Fortunately, you do not need to be great at math to have a successful engineering career. But, there’s one caveat. You need to survive the required math classes to get your engineering degree.
There’s a false perception that engineers need to be awesome mathematicians and that’s just not true in many engineering careers. I speak from personal experience here. I’m an engineer that’s never been great with numbers, especially when it comes to basic math. Timed multiplication tables? That was my worst nightmare in elementary school. But, I haven’t let that hold me back.
So, what are your options if you’re interested in becoming an engineer and aren’t a math wiz? Below, we’ll talk about (1) surviving undergraduate engineering courses, and (2) engineering career path options.
Surviving engineering undergraduate courses
Before you can become an engineer, you have to get a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree (in some countries, like the UK, they call it a Bachelor of Engineering degree). And, unfortunately for those of us that aren’t huge math fans, many engineering undergraduate programs are very math-based.
But, don’t freak out yet. Let’s talk about tips to help you survive undergrad. You can do this.
Work to build your math skills before college
If you’re reading this while you’re still in high school, awesome. You have a chance to help yourself out before you start college. For the rest of you, don’t worry, just skip to the next tip below.
It helps to start building a decent math foundation in high school for two reasons. First, it increases your chances of getting admitted into an engineering college. Second, building a solid math foundation in high school will help you succeed in your undergraduate classes later.
Many engineering undergraduate programs will have you start with calculus. So, at a minimum, you should aim to complete geometry, algebra, and pre-calculus (or trigonometry depending on your options) while you’re in high school. Talk to your high school advisor to make sure you’re on the right track.
If possible, also take calculus while you’re still in high school. I took AP calculus my senior year of high school, but I’ll be honest, I struggled with it. I failed the AP test quite miserably. But, failing that AP test ended up being a blessing in disguise. When I started my first semester at Purdue University, I started out with Calculus I. Calculus made a whole lot more sense to me the second time around and re-learning those concepts helped give me a foundation for the rest of the math classes I needed for my aerospace engineering degree.
Take advantage of technology
Luckily, we live in an era where technology can do a lot of the heavy lifting for us. Calculators. Excel spreadsheets. Matlab. There are so many options. They can help you do both simple and advanced calculations if you take the time to learn how.
Sure, you might have an old-school professor out there that wants you to slog through a test without a calculator. But fortunately, your future employer won’t make you do that. Employers will want you to take advantage of technology. Many professors realize that and will let you use a calculator. So, focus on learning mathematical concepts, and let technology do the calculations for you.
The internet is also a lifesaver. You can google example test questions. Find videos that help explain a concept that your professor isn’t teaching well. Discover alternative ways to solve a problem. Use it to your advantage!
Professors, TAs, and tutors
Find a good professor. Ideally, your professors are all amazing. But, unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Use ratemyprofessors.com when you register for classes. Depending on your school and the number of students that need to take a course, you may have multiple professors to choose from. Look for professors that excel at teaching. You just want to look for a professor that will give you an easy A. You want a professor that will help you understand concepts so that you can succeed in subsequent courses.
Take advantage of office hours. Most schools require that professors offer office hours. Bring a homework problem you’re stuck on and ask for help. If they offer extra study sessions before an exam, take it! Getting to know your professor during office hours can also help your grade. Some professors that know you’ve put in a lot of effort may bump up your grade.
Get to know your TA. Many college courses also have TAs (teaching assistants). TAs are normally graduate students. They’re the ones grading papers and helping out the professor. There are some amazing TAs out there that want to help you succeed. They might offer office hours or study sessions. I found that many times our TAs would even break down complex problems better than the professor. If you’re lucky enough to have an incredible TA, congratulations! Don’t let that resource go to waste.
Consider a tutor. If you’re struggling with a particular subject, don’t be embarrassed to get a tutor. Sometimes we just need a little extra help. If a tutor helps you pass a class, it’ll be worth it!
Find your support system
Homework parties are cool. Okay, maybe not cool. But, they’re definitely beneficial! Make friends with the people in your class. Learn from each other. Compare your homework before turning it in. Help each other through tough problems.
Sometimes we also need a bit of emotional support to get through a tough class. A friend who will tell you that “you’re awesome” and that “you can do this” when you feel like giving up. A therapist who helps you crush negative thoughts. A supportive family member who loves you no matter what. A religious leader who gives you hope through prayer. The options are endless.
It’s okay to lean on others, just like others will lean on you. We’re stronger together.
Your mindset matters
Don’t let other people or your own self-doubt prevent you from getting what you really want.
My 8th-grade math teacher told me that I wasn’t good enough at math to take the honors math classes in high school. For the first few weeks of my freshman year, I listened. Until I realized the non-honors track she put me on would prevent me from taking calculus by my senior year. I learned that calculus was important for many STEM-related careers. So, I talked to my guidance counselor and got approval to switch math classes. It was hard. Really hard. I was about a month behind my peers since I transferred in late, and I didn’t have a great math foundation to start with. But I was determined to catch up and I had the grit to stick with it. I’m so glad I did!
You can do it too! Be determined. Learn to boost your self-confidence. Be willing to put in the effort now to achieve your dreams down the road.
Get an internship
Need some motivation to get you through your engineering degree? Need a break from back-to-back classes? Being an intern (or co-op) can help you with both.
Internships give you a break from the hustle and bustle of college. Sometimes it’s just nice to step away for a semester and do something different! Being an intern is also the best way to experience what engineers really do. This is your chance to see what you enjoy working on before you accept a full-time position after you graduate.
Personally, I took 5 semesters off to be an intern/co-op. Each semester working as a student engineer gave me a break from schoolwork. Not only that but experiencing what I’d be doing as an engineer gave me the motivation to push through challenging classes.
More on engineering internships here.
Find the right engineering program for you
Some engineering degrees will require more math than others. But, a word of caution: don’t just pick an engineering degree just because it sounds easy. Ask yourself what you want to do after college first.
Research jobs that you want What are the hiring requirements? For example, say you’re interested in building rovers. You can look up rover engineering companies and jobs. You can also look at biographies of rover engineers. You’ll likely see a lot of mechanical engineering degrees, and some others like electrical and software engineering. But I doubt you’ll find many civil engineers on a rover team.
Need help deciding what engineering degree to get? Read this article next.
Engineering career options that do very little math
There are SOOOO many options. Seriously, if someone tells you that you need to be a math genius to be an engineer, they don’t understand all the options engineers have.
Universally, there are more beneficial skills for engineers than mathematics. For example:
- Critical thinking and problem solving– the ability to objectively evaluate a problem from multiple angles to come up with a recommended solution.
- Communication – the ability to communicate your ideas to others, document your thought process, and learn from others.
- Creativity – the ability to think outside the box and offer innovative solutions.
Do you enjoy building or creating things? Are you fascinated by how things work? Do you get excited reading about engineering topics? If so, don’t let some pesky math classes hold you back from pursuing an engineering career!
Engineering positions to consider
Here are some career path options for those of you looking to avoid math after college. Just note that this definitely isn’t an exhaustive list!
Engineering management – if you love leading people or managing projects, there are many engineering management positions that don’t require math skills. Though you’ll likely have to deal with finances to some extent. Different companies have different career tracks for becoming a manager, so investigate what that looks like before accepting a position.
Design engineer – do you enjoy designing and creating CAD models? If so, consider starting your career as a design engineer. While designing hardware often comes with dimensional constraints, modeling programs will do all that dimensional analysis for you.
Operations engineer – operations engineers generally deal with how a product works. In some companies, that means testing the product in various conditions. In others, you might be working on efficiencies of their production line. At NASA, you’ll find operations engineers teaching astronauts and supporting mission control.
System engineers – system engineers are usually there from the start of a project defining the problem and formulating requirements. They support the project through certification, ensuring that issues are being resolved and that the project has met all its objectives.
Software engineer – if you excel at learning computer programming languages, consider software engineering. As a bonus, if you do need to do some calculations, you can easily create a program that will run the calculation for you!
Freelance – Whether this is a full-time job or a side hustle, you can go into business for yourself. And since you work for yourself, it’s completely up to you whether that includes math or not! Freelance software engineers can build unique website platforms and apps. Mechanical design engineers can help a small company create CAD models or models for 3D printers. If you have a PE license, you can certify a design as a professional engineer.
Non-engineering options
An engineering degree can also give you a huge advantage for many jobs that you wouldn’t normally consider “engineering”. Here are several examples:
Media liaison – It takes skill to talk about engineering activities in a way for the public to understand. Some of the best media liaisons, public relations officers, spokespersons, etc. have a strong technical background but are also able to tell a fascinating story.
Sales representative – Every engineering industry needs some sales representatives that have a strong technical background. I’ve had aerospace engineering friends go on to sell private jets. Engineering companies that bid on government contracts need a team of people who are able to market their technologies. There are a lot of options if you’re able to combine engineering technical skills with sales or marketing skills.
Lawyer – engineers can make great lawyers. Here’s an indeed.com article that goes into more detail.
Engineering careers that are math-heavy
There are, of course, engineers out there who use math almost every day. Analysts and research engineers are two types of positions that tend to rely on mathematical concepts often. So, these are positions to be cautious of if you never want to see a calculus equation again.
Engineering analysts – It depends on the field you’re working in, but many analyst positions need math skills. Fluid dynamic analysts. Thermal analysts. Electrical analysts. Stress analysts. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to avoid these career paths. Many analysts depend on various computing programs for all their calculations. So, if you’re not great at simple calculations, but understand mathematical concepts needed for engineering analysis, you can still excel at being an analyst.
Research positions – if you stay in academia, many positions are research-heavy and can include a lot of math. Similarly, research and development (R&D) labs in industry may also require those math skills you picked up in college.
Look at the specifics
Of course, this entire section talked in generalities. I’m sure there are analysts and researchers that rarely use all the mathematics they learned in college. And I bet there are managers and operations engineers out there that would argue that those calculus skills come in handy.
The best way to figure out if a job requires a lot of math knowledge is to explore specific jobs and companies. What skills are listed in the job posting? Ask probing questions during the job interview. Look at LinkedIn profiles of people who have held that position before. What skills do they list? What do they do now? Even Reddit, Quora, or other online forums can help give you some insight.
As you’re looking into specific engineering positions, consider what kind of math you’d like to avoid. Algebra? Geometry? Calculus? Differential equations? Linear algebra? Statistics? All of the above? You might find that occasionally doing some basic algebra and geometry equations is acceptable, but maybe you want to avoid linear algebra and statistics at all costs.
Don’t let math hold you back
If engineering is something you’re truly interested in, don’t let those math classes hold you back. You’ve got this!