what can you tell me about the U of T engineers?
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hey there,
i like how you worded this question. it makes me feel like you whispered it from underneath your cowboy hat, after coming up to me in a smoky bar. “what can ya tell me ’bout these engineers?”
“nothin’ i ain’t said before,” i mumble back, taking a puff.
“nah listen,” you say, grabbing me by the lapel, “you tell me what i need to know, or i’ll kick ya so hard you’ll land back in ya mother’s womb.”
maybe that’s how it went down in an alternate universe. i hope so, though in our reality it’s probably closer to this. either way, i’m gonna answer your question, because i’m a pansy who can’t deal with being beaten up – in any dimension.
uoft engineering’s academics are something you can and should definitely read about to get a feel for what engineering is like for students. however, i think what you’re asking is what the students themselves are like.
well, engineering students- i’m assuming you’re talking about the students, even though you just said “engineers” in your question – are pretty isolated at most schools, and uoft is no exception. engineering is in its own faculty separate from artsci (the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering), which means you take different courses from most uoft undergrads. engineering also has its own clubs and student society separate from artsci.
this, plus the general first year in which all engineering students take the same courses, and the fact that you’re in these classes together for 30 hours a week, means that most engineering students* develop a really strong relationship with their program/faculty.
in the best cases, this relationship results in camaraderie and a sense of solidarity among students. in the worst, you come off like a self-absorbed cactus to everyone else not a part of your little nucleus of supersaturated engineering culture.
but you, i can tell, are not a self-absorbed cactus. you’re here at the Askastudent Saloon, after all, and only the classiest of the class come round these parts! so if you don’t want to get lost in engineering’s (only sometimes) elitist atmosphere, then the solution is very simple – just don’t. if you can, try to participate in communities outside the faculty, and always make sure that you’re actually enjoying everything engineering has to offer, and not just following the herd of hard hats ahead of you.
engineering is so intensive because it should be – in my opinion, it’s the way all programs should be. you learn a lot, you prepare for the working world, and along the way the school provides a supportive community for students. if you actually want to be an engineer – if physics and math make you feel that special tingly sensation in your chest – then uoft is a great place to be. if you cling to the school’s/faculty’s reputations just to make yourself feel better about a life choice you didn’t really want to make, then you will turn very prickly very quickly. but you don’t have to be that way, my friend. as long as you’re doing it for the right reasons, you’ll have a blast.
cheers,
aska
* #NotAllEngineeringStudents