This seems like an illogical question since everyone knows that electrical engineering requires an immense amount of math. If you are concerned that math might be the only thing blocking you from your desired career as an electrical engineer, listen closely to my story, you may be surprised what you can do.
It is difficult give any idea of my 1-12th grade academic/mathematical prowess, but I’ll attempt to do so here. As a bit of background: I started kindergarten right before my 6th birthday, making me an older than average student. In 1st grade my mom realized that I probably should have been in 2nd grade, and at least in math she forced me to do two lessons a day for the entire year. This reflects an early ability to work with numbers, but is by no means indicative of my ability overall in mathematics. I definitely remember this year as I was proud of the fact that I was getting ahead in math, but some days were a real drag for a 7 year old. From there I enjoyed a pretty standard grades 2-7, and when I reached 8th grade, my mom put me in Algebra 1.
Algebra 1
I hated Algebra 1. We used Bob Jones University curriculum, but I think it would have been the same for any other curriculum. I simply was not curious, and I didn’t want to learn. Only by the willpower of my mom was I dragged kicking and screaming through that year of school. It was absolute misery.
I remember asking my mom many many times “when will I ever use this?” The point stands, although I must thank her for her perseverance, particularly on Algebra 1, in which I received a final grade of A.
Course content: graphing, solving systems of equations, operations with polynomials and radicals, factoring polynomials, solving rational equations, and graphing quadratic functions.
To this day, I remain subpar at factoring, a result of my early and longstanding resistance to this part of mathematics. I never viewed it as a puzzle, and I think that would have helped keep my frustration levels at a lower level.
Algebra 2
When I started Algebra 2, I thought it was going to be terrible, but since I had come to the conclusion that it didn’t matter whether the concepts connected to real life, I recall this year being a bit easier than Algebra 1, although I think it was still pretty tough, and I have an email from this era that contains me complaining about how difficult Algebra 2 is.
Course content: quadratic equations, polynomials, complex numbers, and trigonometry.
Geometry
After Algebra 2 I completed geometry. Bob Jones University Press’s Geometry text is Euclidean in its approach.
Course content: Set theory, definitions, postulates, and theorems. introduction to trigonometry. From the 5th chapter on formal proofs are used and the number of proofs required is extensive.
I’ll be honest and say that I got lost after we got to “geometric proofs” because I didn’t put the time in that would have been required to master the content. My decision to give up was influenced heavily by the fact that I was aware my older siblings hadn’t completed the proofs section, so I could get away without doing most of it. This was the first time that my mom couldn’t really be of any assistance to me. I think she had a decent understanding of basic algebra, but geometric proofs was beyond her. I did learn to make constructions with straightedge and compass, which was amazingly fun. Without a doubt the first few weeks/months of this course were the most enjoyable part of any math class I’ve ever taken. I think back quite fondly on the first few chapters of that course.
Advanced Math:
Although I did technically “complete” this textbook, I only did it by spending about 1.5-2 hours a day on this subject, and by only doing small subset of the assigned homework. There were many days when I could only do a single homework problem, even with the 2 hours of study time. As it turns out, teaching yourself math from a marginal textbook, without using the internet is a very difficult proposition. This math still remains some of the most difficult I’ve ever completed. I think I would have given up far earlier, but being unable to complete the geometry textbook was maddening to me, and I also knew that if I completed the Advanced Math textbook, it would be a way of asserting that I was smarter than my siblings, all of whom had started that textbook and then failed to finish. I firmly believe that this is the only reason I attempted to finish this semester of math.
Course Content: Trigonometry, functions, graphing, conic sections and polar graphing, equations, matrix algebra, complex numbers and vectors, polynomials and rational functions, sequences series and math inductions, and calculus.
Compass Math Placement Test
A little more than two years (775 days) after my final high-school math lesson, I took a Technical College math placement exam. I remember studying for this a bit, but I know I was working full time when I took it, and I’d estimate my hours studied to less than 10 hours. I scored a 92/100 on High-school Algebra, and a 22/100 on College Algebra. This qualified me to enter the following Classes:
- MATH 121 Geometry-Trigonometry
- MATH 131 Algebra/Trigonometry I
- MATH 133 College Algebra with Analytic Geometry (Standard College Algebra course)
- MATH 134 Trigonometry (Standard College Trigonometry course)
- MATH 135 Finite Math (Standard Finite Mathematics course)
- MATH 136 College Algebra (This course, together with Math 137 Trigonometry with Analytic Geometry comprise a standard two-semester college algebra and trigonometry course)
Obviously I wasn’t a mathematical genius, but I did have a passing knowledge of high-school level algebra.
CLEP TEST
From that point on, I did no study in mathematics for 2 years, 5 months (885 days). At that point I took a CLEP examination for College Mathematics. I remember studying for this a fair amount, but I also took it in the middle of a semester when I was working 25 hours a week and going to school full time, so I couldn’t have put to many hours into study. I’d guess about 15-20 hours of study, likely even less. I needed a score of at least 50 at my college so that I didn’t have to do any math or quantitative reasoning classes. I got a 64, which to my mind meant that I studied too much. The CLEP test covered the following subjects:
Algebra and Functions (20%) Counting and Probability (10%) Data Analysis and Statistics (15%) Financial Mathematics (20%) Geometry (10%) Logic and Sets (15%) Numbers (10%)
At this point you can see that the self study that I had done had drastically improved my college level mathematics skills, but I think the improvement also more likely reflects that the CLEP exam is easier than the College Portion of the Compass exam that I had taken two years earlier.
ACCUPLACER TEST
2 years 8 months (978 days) after my CLEP test, I took another college placement exam. This time in a bid to qualify for placement in Calculus 1. I took this test twice. I would estimate 5 hours of study prior to the first attempt, and 20+ hours prior to the second attempt. The minimum required score for placement into Calc 1 was an 80. The first time I scored 57, and the second time I scored 74. The advisor that I talked to after I got the 57 told me that even with that score it was fairly likely I could convince a prof to let me into their Calculus class, so I didn’t study quite as hard as I probably should have for the second attempt and only got a 74 on the second try. I had to email a couple different professors in order to find one that would allow me into their Calc 1 class with this score, but I did eventually find one.
The Accuplacer covers:
Whole numbers Integers, Fractions, Decimals, Expressions, equations, & word problems, Inequalities & functions, Linear equations & systems of equations, Exponents & polynomials, Factoring Rational expressions, Radicals, Quadratics, Ratio, proportion, & percent, Geometry, Measurement, Probability & statistics, Coordinate geometry, Negative & rational exponents, Composite functions & inverses, Logarithms & exponential functions, Advanced polynomials
The University of Alaska Anchorage also requires a course in Trigonometry, but I didn’t ever take a highschool class in Trigonometry. I was allowed to sign up for Calculus 1 even though I was at best, unprepared in every area of math, Algebra, Trigonometry, and Precalculus. By rights I should not have passed that course. Our professor allowed open book and open notes on all exam problems, and provided an almost unlimited amount of time to complete the exam. I used this to my full advantage and I’m not certain I would have passed the course had it been the traditional testing style.
The reason that I wrote all this out was to explain that I was by no means ready for Calculus 1 when I started college. And yet, I managed to get through. My lack of mathematical prowess was a significant drag on my grades from that point forward. I would guess that roughly 90% of the grades that I received that weren’t A were because of my relative incompetence at math either directly, by flunking a test, or indirectly by having to spend inordinate amounts of time studying for classes that were math heavy.
Can you go back to school at 26 and succeed in engineering if you were marginal at math in highschool? The answer is yes, but you need to make sure that you are the type of person who finishes what they start. Engineering school was not fun. Was it worth it? Yes, without a doubt. But I can’t say I recommend it unless you really feel like you do not want to enjoy your college experience. Haha. Jokes aside, I wouldn’t change anything. If engineering did anything for me it increased my self discipline significantly, which isn’t something that you can really put a price on.
I also want to emphasize that it would have been significantly easier for me to get better grades had I been willing to go for 2-4 semesters of remedial math. Unfortunately, that did not work with my life plans (I wanted to be done with school before my kids had firm memories), and I also just couldn’t stand the thought of the extra time prior to getting my engineering degree.
I don’t think anyone should let their age dictate whether they go back to school. The human mind is amazingly capable of learning, don’t be afraid to try something that is hard. But know that it will be hard, brace yourself, and hit the ground running. If you are average, or slightly above average intelligence, you can definitely finish an engineering degree.