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Are engineers boring?

How do they compare to your average natsci physicist? The real question is: Will reading engineering turn me into a permanent nerd or just a temporary one

Reply 1

lm_wfc

12

Alot of engineers are very boring people, but studying engineering isnt going to 'turn you into' a nerd, just alot of nerds study it

I dont even know what natsci students are like, but seem as you abbreiviated it natsci and asked on the internet, you're already a nerd sorry (he says with 1300 posts :frown:

)

Reply 2

Jeester

14

Well seeing as it's engineers who design things like the newest mountain bikes, super bikes, formula 1 cars anything really that you find fun has been engineered.
I think that safely puts them as some of the funnest and coolest people in the world.

Reply 3

ac132

12

The people I know studying engineering are all really, really nerdy and boring. Those of them who decided to do it after school as a job are really sociable. All depends how you want to live your life - devote it to your studies, talk to people like they should all know maths and then look down on them if they don't, or expand your social skills and leave your degree at home when you go out a bit more.

Reply 4

lefneosan

OP

1

lm_wfc

Alot of engineers are very boring people, but studying engineering isnt going to 'turn you into' a nerd, just alot of nerds study it

I dont even know what natsci students are like, but seem as you abbreiviated it natsci and asked on the internet, you're already a nerd sorry (he says with 1300 posts :frown:

)

So true!! A bit of a manque cambridge geek, i admit readily. So the general consensus, from your witty/quite insightful responses, is that studying engineering doesnt make you boring, but you are probably boring already if you choose to study it!

Reply 5

Smeh

14

lefneosan

So true!! A bit of a manque cambridge geek, i admit readily. So the general consensus, from your witty/quite insightful responses, is that studying engineering doesnt make you boring, but you are probably boring already if you choose to study it!

Hey!
I'm not boring :emo:

Reply 6

lm_wfc

12

lefneosan

So true!! A bit of a manque cambridge geek, i admit readily. So the general consensus, from your witty/quite insightful responses, is that studying engineering doesnt make you boring, but you are probably boring already if you choose to study it!

Got it in one :top:

Reply 7

didgeridoo12uk

16

lefneosan

So true!! A bit of a manque cambridge geek, i admit readily. So the general consensus, from your witty/quite insightful responses, is that studying engineering doesnt make you boring, but you are probably boring already if you choose to study it!

load of crap.

a good lot of engineers are

but at least half the people in know studying it are anything but boring.

exactly the same for those on natsci, and most other sciencey courses

Reply 8

Hoody555

10

Yes. But not as boring as journalism students.

Reply 9

Moggs

10

lefneosan

The real question is: Will reading engineering turn me into a permanent nerd or just a temporary one

Neither of the above :wink:

Just gotta remember not to blab on about it when you finish your work/study for the day and you'll be fine.

Reply 10

timiaz

Errm actually I think engineering is turning into a cool subject nowadays - depending on the branch of it... Aeronautical is always fun you get to simulate flying planes.
Chemical (I am not biased :P) is just awesome :biggrin:

But seriously it not a nerdy subject, its well respected by people and defo useful to society

Reply 11

Phugoid

lefneosan

How do they compare to your average natsci physicist? The real question is: Will reading engineering turn me into a permanent nerd or just a temporary one

I hope studying engineering will turn you into a nerd... but being a nerd can also make you cool as :snow:

.

Engineers are at the forefront of alllllll the coolest technology, and alllll the amazing projects.

Saying that, it depends what branch of Engineering you go into. Civil Engineers are inevitably boring bastards. They do a subject called 'Soil Mechanics', so you can get the drift from there. But at the other end of the spectrum you have Aerospace Engineers (like me :biggrin:

) who do awesome subjects like 'High Speed Aerodynamics', 'Spaceflight Dynamics', etc.

Some of the stuff I'm involved in is beyond cool. I'm part of a Europe-wide team that's designing a lunar satellite that goes into lunar orbit in 2013. This summer I'm part of a team working with biologists to design and build a genetically engineered MACHINE! Next year I'll be doing research into control systems for Ornithopters (bloody cool!). I get to travel all over Europe to attend workshops, seminars and conferences concerning all of the above and more.

No other student from any other degree will walk out of it and be able to say, 'yeah, there's something orbiting the moon with my name on it'.

It certainly isn't a dull degree by any stretch of the imagination, and I can't imagine how anybody who does all of this stuff could be a dullard at the dinner table... apart from Civil Engineers, of course. Dullards indeed.

Reply 12

00EyeOfTheStorm00

It's not the subject that makes you boring, it's the person who you are. The only reason certain subjects such as Maths and Physics are associated with nerds is because you need to do well in them and mostly people who do well are the nerds because they prefer to sit and revise rather than go out. If you want to study engineering go for it, it won't make you boring and there'll be plently of others who don't fit into the nerd catagory...I expect anyway...

Reply 13

lefneosan

OP

1

didgeridoo12uk

load of crap.

a good lot of engineers are

but at least half the people in know studying it are anything but boring.

exactly the same for those on natsci, and most other sciencey courses

Sorry to be pedantic, but you cant judge if you are one of them yourself! And if you have been put off by that earlier pedanticism, dont read on because I am keen on knocking this subject down; now I am no different, but does the fact that you find building satellites exciting make you a nerd? It doesnt exactly contribute to dinner-table discussion!

There is also the fact that engineering is a numerical language as opposed to the arts/humanities where the way you speak and interact is more important.

As it stands, I am more nerd than normal so I need to know if it will push me over the brink!

Reply 14

Phugoid

lefneosan

Sorry to be pedantic, but you cant judge if you are one of them yourself! And if you have been put off by that earlier pedanticism, dont read on because I am keen on knocking this subject down; now I am no different, but does the fact that you find building satellites exciting make you a nerd? It doesnt exactly contribute to dinner-table discussion!

Nonsense. People are astounded when you tell them about some of the projects you're involved in, or some of the stuff that goes on in your department, and while they are indeed overwhelmed by some of the stuff that inevitably goes over their head, they always have a lot of questions. Most people have a layman's interest in the stuff Engineers do, and they're quite happy to learn something new about it.

There is also the fact that engineering is a numerical language as opposed to the arts/humanities where the way you speak and interact is more important.

Again, nonsense. Being able to present your work to people who don't understand the complex mathematics behind your research is a large, large part of what being an Engineer is all about. Every Engineering graduate has been through several team projects throughout their undergraduate degree, and each one of them usually involves presenting your work in a lively, interactive and inspiring manner. If you can't communicate your ideas clearly, concisely, and to the level that even a layman will understand, you will never be a proficient engineer.

As it stands, I am more nerd than normal so I need to know if it will push me over the brink!

Grow up. When you get to university you'll find out that the world is no longer sorted into 'nerds', 'popular kids' etc, etc, etc. That's high school stuff, and I would suggest that you leave the idea of university behind for a few years before you end up making an adult decision using a child's criteria.

P.S. You need to look up the word pedantic, because you're using it completely out of context. You'll have to excuse my pedanticism on that one.

Reply 15

Indieboohoo

14

engineers are fit :teeth:

Reply 16

lets_make_some_music

its the person, not the subject
i'm planning to study engineering, but i'm not the "typical" engineering girl, and i wouldn't say i'm a nerd, i just enjoy the subject and i don't think studying it is suddenly going to turn me into a nerd

Reply 17

iainthegreat

14

Yes. We are all very, very boring people. Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to my morning Suduku.

Reply 18

crazylemon

20

Far from. Seriously interesting people, not that I could do it myself as I don't have the mathematical ability (leave me with my warm fuzzy statistics for medicine). Most I know don't really take part in sterotypical nerd activities other than 1) working which you have to do to pass anything and 2) reading - which isn't really that nerdy unless you are about 10 in your world view.

But then I am probably a nerd by your definition because I go to imperial the nerdiest uni in the uk. I am at least a little bit nerdy even if it is as a drunk lazy nerd.

But seeing as you wish to have a non nerd opinion I will use my medic status which makes me super awesome to tell you that they are far from boring/nerdy.