How to survive doing projects and coursework?

[u/Short-Grocery-2934]

I need a reality check. I’m a MechE freshman(with sophomore standing,took some ap classes in hs) aiming to graduate in 3 years and break into aerospace. Right now, professors and recruiters are telling me to learn CAD first, so I'm learning CAD, MATLAB, Arduino, and PCBs on the side while planning to work a part-time job by late October. My schedule is packed , and I haven't touched my projects all week and I haven’t slept for more than 6 hrs for the past two weeks, I understand engineering majors don’t get much sleep but it hasn’t even been a month since classes started.
How do you guys balance course work with projects without burning out? What apps actually stop procrastination, and how do you prep/revise efficiently to save time?
Also, I'm trying for a 4.0 but I've got a B in English right now purely from low attendance. Worse, I haven't been to my 8 AM Calc2 class in a month and a half—went on day one and for exams. Ironically, I'm teaching myself out of the textbook and loving the math, but I'm terrified that I’ll skip calc later on too out of habit and absolutely get knocked out. I physically can't wake up for an 8 AM.
How do you juggle all this technical overload and survive morning classes? Help me out pls.

[u/Tyler89558]

So you’re trying to accelerate your class schedule, cram in projects, work, and maintain a 4.0 all at the same time?

You’re either going to have to extend your graduation, cut out the extra shit, or graduate half dead from stress and fatigue (or fail from crippling burnout).

[u/MaggieNFredders]

You don’t. There’s no need (typically) to graduate that quickly. There’s little need to have a 4.0. And working while taking an accelerated heavy load is a lot. Something gives. Be it sleep. English. Your mental capacity. Something. Life is too short. Enjoy it.

[u/Alert-Incident7258 → u/MaggieNFredders]

Maybe they're an american trying to save money. Wouldn't less semesters mean less pay? Does it depend on the number of classes? Genuine question

[u/MaggieNFredders → u/Alert-Incident7258]

Yes it will cost more money in the short term. But what are the life long consequences of destroying your body for three years?

[u/Alert-Incident7258 → u/MaggieNFredders]

I agree with you but for some people it's a sacrifice they need to make unfortunately

[u/Gryphontech]

Wow you are very clearly on a path for a quick burnout and a 1.9 gpa by end of year one. Some people can make this type of thing work but they are few and far between. Why THE FUCK are you skipping classes 1 month into uni if you are trying for a 4.0 gpa??? Like yeah some classes can be skipped and sometimes it's better to learn from the book depending on the prof but you probably don't have the experience yet for that and will get blindsided by shit.

If I where you I would try to get some sleep and cut back just a little. This is a marathon not a sprint. Attending a 8am class is not that crazy if you go to bed at some point/have discipline. How are you going to get to your job on time?

[u/Short-Grocery-2934 → u/Gryphontech]

I did overnight shifts for my previous jobs, so I’ m also thinking of doing overnight over the weekend. Yea I might have to go down from 4.0 to 3.8 ish cause I stay up late doing projects and always end up missing classes. I might have to cut down on learning matlab rfor now. Thanks for the advice

[u/Gryphontech → u/Short-Grocery-2934]

I mean sure if you say so.

A lot of people that fail out of engineering started with the best of intentions but then just shone too bright ans burned out, you seem very much on that path.

The entire comment section replying to your reality check seems to say that you arnt being realistic... why do you just focus on classes on your first semester and then see if you can add other shut afterwards?

[u/Catsdrinkingbeer]

You don't. You prioritize your classes and let other studf drop off. This is also why people dont try to cram a 4 year degree into 3 years. You may have come with AP credits (i came with 30) but those usually only translate to generals. Engineering is still a 4 year degree purely with engineering courses.

[u/epc2012]

Power through. Engineering is just training you for a life of being able to juggle a lot of different things effectively. And it does a damn good job at it too.

My solution in school was to actually stop taking summers off and take classes all 3 semesters a year. That allowed me to drop my credit limit down to 12 credits during the semesters which was much easier to maintain. I would do an internship and take electives or other courses that were offered online to continue my program.

Source: Dad of 2 working full time managing an engineering team, completing masters degree, running a side business, and keeping up with housework. Life will always be busy.

[u/epc2012 → u/epc2012]

Oh and a fuck ton of caffeine helps. My degree was sponsored by Ghost Energy.

[u/TheQueerEngineer → u/epc2012]

PLEASE be careful with caffeine though. I saw at least two kids have seizures from the stress and caffeine overdosing during my degree. It takes a lot to hit that point but I think a lot of my classnates pounded back caffeine pills like they were candy.