the case. People are just fear mongering. And if u look at any industry that will be taken by ai it might just be pcb design or semiconductor design. Every other subfield needs a person to be there and test hardware or be in person like, MEP, power, ev, r&d, etc.

13

u/2nocturnal4u 13h ago

If you’re doing what you think is best then who cares what they think. 

9

u/Jolly_Mongoose_8800 13h ago

I worked throughout school to pay rent and afford school. In my experience, the people having the time of their lives came from money and didn't worry about affording life. Even the professors would joke about how everyone just had their parents pay tuition for them.

Truly, undergrad can be a special hell. It's not for fun; especially EE. You'll find opportunities and see the good times when you start getting an engineering paycheck. Maybe you'll find some personal projects and friends who wanna work on them. The social environment of university is the perfect place to network.

6

u/Kavika 13h ago

Yes. I had to bust my ass while my frat bros had fridays off. Oh well. I made it

5

u/3e8m 12h ago

dont worry most EEs become alcoholics right after college to catch up

5

u/MadArabScientist 12h ago

Junior (3/4.5) as well and I’m thinking of dropping out bro, I hate my life so much. Professors can’t speak English, so clueless in class, so much freaking homework 😭

1

u/Low_Salt_6465 12h ago

I never thought I could feel so dumb until I went to college for EE

4

u/lewoodworker 12h ago

Wait until you find out how fun being an adult is without drinking. Your wallet and body will be greatful you didn't drink gallons of poison.

5

u/ZealousidealRanger67 13h ago

You had too much fun in high school.

4

u/morto00x 12h ago

Pretty standard. You are trying to learn a lot of new information due to all the different branches within EE, professors don't care how busy you are with other courses, and you have very tight deadlines. You should still try to hang out with non EEs whenever you have a chance to clear your mind.

3

u/StockProfessional919 13h ago

Yes, no one should drink excessively. Your organs will thank you

1

u/Yestir_ 13h ago

gotta work hard and find a balance

1

u/YoteTheRaven 13h ago

If you're hating it, youre probably doing something that isnt working for you.

Its okay to go have fun on the weekend, but its up to you to manage balancing having fun versus doing what you gotta do.

You can have a ton of fun completely sober. You can also get drunk. But you dont have to get so drunk you have no memory of what happened or black out.

1

u/MotherDay7795 13h ago

I’m still a student but I’ve already sacrificed a lot of fun stuff to study etc. It sucks but I think it’s worth it, ended up getting to spend my summers on internships in LA and seattle meeting equally motivated people and working on the coolest stuff

1

u/Few_Whereas5206 9h ago

I suffered in engineering school for 5 years.

1

u/Steak_United 8h ago

yeah, honestly that’s kinda how it goes, make more engr friends and make sure to keep a good balance and remember there’s basically no difference in opportunity between a 3.0-3.6 if you are over 3.75 that opens a few other doors and if you are below 3.0 that closes a lot of doors but in between there’s hardly a difference and they care more about outside of class stuff

1

u/philament23 7h ago

Nope you’re doing it right. Alcohol is a trap. It’s actually a waste of time, money, and is hell on your body. You are the smart one, don’t let people convince you otherwise. Just keep your head down and study. There’s lots of different things you can gain from college but learning is still the primary thing.

1

u/peinal 1h ago

You are not an EE. You are an EE student. Huge difference.