How much math is required for engineering?

Question

I honestly think I have a strong desire to know figure out things, but how often does an engineer differential equations in an average day? I have a friend that got a degree in computer science and has used very little math in her job as a software tester.

Answer 1

There are a number of good answers here already, but I will add my two cents on here as well. I am an electrical engineer with about 19 years of experience. In school, you will learn and apply math extensively to form a foundation for understanding and solving problems in your engineering coursework. On the job, you may not be performing surface integrals or solving differential equations each day by hand, but you will run into problems which require some recall and basic understanding of the math you learned in school. There are also software tools which make the math much simpler for practicing engineers. You will be exposed to these as you progress through your chosen discipline.

As an example, in Electrical Engineering there are circuit simulators built around Spice or PSpice which allow circuits to be analyzed and modified on the computer. This is something that beginning Electrical Engineering students work out by hand using various techniques, but once on the job, the computer program is usually used to work it out for you. I also make use of Matlab...it is a well known math engine useful for simulating processes in many engineering disciplines.

I recommend that you hang onto the math textbooks you obtain in college as they become useful later for on-the-job reference books.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

As a recent engineering grad (BS in EE), I use very little advanced math at work. However, just because you don't use it on a day-to-day basis does not mean you don't need to know it. A little while back, I sat through a meeting where someone had to figure out the difference in noise energy an antenna received when it was pointed directly at the sun versus slightly away from the sun - all of which involved a lot of advanced calculus. So it's still good to keep your notes and textbooks around!

Answer 3

In School -- LOTS! On the job, it is used daily, but how much and what kind is dependent upon the discipline that you are working in.

School, most likely at a minimum 3 semesters of differential calculus, a semester of linear algebra, a semester of differential equations. Add to that, 1 year of Physics, 1 year of Chemistry, Statics, Dynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Engineering Economics, Electronic Circuitry, Computer Science classes, so on and so forth and your can plan on 4-5 years of doing MATH in one form or another. It is mainly intended to get the student to look at the problem and figure out how to logically apply what he/she knows to solve it.

In the real world, there are programs and spreadsheets and tables and all kinds of other forms of assistance that do the majority of the math for you, but you still need to know the ins and outs and whys and wherefores of them so you know which type of assistance to use and how to use it for your particular situation.

Answer 4

There is nothing like learning the ways things are worked out from first principles to make one grateful and latch onto and remember the end product - often a simple formula. For those that are not simple there are often computer programs to solve them. However as someone has mentioned just so often (depending on ones job) there is a problem that for some reason does not fit a standard and available approach - useful but perhaps not often essential to have the maths to tackle the problem.

Answer 5

I am an ME and I find that I end up using trig a lot. I don't use a ton of calculus, but some. If you end up working in controls, you will use diff eq on a regular basis. Understanding linear algebra is important for FEA, even though computers will actually be solving these types of problems. Anytime you have to justify a design, it is important to include a hand calculation if it is practical. Sometimes that involves modeling behavior with a function and then integrating it.

Answer 6

A great deal of math is required for some types of engineering such as mechanical and aerospace. However, the reason for advanced maths being required in college is to teach logical thinking and process.

Answer 7

To get an engineering degree, you will probably have to take three semesters of integral calculus and one semester of differential calculus. Calculus will be used commonly in your engineering courses.

Most engineers do not use calculus in their jobs. Arithmetic is used often, and algebra is used sometimes.

Answer 8

In school for engineering, I can assure you there's ALOT!!! I probably take four solid math courses a year, plus it figures heavily into all my non-math courses.

Answer 9

Almost all of engineering is math.

Answer 10

there is no science with out maths.whatever the level is;whether it is engineering or under graduate.