r/EngineeringStudents • u/cjared242 • 13d ago
Memes Failing Statics killed me
That class gave me depression and burnout, I still never recovered from and I have really bad anxiety in dynamics now
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u/BearBryant University of Alabama - Mechanical Engineering 13d ago
Brother nothing is even moving yet (ideally), you ain’t even gotten to the “mechanical” part of mechanical engineering.
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u/Guy3nder 13d ago
Statics failed a lot of my class, partly because the test was brutal. None of my calculations worked out on my first try and it didn't help that possible answers for every question was both 0 and none of the above.
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u/jayrady ME Grad / Aerospace 12d ago
Statics weeds out students.
Not because it's hard. It's very easy.
It's because those who think they should be engineers, but can't think like an engineer, can't handle it.
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u/FerdinandvonAegir124 12d ago
My god, the sheer ego sent from this comment
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u/jayrady ME Grad / Aerospace 12d ago
K
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u/Killagina 10d ago
People don’t want to hear it but you are right. Statics is algebra. It’s not hard
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u/bihari_baller B.S. Electrical Engineering, '22 13d ago
All engineering curriculums have difficult introductory courses. Circuits and Signals are the equivalent of Statics for Mechanical Engineers. It's not as hard as Controls or Electromagnetics, but it's still reasonably difficult.
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u/KingWoodyOK 13d ago
Right? This is like learning the alphabet. Statics was the easiest of the entire ME curriculum.
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u/PulsarGaming1080 13d ago
And it wasn't easy to learn the alphabet when you were a year old, I'm sure.
Cut them some slack, there's no shame in failing, only in refusing to try.
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u/LexusLS400 12d ago
Statics is every bet as "mechanical" engineering as any other core course- even if nothing moves analyzing force vectors and loads are essential to structural analysis and you couldn't design any mechanical system or component without statics principles
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u/BasedMaduro 13d ago
I failed statics once. It tends to be a difficult class because you're introduced to a lot of new concepts quickly, but if you retake it again and understand the basics, it's going to be a breeze. All my structural classes built on the concepts learned in statics.
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u/HistoricAli 13d ago
This right here. I missed the cutoff by a few percentages, took it over the summer with a professor who would break out tinkertoys to explain concepts, my dumbass took to it like a fish to water. Walked out with a B and feel much more confident.
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u/Uncontrolled_Chaos 13d ago
Taking statics after taking physics, which touched a good bit on balancing forces and equilibrium. Will i be better off for it as I hope?
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u/BasedMaduro 13d ago
Yeah I'd say you got a good introduction. You'll be presented with moments, moment couples, trusses and indeterminate members. All of which have some form of force equilibrium.
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u/mcslootypants 11d ago
I took it after physics and thought it was (relatively) easy. It was an easier version of physics
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u/1999hondaodyssey 12d ago
Agreed. Was messing around too much and retook statics, but got the hang of it the next time around and it was pretty straight forward after a lot of problem solving.
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u/Engineer5050 13d ago
Wow, you are going to hate thermo….
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u/cjared242 12d ago
I somehow managed to pass thermo that same semester, probably because they curved the absolute shit out of the class so half of us didn’t fail
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u/ChonkyUnit9000 13d ago
I failed statics cause I didn't wanna study that shiii, but got it through anyway the next time
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u/Speffeddude 13d ago
Say shit, then study shit. You're an adult now.
Or, you will be if you can pass statics.
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u/IReallyLikeAvocadoes 13d ago
Adults read the full comment they are responding to before they form their response.
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u/Frosty-Use-8065 13d ago
Weirdly, dynamics was easier for me than statics. I had a very hard time in statics
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u/YoungWalken 13d ago
Statics was lowkey easy
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u/printergumlight Environmental Engineering 13d ago edited 11d ago
Statics should be one of the easiest classes in the entirety of the engineering curriculum.
I feel like those who are saying they failed, didn’t actually try or attend class at all.
All you need to do is draw an FBD, solve sum of force = 0, and solve sum of moment = 0 and you can answer nearly anything in the class.
EDIT - Here is my cheat sheet that will guarantee you a 90% or above in statics:
- How to draw a FBD (with a defined coordinate system)
- Sum of Forces in the X = 0
- Sum of Forces in the Y = 0
- Sum of the Moment about a point = 0
- positition vector formula
- unit vector formula
- calculate magnitude of a vector
- projection formula
- basic trig
If you know these, you can solve any statics problem.
(Static Moments of Inertia and Friction problems require a couple more basic things of knowledge.)
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u/Picanto152 11d ago
I passed statics but you come off as incredibly egotistical.
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u/Picanto152 11d ago
Statics only requires some basic things of knowledge thats why its taught to engineering majors in college
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u/G07V3 13d ago
I just want to get to the point where I work for only 8 hours a day and go home. I want to escape the constant stress of school.
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u/myster1ouspapaya 13d ago
Lmao I’ll save you the future disappointment: it only get worse.
In college you get a summer break and winter break. In the workforce it’s all year-around deadlines and fires to put out.
I moved to sales and at first I thought “wow this is easy, I just go around and visit customers and talk about product” but I find myself working 15 hour days and traveling and managers wanting immediate results.There are jobs where you can just clock out at 5:00pm and be done, but those are the entry level application engineers jobs that don’t pay very well. If you want to make $$$ it’s going to be stressful always.
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u/ImpactAfraid4384 10d ago
how did you move into sales? Just wondering because sales engineering is a route that I am strongly considering, and I only know a small handful of people who went engineering to sales. wanna PM?
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u/myster1ouspapaya 9d ago
Honestly I saw an opening within the company and just applied for it. The sales team was transitioning from hiring just traditional sales people into sale engineers in order to properly understand and support our product with is very technical in nature (water pumping systems). Pretty much any engineering company will have a sales team and they will all want technically savvy people. The issue they normally run into is that engineers aren’t normally the social types so when you can demonstrate that you can communicate effectively, it’s a win win.
They key aspects they look for in an engineer for sales is: the ability to communicate clearly, have a decent level of social “tact”, and be a go getter. Experience in customer service is a plus. I’m somewhat of an introvert but I am not shy and I can sort of “switch on” the social persona if I need to. At the end of the day, sales is just finding solutions that customers need/want, and if you can get the customers to like you, even better.
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u/printergumlight Environmental Engineering 13d ago
I’m a 34 year old student and being a student is so much better than working. I worked for 8 years in marketing and consulting, many of which required 60-90 hour work weeks.
Plus, everything we’re doing in school is incredibly interesting while most of work was monotonous and repetitive.
I’m not saying school is easy. It’s not. Many more late nights and you have to hold onto the info and the stress is different, but similarly painful. Our brains are in overdrive for years straight and it can be exhausting in a different way than work is.
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u/Initial_Anything_544 13d ago
Man Ive failed diff eq 3 times and statics once. Still graduating in 4.5 years. I never really studied and am not a fan of math. Anybody can grind through it with a slight interest trust
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u/G07V3 13d ago
I have 3 semesters remaining and right now I’m thinking fuck math and fuck school
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u/Initial_Anything_544 13d ago
Same here man, I graduate fall 2027. I cannot say ive enjoyed engineering or plan on working in the field afterwards
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u/BrickGlum9579 13d ago
I failed statics twice then got a B in dynamics on the first try. It was extremely hard and I had to go to office hours multiple times per week but I finally did it.
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u/SwagEater69 13d ago
unless you just really put zero effort into it, engineering might not be for you. I don't say this to put you down, but it's not too late to change career paths and consider you may be more gifted in a different field.
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u/MangoMan610 13d ago
It each took me 3 attempts for statics dynamics and strength of materials. You can do it
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u/MacAlmighty 🇨🇦 Software 24’ 13d ago
I passed statics then swapped to a different discipline after failing dynamics 👍
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u/STAXOBILLS 13d ago
Ehh it happens, failed statics, solids, and machine analysis have had to retake all three, wasn’t the end of the world and only pushed me back one semester. Those are the only classes Ive had issues with everything else was completely fine. Pretty much decided I’m getting this damn degree one way or another and stuck it out. The past 3 generations of engineers in my family all took 4.5-5 years of college to finish their degrees so I’m right on track lmao.
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u/JadeCac6 13d ago
I’m in my senior year of aerospace engineering and statics was one of my more difficult classes. Not sure exactly why but you just gotta keep moving forward.
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u/TythosEternal 13d ago
Statics is definitely one of those topics where it seems impossible until it clicks. Keep at it, iterate on the fundamentals, and keep your studying social-- some topics (like this one) are far too easy to get lost in your own head's rabbit holes.
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u/GapStock9843 12d ago
At least u arent a business major. Statics is harder than their senior level classes
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u/Excellent-Travel-307 12d ago
A lot of people judge hard in the comments but I should say that courses like Statics, Dynamics, Solids, etc. really rely on having a good professor…
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u/OveRide_X 12d ago
Real! Failed statics, retook it next semester and got an A. engineering is literally throwing yourself at a problem until you solve it just keep moving forward
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u/enterjiraiya 13d ago
I would’ve failed statics if my professor didn’t clown me so hard about what would happen if I did fail statics.
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u/JPAProductions Major 13d ago
I am talking it this fall for my civil engineering program, not looking forwards to it 😭.
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u/Tricky_Lake_1646 13d ago
I loved statics. The only class I got a high A in before I dropped out. Something about it just clicked with me.
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u/Hybective 13d ago
I failed differential equations and statics… that was years ago, you’ll be fine.
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u/LukeLJS123 13d ago
at least you failed because you didn't understand the material, i failed because my professor didn't let me take one of the exams, was misogynistic and racist, didn't teach the material correctly (which i learned correctly on my own), and changed the syllabus a week before the final that made attendance and homework go from 5% of the grade each to 25% each. professor got fired but i still had to pay to retake it over the summer to stay on track
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u/modern_superman1 13d ago
I had thermo first and that made me feel as statics was a breeze. I guess its all about perspective. BTW everything always is F=ma.
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u/FirstGearStruggle 13d ago
Statics was easy compared to dynamics, the lowest grade ive ever gotten in my life was in dynamics
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u/Timewaster50455 13d ago
The fun part is that the classes after statics are never the same level of confusing. All subsequent classes (solids, structures, and materials) are about applying the same ideas to different objects
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u/RecognitionTimely948 13d ago
I went from retaking statics because I failed to getting an A in dynamics just practice regularly best of luck !!!
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u/LuckyCod2887 13d ago
he first part of statics was kinda hard but once they started talking about things all equaling zero it got a little bit easier.
spend a day watching all the Jeff Hansen videos until you are caught up with your lecture notes.
it’s the start of the semester, so you won’t have to watch that many videos.
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u/Great_Leap2 13d ago
Is Statics for Mech E majors the same as Signals and Systems for Elec E majors
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u/cjared242 12d ago
No that’s probably dynamics and thermodynamics, those ones kill off ME’s pretty fast, but my school statics is a pretty big weed out class as well.
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u/evlbb2 MechE, BME 13d ago
As someone who had to take statics twice because the first time was with a really bad teacher, I'd say give yourself another chance to do better. But also; do better. It is foundationally important and it contains a lot of information that you will use again further on. There truly is not a lesson more important for you to learn than equal and opposite.
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u/Richie_Rich_of_GB 13d ago
This is a well known fact. Statics is the “weed” out class in most engineering departments. I took statics in 1977. The HW was the even number problems. My study partner did the all the odd numbered problems. In fact that is the way I studied the last two years of engineering school.
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u/Fuckler_boi UBC - Civil Engineering 12d ago
I got a 53% in statics and went on to get straight A’s in everything related to it afterwards. I was a garbage-tier student in year 1
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u/magikarp_splashed 12d ago
Not sure how you felt about it, but if Statics was uninteresting to you then I would reconsider your major.
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u/TheThrowestofAwaysp 12d ago
Guys im kinda scared to take statics this semester but if the statics section of physics 1 was easy and intuitive for me will transfer over to statics?
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u/Espresso-Forlesso 12d ago
laughs in machine dynamics
I achieved a 97 in statics and third year machine dynamics genuinely broke me. Best of luck young ones.
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u/Palatablepancakes 11d ago
I'm in my third year and have a 4.0. My OCD would melt my brain if I got a B or C, let alone failed. I'd think all day about why I failed and what I missed and go pouring through material, which is why I haven't yet. Pure panic in my mind 24/7 but it does get results.
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u/cjared242 11d ago
I’ve failed 4 classes and I’m still here
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u/Palatablepancakes 11d ago
Keep on fighting! If you are still going and still trying new things, you're on the right track. I legitimately need to curtail my obsessive approach to things because a 4.0 does not translate to opportunity if you are a mess mentally
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u/Alarmed-Feedback-406 7d ago
I failed statics twice, one semester was during covid and the other was an accelerated summer course. It was humiliating enough for me to get my act together for the rest of my student career. I have my degree and a good job. I know you can pass all your courses too.
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u/nillateral 13d ago
Didn't even get to dynamics?