Misconceptions about To-be Engineers

Imagine how it would feel if you're an engineering student and you're working hard for that degree and then all of a sudden your mother's brother's wife's sister's husband comes up to you and goes "Oh you're studying engineering? You must know how to fix that flickering bulb." Yeah, it's a sucker punch. 

Engineering students are looked upon as mysterious beings and there are a multitude of annoying stereotypes about this area of studies. As an engineering student myself, I get both irritated and flabbergasted at times with what people have to say. We are human beings just like the rest of you and most of what you think about us are not true. 

Let me take you through some of the misconceptions people have about engineering students:

THOU SHALL KNOW HOW TO FIX THE BROKEN SWITCH
No, we are not electricians. We don't go through 4/5 years of intense study pressure to end up being your wireman, even though we perhaps know how to. Engineers are builders who use their expertise in technology to improve human lives, not earn 200 bucks per house call. Also, computer science graduates are not specialised Windows 10 installers and civil engineers are not hat wearing brick layers.

ENGINEERING: IT'S A GUY THING
Wrong. There are a lot of girls who study engineering, and a lot of them are smarter than the rest of us. Thanks to the internet and some other sources, people believe women don't study engineering, which is entirely false. If you look up on the internet, you will find historic female figures that have made groundbreaking contributions in the field of science and engineering. 

ENGINEERING STUDENTS HAVE NO LIFE
Well, we do. We eat, we sleep and we love to go out and party just like you. Look at me - I write. Not all of us are nerds and geeks either; some of us prefer things that the so-called normal people do instead of playing Dungeons and Dragons or going on a Star Wars marathon. Although we do have a heavier work load, that does not restrict us to sticking to our study tables all day long. 

ALL ENGINEERING STUDENTS ARE SMART
This is another conventional myth about engineering pupils. Here in Bangladesh, not all engineering students choose engineering major on their own, some are forced and some choose it based on fallacious judgment. Furthermore, people believe we are all excellent in math. Well, not all of us. Some engineering students don't have a clue about what they learn (thank you, Mr Laplace and Fourier) and hence there is always a record of annual engineering drop outs. Not all engineering students are witty and not all of them are Einsteins either. 

Since we've got that cleared out, let's dispel all the fictitious misconceptions about engineering students as well. They are just like any other human being. Don't believe me, come hang out with us you'll see.