Thread: Engineers Please Step In. I have a question.

Hello engineers,

I'm currently going to school for mechanical engineering and to be honest I like my courses that I have to take right now except for one. That course is Chemistry. For some reason I am not very good in it and struggle to learn anything it seems. I'm curious as to see if anyone who is a mechanical engineer or even any other kind of engineer uses chemistry stuff in their daily work? Please state what type of engineer you are and how much you use chemistry. Thanks!

I'm an Engineer of BS. I could easily see chemistry coming into play in many ways. Material composition would need to be considered in designing and building almost anything. Chemistry as in the make up of the earth if you have anything to do with anything in that area, as well...strength of various things etc.

Good thing your not electronic engineer.

If you don't like chemistry you'd hate calc Ii or even physics

I actually like physics. It's more hands on and I can understand it alot easier than Chemistry. Even though we have a weekly lab in Chemistry it just doesn't make sense to me for some reason. It just doesn't click like math, english, physics, or my engineering classes. I'm currently in a Calc class and its going good so far.

Calc 1?

Taking chemistry I and II is not as much as for the actually chemistry but for the problem solving ability. I was a chemistry major and now I am manager at resin factory. I don't use a lick of my actual chemistry, but I sure as hell use all the problem solving techniques I learned taking chemistry classes.
In all Seriousness though chem I and II is just Algebra with chemistry words thrown into it.

Most likely Calc 1

chem was easy.

pay attention and think of it like math.

I think what throws me off are the words that are used. I think you are right too. I don't look at it like math. I keep trying to look at the wrong way so it makes it more difficult. If I just think that it is math and look at it that way and ignore the words I would probably struggle less.

the terminology is irrelevant if you don't understand how it all goes together.

once you get the number systems, then put the words to it.

Alright. This is a relief. I was beginning to think that maybe I should start looking for a different major if I wouldn't be able to fully understand chemistry but I think I will be able to get the hang of it now.

I work at a civil engineering research lab, we never use any kind of chemistry. You'll really only use it if you were developing new materials in a lab where you have to know how the different chemicals would behave together. Civil/mechanical guys just read the instructions that the chemical engineers wrote lol

Electronics Engineer, and don't use Chemistry for the most part. But you do have to understand all disciplines to achieve in the sciences.

Originally Posted by TheNoob23

Off topic but.... looking for any interns?

We never really had interns. I'm on the setup/instrumentation side, not on the design part of whatever we're testing. Most of our work comes from the universities even though we're DOT.

Well I am taking a break from the Chemistry. Can't keep up in the class while working and trying to work on a big engineering project. Dropped it this morning and picked up a volleyball class instead. I feel kind of lame for having to drop it but things were getting way worse by the day.