It took me two and a half years. I had the run of the mill with accounting, economic and biological science courses and none of it was just doing it for me. Floating around and having no clue about career prospects frightened me. Alas, the face of engineering came to my rescue and it was good riddance to that foggy part of my life.
During the start of the transition, I found the engineering course different and much more difficult. The prerequisite mathematics and science
courses consisted of lengthy weekly homework sets and laboratory classes which gave little
flavor of the interesting parts. Of course, I knew nothing great is ever presented to you on a silver platter and this was all part of building my foundation to becoming a kickass engineer one day.
Settling into my new course took some time to readjust (timetable hours, homework load, class structure) and I admit that I did struggle a little to keep up in the beginning. Each person adapts to change differently and I found that even though I was certain about my choice, a part of me was still questioning the decision I had made to transfer to civil engineering. Not questions about my 'calling' but more about adapting to a new environment. Of course, this is all part of the transition process.
Now that I have grown accustomed to my new course, I notice a
stark contrast between engineering and business students. Engineering
students integrate group forums and a large collection of resources into their learning. There is also a strong emphasis on teamwork and communication. Each subject had a group work component whether it be a six-person design project (ENGG1000) or pairing up in laboratory classes (PHYS1121).
Having only four hundred in a cohort, it is easier for the civil engineering students to interact with each other compared to the 1200+ kids in business. All in all, CE kids are friendly, willing open to help a newcomer like me settle in and learn the ins and outs of all things civil.
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