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Any Engineers out there

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J_Berg
Posts: 562 - Karma: 2,031
Going to be a senior in highschool and thinking about engineering. Im currently writing my apps for Boulder, UW madison, Montana State, N. Michigan, and possibly U of U. I didn't do too hot on my AB Calc Ap test, but got decent grades both semesters. Im also taking BC next year, along with AP physics, i took the honors physics class this year.. Anyone in the field/older have any experience with grades in relation to success in college. I enjoy engineering but I feel like I dont have the grades/scores.
Take it easy
Jul 12 2014 5:42PM
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El_Barto.
Posts: 11661 - Karma: 24,346
I dont know why so many people have this misconception that engineering is hard. Nuclear engineering is probably pretty hard...civil, not so much.

Its like saying you want to study science. K...biology and chemistry are pretty different and chemistry is harder. But if you focus on neurophysiology or something gnarly like that it completely changes the game.

Youre 17/18, dont worry about it yet. Go take writing 121 first
Jul 12 2014 6:50PM
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acualywasdolan
Posts: 1172 - Karma: -747
Architecture is worth thinking about if math isnt your strongsuit
Jul 12 2014 9:36PM
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FreedGucci
Posts: 454 - Karma: 3,192
Same boat as you op. Just visited cu today, looks awesome
Jul 12 2014 9:38PM
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edai
Posts: 4990 - Karma: 4,677
Hit up P-fo, the guys on his way. One day he'll be building skyscrapers.
Jul 12 2014 9:42PM
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HamFaceGirl
Posts: 5242 - Karma: 2,676
The referenced post has been removed.


yoski speaks nothin but the truth
Jul 12 2014 10:52PM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
The referenced post has been removed.


Yuppp come to the U. Just graduated from the U with a biomedical engineering degree (and chem minor). Fucking awesome place, awesome people, and you will get a good job guaranteed. I can honestly say that 90% of the kids in our major were pretty sick people and not socially awkward at all. This would probably be different if you were thinking electrical or mechanical, but even then you can find cool people. Come get a good degree and ski your ass off.
Jul 12 2014 10:59PM
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Heart
Posts: 6156 - Karma: 3,462
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As an engineering student I can vouch for this being accurate.
Jul 12 2014 11:00PM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,411
Jul 13 2014 12:05AM
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acualywasdolan
Posts: 1172 - Karma: -747
Yoski didnt you say you were going to be a freshman at harvard this coming year? Your discrepancies make me believe ur full of shit
Jul 13 2014 1:01AM
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90053
Posts: 2565 - Karma: 3,728
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cannot emphasise enough
Jul 13 2014 8:59AM
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90053
Posts: 2565 - Karma: 3,728
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point proven
Jul 13 2014 9:01AM
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CliffyByro
Posts: 5678 - Karma: 3,903
only do it if you are genuinely interested in it enough to make all the shit stuff worth it. it's not difficult if you've got the brains, but its fucking awful if you don't enjoy it or find it interesting. it will literally destroy any motivation to work at it if you're not getting enjoyment from it. obviously this is the same for anything but some stuff is easy enough that you can breeze through without being interested in it, but engineering isn't. that said, i do chemical, which is probably the hardest without going into really specific areas, so i can't speak for other disciplines.

also whoever said about the socially awkward people, that's 100% true. i have a decent group of friends who are normal in my class but seriously some of the other people are so socially inept and weird, but if you can put up with that you're fine.
Jul 13 2014 10:02AM
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J_Berg
Posts: 562 - Karma: 2,031
Alright thanks guys. It's all good to hear. I kinda predicted the socially ineptness hahah but I really enjoy the idea of engineering/the classes ive taken at highschool so i think itll be worth it. I just wanna be able to ski as much as possible while getting good grades ahaha.
Jul 13 2014 10:44AM
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J_Berg
Posts: 562 - Karma: 2,031
Display_ScreenSame boat as you op. Just visited cu today, looks awesome


I visited in the spring, and honestly (besides the cost of out of state tuition) I couldn't find a reason NOT to go there haha.
Jul 13 2014 10:45AM
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J_Berg
Posts: 562 - Karma: 2,031
shocker611Yuppp come to the U. Just graduated from the U with a biomedical engineering degree (and chem minor). Fucking awesome place, awesome people, and you will get a good job guaranteed. I can honestly say that 90% of the kids in our major were pretty sick people and not socially awkward at all. This would probably be different if you were thinking electrical or mechanical, but even then you can find cool people. Come get a good degree and ski your ass off.


How was the mormon factor that's all my parents keep telling me about, and honestly I dont think it would be an issue for me cuz i hear there's not a lotta mormons in PC. But what's your experience from it?
Jul 13 2014 10:56AM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,684
A challenging advanced high school English class, taught by an exceptional teacher will undoubtedly do more to prepare you for success than any of the advanced math and science classes.
Jul 13 2014 11:12AM
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TOAST.
Posts: 7506 - Karma: 36,370
If you take any sort of calculus in high school you will be fine in engineering.
Jul 13 2014 12:04PM
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appa
Posts: 2249 - Karma: 1,739
dog if you're from pc like your username suggests, then you'll have matthews for physics and lars for bc (as i did my senior year) and they are both the fuckin man. i did the whole calc and physics c track when i was there and then started a degree in mechanical engineering at cal poly in san luis obispo. that was not really my gig so i transferred to cu boulder and changed my major to geology and maths. i didn't see a pleasant future for myself staying in engineering, but that's not to say i didn't enjoy a lot of the technical classes i took like welding, drafting, solid works, and metal casting. taking said courses at pchs did a hell of a job preparing me for the workload, and scoring well on the ap exams has been soooooooo helpful. hope this helps, good luck. go miners.
Jul 13 2014 1:08PM
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J_Berg
Posts: 562 - Karma: 2,031
appadog if you're from pc like your username suggests, then you'll have matthews for physics and lars for bc (as i did my senior year) and they are both the fuckin man. i did the whole calc and physics c track when i was there and then started a degree in mechanical engineering at cal poly in san luis obispo. that was not really my gig so i transferred to cu boulder and changed my major to geology and maths. i didn't see a pleasant future for myself staying in engineering, but that's not to say i didn't enjoy a lot of the technical classes i took like welding, drafting, solid works, and metal casting. taking said courses at pchs did a hell of a job preparing me for the workload, and scoring well on the ap exams has been soooooooo helpful. hope this helps, good luck. go miners.


Lulz dood I wish I went to school in PC. I live on like the IL WI border. haha thanks tho for the stoke and your insight.
Jul 13 2014 1:58PM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
iskiPC1997How was the mormon factor that's all my parents keep telling me about, and honestly I dont think it would be an issue for me cuz i hear there's not a lotta mormons in PC. But what's your experience from it?


I'm from Ohio, I knew 1 kid in our entire school that was mormon and that was the only thing I knew about them before coming out here. I always heard "the mormons run everything and you won't find jobs if you're not mormon" thing from people in Ohio, and it couldn't be further from the truth. Salt Lake isn't very mormon at all, you will barely even notice it. You will still be able to party all that you've ever wanted to.

I lived in an EXTREMELY mormon part of Salt Lake for close to a year and even then it barely bothered us. We played basketball daily with our missionaries and they barely even said a word about their religion, and our next door neighbors (10 kid, 9 girl super-mormon family) were some of the nicest people I've ever met and baked us birthday cakes for our birthdays and joked around with us about the ragers we had. At the end of the day, the only thing it really even effects is the beer percentage in grocery stores, but it really isn't even that much different.

Also, it seems like a very large percentage of the business leaders in the Salt Lake valley are non-mormon, so they definitely don't control the business.

I was VERY close to not coming to the U for school, but I couldn't be happier with my decision to come. I skied 3 days a week, partied for 2, and still came out with a good GPA in biomed that landed me a job immediately after college. I don't know a single person that graduated from my major that is still looking for a job, and know several that are making ~100k straight out of college.

Another thing about the U is that you aren't just going to be going to house parties, something that I loved. One day it will be a house party, the next day you will be in the mountains drinking your ass off up at the ski resorts, the next day you will be partying in the salt flats, the next day you will be in the Uintas raging with all your friends. There's so much to do around you that you'll never get bored.

Sorry for the ridiculous length of on this post, but Utah has been fucking awesome and I don't want you to skip out on it simply because of the mormon stigma.

TL;DR: U of U is awesome. Get a good education, ski your ass off.
Jul 13 2014 7:15PM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
cobra_commanderA challenging advanced high school English class, taught by an exceptional teacher will undoubtedly do more to prepare you for success than any of the advanced math and science classes.


Ehhh depends on what kind of an english class. If they teach you technical writing skills, I would agree 100%, but if it's the kind of class where you sit around and discuss shakespeare, I'm calling BS.
Jul 13 2014 7:17PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,684
shocker611Ehhh depends on what kind of an english class. If they teach you technical writing skills, I would agree 100%, but if it's the kind of class where you sit around and discuss shakespeare, I'm calling BS.


any engineer can set up an equation with matlab or mathmatica. Being able to successfully communicate a coherent idea or message will be what sets you apart.
Jul 13 2014 7:33PM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
The referenced post has been removed.



This is a skiing website...

How many skiers go to UMiami...

You have no power here
Jul 13 2014 7:41PM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
cobra_commanderany engineer can set up an equation with matlab or mathmatica. Being able to successfully communicate a coherent idea or message will be what sets you apart.


True, but I would argue you aren't going to learn that by reading shakespeare. Technical writing is 100% different than any other kind of writing. If you tried to write a test report like shakespeare wrote macbeth, your boss is going to laugh at you before firing you.
Jul 13 2014 7:43PM
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CliffyByro
Posts: 5678 - Karma: 3,903
cobra_commanderany engineer can set up an equation with matlab or mathmatica. Being able to successfully communicate a coherent idea or message will be what sets you apart.


This.
Jul 13 2014 7:43PM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
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A football dynasty that will never win another national championship... yeah okay. I really don't care either way, UMiami is an obsolete college in every way.
Jul 13 2014 7:53PM
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rodramsay
Posts: 2 - Karma: 7
i am an engineer but all i do now is tell the mexicans that work on my site to quit smoking butts and work
Jul 13 2014 9:48PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,684
shocker611True, but I would argue you aren't going to learn that by reading shakespeare. Technical writing is 100% different than any other kind of writing. If you tried to write a test report like shakespeare wrote macbeth, your boss is going to laugh at you before firing you.


Being able to successfully communicate a variety of thoughts, to a variety of audiences, and understanding what is the appropriate and most effective method for each circumstance is one of the most important skill sets to posses.
Jul 13 2014 10:01PM
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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5432 - Karma: 11,823
get ready to start using tinder
Jul 13 2014 10:13PM
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HamFaceGirl
Posts: 5242 - Karma: 2,676
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at least someone agrees
Jul 13 2014 11:10PM
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Steezy_P
Posts: 3069 - Karma: 2,350
If engineering is something you truly enjoy, then you will be fine. It will just take some extra work and getting used to the work load during your first year(s). Go for it!
Jul 13 2014 11:52PM
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caucasian_chad
Posts: 4078 - Karma: 3,625
cobra_commanderA challenging advanced high school English class, taught by an exceptional teacher will undoubtedly do more to prepare you for success than any of the advanced math and science classes.


I can personally attest to this being true. Engineers in general are terrible writers. If you can write a lab report that's easy to understand and very concise, your professors and/or their graders will love you. Your scores will reflect this with the added benefit of knocking the kid who always writes twice as much as everyone else down a few pegs when you score better than him.
Jul 13 2014 11:56PM
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caucasian_chad
Posts: 4078 - Karma: 3,625
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This is also very accurate. Not true of all engineering students, but you will have to put up with quite a few of these. One time I got on the chairlift with this middle aged guy, and somehow it came up that I went to school for civil with a transporataion/geotech focus. He was a structural and spent the rest of the ride talking shit about how much he thought geotechs sucked. Don't work for guys like that.
Jul 14 2014 12:06AM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
Just finished an undergraduate program in chemical engineering. I'm not bad at math, but it's not my strong suit. For me, it was mostly about effort. The more you put in, the better the results. Most didn't click with me right away so sometimes the extra was required.

PM me if you have any questions about schools/programs/fields/difficulty. Engineering tends to be a volatile topic here.
Jul 14 2014 2:47AM
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CliffyByro
Posts: 5678 - Karma: 3,903
caucasian_chadI can personally attest to this being true. Engineers in general are terrible writers. If you can write a lab report that's easy to understand and very concise, your professors and/or their graders will love you. Your scores will reflect this with the added benefit of knocking the kid who always writes twice as much as everyone else down a few pegs when you score better than him.


yup, i submitted a lab report last semester that was like 9 pages long, super concise and no extra nonsense. got a decent grade (16/20) considering i did it in a few hours on the day of the deadline. a friend wrote something like 30+ pages, spent a few days on it and we got the same grade. i've seen this happen quite a lot, and it goes to show how a lot of people try to be too clever and overstep their mark in engineering. do what's asked, do it well, but don't overdo it
Jul 14 2014 7:40AM
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HamFaceGirl
Posts: 5242 - Karma: 2,676
In all reality if you're ready to slay poon on the daily then become an engineer. No other major is respected and thought of as highly as engineering
Jul 14 2014 5:56PM
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corona
Posts: 12803 - Karma: 32,817
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It's cute that you think engineering is a science.
Jul 14 2014 6:13PM
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Puzzled
Posts: 4267 - Karma: 4,448
CliffyByroit goes to show how a lot of people try to be too clever and overstep their mark in engineering. do what's asked, do it well, but don't overdo it


^ this guy, on lock
yes, geeky tryhard kids will make you doubt yourself, but don't.
Jul 14 2014 6:16PM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
CliffyByroyup, i submitted a lab report last semester that was like 9 pages long, super concise and no extra nonsense. got a decent grade (16/20) considering i did it in a few hours on the day of the deadline. a friend wrote something like 30+ pages, spent a few days on it and we got the same grade. i've seen this happen quite a lot, and it goes to show how a lot of people try to be too clever and overstep their mark in engineering. do what's asked, do it well, but don't overdo it


That's partially because if you ever want to get into a decent journal you need to know how to write EXTREMELY concisely. Look at modern nature/science papers, you're compressing something that could be 200+ pages into generally
Jul 14 2014 6:23PM
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shocker611
Posts: 2599 - Karma: 423
shocker611That's partially because if you ever want to get into a decent journal you need to know how to write EXTREMELY concisely. Look at modern nature/science papers, you're compressing something that could be 200+ pages into generally


less than 5 pages
Jul 14 2014 6:24PM
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juicedrummer11
Posts: 1960 - Karma: 1,331
CliffyByroyup, i submitted a lab report last semester that was like 9 pages long, super concise and no extra nonsense. got a decent grade (16/20) considering i did it in a few hours on the day of the deadline. a friend wrote something like 30+ pages, spent a few days on it and we got the same grade. i've seen this happen quite a lot, and it goes to show how a lot of people try to be too clever and overstep their mark in engineering. do what's asked, do it well, but don't overdo it


lets just say this is exactly how i went through school. don't be the nerds locked up in their room tinkering forever and not making connections because then you are doomed from the start. study and learn everything to the best of your ability, but balance it with some free time otherwise you will go crazy. the phrase "its not what you know, but who you know" is paramount even in engineering. make connections and give yourself options for when you graduate.
Jul 14 2014 8:52PM
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corona
Posts: 12803 - Karma: 32,817
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uhm, the application of scientific findings is not science. how very engineer of you to think it is.
Jul 14 2014 10:51PM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
The referenced post has been removed.


http://lmgtfy.com/?q=is+engineering+science%3F
Jul 15 2014 12:58AM
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shredschralp
Posts: 54 - Karma: 55
shocker611I'm from Ohio, I knew 1 kid in our entire school that was mormon and that was the only thing I knew about them before coming out here. I always heard "the mormons run everything and you won't find jobs if you're not mormon" thing from people in Ohio, and it couldn't be further from the truth. Salt Lake isn't very mormon at all, you will barely even notice it. You will still be able to party all that you've ever wanted to.

I lived in an EXTREMELY mormon part of Salt Lake for close to a year and even then it barely bothered us. We played basketball daily with our missionaries and they barely even said a word about their religion, and our next door neighbors (10 kid, 9 girl super-mormon family) were some of the nicest people I've ever met and baked us birthday cakes for our birthdays and joked around with us about the ragers we had. At the end of the day, the only thing it really even effects is the beer percentage in grocery stores, but it really isn't even that much different.

Also, it seems like a very large percentage of the business leaders in the Salt Lake valley are non-mormon, so they definitely don't control the business.

I was VERY close to not coming to the U for school, but I couldn't be happier with my decision to come. I skied 3 days a week, partied for 2, and still came out with a good GPA in biomed that landed me a job immediately after college. I don't know a single person that graduated from my major that is still looking for a job, and know several that are making ~100k straight out of college.

Another thing about the U is that you aren't just going to be going to house parties, something that I loved. One day it will be a house party, the next day you will be in the mountains drinking your ass off up at the ski resorts, the next day you will be partying in the salt flats, the next day you will be in the Uintas raging with all your friends. There's so much to do around you that you'll never get bored.

Sorry for the ridiculous length of on this post, but Utah has been fucking awesome and I don't want you to skip out on it simply because of the mormon stigma.

TL;DR: U of U is awesome. Get a good education, ski your ass off.


^^^ U of U recruiter
Jul 15 2014 3:08AM
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HolySchimmel
Posts: 1601 - Karma: 1,297
I'm an engineer, I'd say go for it if you like the stuff its about, it doesn't make any sense if you dont like math etc.

And just to contradict the classic view of a male-only population of students in engineering, we had about 60% ladies. I studied in germany though and I guess it was quite the exception ;)
Jul 15 2014 4:01AM
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HolySchimmel
Posts: 1601 - Karma: 1,297
I'm an engineer, I'd say go for it if you like the stuff its about, it doesn't make any sense if you dont like math etc.

And just to contradict the classic view of a male-only population of students in engineering, we had about 60% ladies. I studied in germany though and I guess it was quite the exception ;)
Jul 15 2014 4:04AM
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90053
Posts: 2565 - Karma: 3,728
VinnieFuhm, the application of scientific findings is not science. how very engineer of you to think it is.


agreed engineering itself is not science although you do have engineering sciences. science is essentially an abbreviation of scientific discovery not an application of scientific discoveries
Jul 15 2014 6:58AM
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gotti
Posts: 4269 - Karma: 4,550
I pretty much have to go into engineering because I suck at all other subjects but ive always been one of the best at math/science. I'm also really socially awkward like I literally can't have conversations with groups of people it stresses me out so much. But yea pretty much be prepared to not talk to people and do boring math problems all of college because I am.
Jul 15 2014 7:32AM
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,027
I'm a network engineer. Did the military then got a 2-year electrical engineering degree.
Jul 15 2014 7:51AM
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CliffyByro
Posts: 5678 - Karma: 3,903
shocker611That's partially because if you ever want to get into a decent journal you need to know how to write EXTREMELY concisely. Look at modern nature/science papers, you're compressing something that could be 200+ pages into generally


shocker611less than 5 pages


yeah exactly. that time i just posted about isn't a one-off either, i've seen it happen time and again. just don't do what i did and have too much fun, you do have to do some work haha
Jul 15 2014 8:14AM
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