Brainy pandemic children

[GrumpyGranddad]

Could be if you were developing high speed rail.
My fluid mechanics prof designed an artificial heart.
In a lot of cases, you don't know what will be or is useful until you encounter the need.

Agree with you @Vagophile but I think that some courses are a bit ‘deep dive’ when maybe only a good grounding is needed.

 

[Johnboy]

It’s so true @Amarillo, when studying for my Engineering qualifications I learned all sorts of stuff that I have never needed in the real world.

For example the grain structure of Mild Steel before and after Case Hardening. Really useful !!!

I set up an engineering company as Technical director - I had to prepare many material specifications and issues such as grain size and direction became standard requirements. I actually found it quite interesting as my knowledge improved...... you are unlikely to use everything you learn in your engineering degree but over the 40 odd years I have used most !! with one exception of complex numbers !! never did get my head round them.

General observation on the original thread discussion. I was accepted for a Mechanical Engineering degree course with one grade A and 6 grade C's at O level. My engineering course at Loughborough had 80 students and 3 achieved firsts, then there were about 15 with 2.1 grades with the rest at 2.2 or 3rds. For my part I achieved a 2.2 and most employers were satisfied with this.

Not sure this is reflected in the current situationn.

 

[Vagophile]

My engineering course at Loughborough had 80 students and 3 achieved firsts, then there were about 15 with 2.1 grades with the rest at 2.2 or 3rds. For my part I achieved a 2.2 and most employers were satisfied with this.

But did you make the 1st XV and in what position?

 

[Vagophile]

Like @Johnboy, a general observation. We are heavily skewed here to the "Sciences" side of the education spectrum. I didn't really know what to study and became an engineer almost by default. If I had a second opportunity, I could well have chosen Russian and Chinese studies, as at school my language skills were as good as my science skills. In those distant times, at my school, careers advice was almost non existent.
Not grumbling though!

 

[Johnboy]

But did you make the 1st XV and in what position?

I missed it by a year... good thing because I would have failed it.