[Rio_]

I started a mechanical engineering degree a month ago, but until now I haven't been that organised when it comes to doing work outside of lectures - I've got some maths tutorials I need to finish, for example, and I can't seem to find the time to do them. So tonight I tried drawing up a timetable showing what times I'm at university during the day, and what time I have spare and therefore could be working - worked well for me while I was at school revising for exams. In doing that, and including times for travelling to and from uni, eating, chores etc., I've discovered that I only have 17 spare hours for anything else, assuming I stop at 9pm. (And I haven't managed to find time for a violin practice each day, either...think I'm going to have to hope that my labs in the afternoon end early. Well, it's happened before! )

Now, I'm not sure exactly how many hours' work a week I should be doing for my courses, but the lecturer for one of them said we should be aiming for three hours per week for his - I'm taking five courses this year, so if I do three hours per week for all of them that adds up to 15 hours spent each week doing work. When I was at school, the first time I tried doing a timetable like this I was wearing myself out just trying to do ten! I know university is a step up, though, so do you think 15 hours per week is a reasonable amount to be spending doing work outside of class? Less? More?

I haven't been out in the evenings for a while, and I've been using work as an excuse...whether the actual reason is shyness, social anxiety or just me being antisocial I'm not sure, but it looks like work might be an actual reason from now on! (Not that I haven't been working in the evenings, I just haven't managed to get much done.)

[Christina86]

Hey Rio!

I'm not in Mechanical Engineering but I've got some friends in Engineering, and one in Mech specifically...

That workload sounds about what he experiences... apparently (at least at my university) Aerospace Engineering is more time consuming...

I've heard of the 3 hours of studying per one hour of lecture... it's what is generally expected of all students. Just from my experience and from what I've seen, if you spare a few hours here and there to study the stuff you don't understand (or lessen the amount of time spent on material you truly understand) ... you should be "fine" with 15 hours of studying per week. Just realize you're not Superman, and it is quite possible to fall behind - especially during exams or essays/assignment due date periods.

Hope that helps and good luck!

[Rio_]

Thanks for replying, Canders. Good to know 15 hours a week should be ok. 3 hours' work per 1 hours' lecture would work out at 33 hours for me! Hopefully it's not going to get to that stage quite yet.

Thanks! It's nice having it all set out on a timetable now - before I've been thinking "today I have to do this and this and this and this and this" and it's felt like so much that I didn't know where to start. And by working until half 9 instead of 9 I get to do half an hour's violin practice as well, so that's that problem solved.

[Christina86]

Believe me, being a student is a fulltime job, all by itself... they say something along the lines of, if you've got a part-time job as well as school fulltime - that work should only be 15-20 hours a week, otherwise you sacrifice a grade point! Just take it a bit at a time, and you can always reevaluate your time schedule at a later date.

[h0kie]

DH is a mining engineering graduate. He definite spent at least 3 hours per class studying.

Sounds normal to me. That being said, I spent that much time on my education classes. College is really time intensive.

[Rio_]

I guess so! Still feels like a lot, though...if I'm already starting to feel overwhelmed two months in, I'm probably going to end up with a nervous breakdown by the end of the course.

[Rio_]

Thanks for replying, h0kie. Good to know it sounds about normal. And it's certainly seeming that way!

[eskielover]

Rio,

It's been years & years ago since I was in the computer science engineering department but I know that even though they would say that it only took so many hours to prepare for certain classes, it could take me much longer than anyone elses estimates. I would have to study before tests about 2 times as long as others.....so it really depends on yourself & what you really need to get the grades you want.

It was a difficult issue when i was first married. My goals were toward getting my A's in the classes & that was all I was aiming for. I knew how much time I required for myself to study & I was being pressured to go have fun by my husband. He got mad because I would refuse to lower my standards for school at accomodate the things he wanted to do. I was in school before we got married, so I didn't feel guilty telling him where to go. My goals were already set & no one was getting in my way...especially not to just have fun.

It's a tough workload & good grades end up being important (my husband didn't get the job he expected to get because his gradepoint average was below average). You need to know yourself & your needs to accomplish your classes at the level that you are satisfied with....that is what you need to base your decisions on.

You have a lot of work ahead of you, but your career possibilities after graduation are endless & should be proud of yourself for this,
Debbie

[Rio_]

Thanks for replying, eskielover. That's a good point! I'm not sure how much work I'm going to need to do, though - think I'll be adjusting my timetable a few times.

I can see how that would be tricky...I've had to turn down a few invitations already. That's great you managed to get the grades you wanted, though.

Thanks!