An Honest, Competent Piece of Work   January 30, 2004

It seems so natural for engineering to be studied in a historical and political economic context. If it were, it would be enlightening and much less grueling than it needs to be in relation to the actual practice of engineering in industry. This would prepare the engineer to be proactive in a way that a focus on technology alone cannot do. We say that change is the one thing that is constant but we do not prepare the engineer for change that is driven by politics and economics. Consider globalization. The transfer of production to India and China is one aspect of globalization. It moves design, applications and hotline support to these countries as well where engineers are paid $10K to $15K a year. There is no way U.S. engineers can increase their productivity 5 fold and more to be competitive with this. With laptops, cell phones and Internet we are already chained to work 24/7. We are smart guys and gals but we do not have influences of liberal education to deal with this issue in an enlightened manner. "Studying Engineering" plays it safe for not challenging the context of technical lectures, what could be done in the interstitial space that compliments technology and makes it more interesting and understandable. It deals with what successful engineering students have always done - focus on academics, limit purely social activity and use discretionary time to take advantage of the university community to practice being a professional. I am mindful that the words honest and competent are generous for a book that puts the onus on the student alone and does not consider that maybe the narrow and excruciatingly boring presentation of technology in the classroom is a problem. Compared to other books of its kind, however, "Studying Engineering" is a keeper for what it does well.


foundations   September 9, 2003
  2 out of 3 found this review helpful

true, this book doesn't give much info on the technical aspect of engineering, and it doesn't claim to. This book is designed to help students get ready to confront the very rigorours road of becoming an engineer. 2 out of every 3 students that are engineering majors in college do not accomplish their goals. This book attempts to explain why and deal with that issue. It succeeds, it offers study skill and time management tools that would benifit any student in whatever dicipline. I highly reccomend this book, unless you have perfect time management skills and flawless study habits. This book might look silly to some, but I'm sure if it would have been implented in more colleges years ago that more students would have graduated from engineering school.


Must Have Book For ANY Student!   February 2, 2003
  2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I wish I had this book when I was in college! It's designed for engineering students but has value for any student who could use tips on networking, studying and teamwork. I think this should be a required textbook for all Introduction to Engineering classes!


Must Have Book For ANY Student!   February 2, 2003
  2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I wish I had this book when I was in college! It's designed for engineering students but has value for any student who could use tips on networking, studying and teamwork. I think this should be a required textbook for all Introduction to Engineering classes!


Absolute Rubbish   December 10, 2001
  5 out of 13 found this review helpful

This book has hardly anything to do with Engineering; mostly asks the student to do homework about doing homework. And it is so condescending, almost like the step-mother you never wanted. One paradox of this book is that it has a habit of asking the student to, for instance, spend a week keeping a journal of all the un-productive things they did.

Be aware. If you are an engineering major and this book is listed on the syllabus, you might want to consider switching majors or transferring to a different university.