An Open Letter to Fellow Engineering Students
Hey friend, Or acquaintance, Or weird kid in my class I won’t look twice at because I’m afraid he’ll school me in all that is ~the engineering life~, Or superficial engineering student who puts down other majors for some odd reason,
This is for you.
I’m going to say it and only say it once, we are not more worthy because we are engineering students. You can say it too. Come on, repeat after me, “I am not more worthy because I am an engineering student.” Did you feel it in your soul? If not, try again. “I am not more worth because I am an engineering student.” Still not feeling it? Well, read on then!
I’ve heard it all. From the side-eyes, to the downright rude comments, we all need to cut the crap. We as engineers not only have a duty to society as builders, thinkers, and innovators, but we have a duty to be decent human beings (or not). There is absolutely no reason you should be diminishing the hard work students of other majors are doing. And if you’re a culprit (like I once was), then you definitely shouldn’t be the first one to claim pride when NYU shows up at awards shows, on TV, in art, or any other media. I mean, we are the alpha dogs, right?
I mean, first off, why does it matter that the kid next to you is an English major? Does it really make a difference in your life if that kid has to write 2-3 essays per semester, unlike our endless pool of problem sets? What about the film kid next to you? Does it matter that you feel that his work is minimal compared to yours, meanwhile he’s been up for 48+ hours trying to edit his film final?
Why do we as engineering students feel the need to make our work more worthy than other majors? Last time I checked, everyone in society isn’t an engineer. And to be quite honest, in this day and age, and in this booming industry, I am completely relieved that the competition is not as large as it could be if everyone were trying to be engineers. We need doctors, psychologists, teachers, writers, poets, artists, directors, animators, general managers, bankers, tellers, fast food workers, and others to survive. Don’t you see that our daily survival is dependent on others doing what they do? You wouldn’t get that take-out meal in the cafe if there weren’t workers making you food. You wouldn’t be able to purchase your clothes if it wasn’t for the cashier. You wouldn’t be able to securely save your money if it wasn’t for bankers. You wouldn’t be able to talk out your emotions and trauma without psychologists. So why do you feel that you’re better than others?
Maybe it’s insecurity. I mean, if you didn’t want to be an engineer, you don’t have to (unless your family is that pressuring on your life) study engineering. Just like I didn’t want to be a doctor. Or a lawyer. So the next best thing, and the thing I was most passionate about was engineering. Maybe I could’ve been a musician, a teacher, an artist. But I chose my path, and you chose yours, and we’re both here bitter because we have a 7 hour problem set due tomorrow that we both did not start. But why do we need to take that out on other students? We aren’t any better since we spend our nights on wolfram alpha, coding away, or trying to prove some mathematical or physical fact. We aren’t any better because we (or should I say, y’all, because I have never pulled an all nighter for a test or assignment) pull all nighters on a weekly basis. We aren’t any better because we are more likely to secure a job after we’re done with school. We chose this path and if any of us aren’t happy, then it’s not fair to take it out on other people.
This will be continued... but I’m getting tired. And I have math homework to do. But I’m not complaining because I chose this life. #AdvancedLinearHWforDays