Can I have please some advice about Civil Engineering? Thanks. (1 Viewer)

[Equilibrium1]

Can I please have some advice about Civil Engineering? Thanks.

I am currently in year 12 and thinking about the possibility of doing a combined degree of Civil engineering and Commerce (we have an upcoming career day at school, so we were asked to do some research over the holidays)... however, I also have some questions to ask:

- I only do 3 unit maths, does that mean I will struggle to do civil engineering? I'm doing fairly well in 3 unit maths and my teacher highly recommended that i do 4 unit maths. However, I wasn't able to due to timetable clashes...
- My main problem, however, is physics. I did year 11 physics but I dropped it in year 12 due to personal (not academic) reasons. Since physics is assumed knowledge, does that mean I will struggle to do civil engineering? Honestly, I am a hard worker and not afraid to put in that extra effort. However, my friend recommended that engineering may not be a good idea because I didn't do year 12 physics or 4 unit maths...

So what do you think? Honestly, any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thanks
=)

P.S. I know that there are bridging courses available. However, I'd prefer that to be my final option (and only if absolutely necessary).

EDIT: I just noticed that my question didn't make sense in the thread title, sorry!... how embarrassing lol =P

 

[iRuler]

You can still do Civil, it's assumed knowledge, and im sure (even though I don't do it myself) that they will teach you what's required in the degree (both physics and maths wise) so there aren't any assumptions required when doing the work.

I know people who have come from 2 unit maths and are now doing engineering, some did physics and some didn't, they find the work a little harder than others (they did in the first semester) but it's nothing they can't do with effort put in.

In short, you can still do civil without 4u and physics.

 

[Equilibrium1]

I saw this on the UNSW website for the school of civil and environmental engineering:

"All Engineering programs are based on and assume knowledge of HSC Mathematics Extension 1 and Physics and Chemistry (for Environmental Engineernig). Common courses taken by engineering students in their first year include Mathematics 1A, Mathematics 1B and Physics 1A. Students, whose level of knowledge is below that of the HSC subjects listed above, will be placed at a considerable disadvantage."

 

[mitchy_boy]

hsc physics is not real physics, first year physics (so i've heard) is not too much like HSC at all, and it's mainly just all maths

 

[kaz1]

I am currently in year 12 and thinking about the possibility of doing a combined degree of Civil engineering and Commerce (we have an upcoming career day at school, so we were asked to do some research over the holidays)... however, I also have some questions to ask:

- I only do 3 unit maths, does that mean I will struggle to do civil engineering? I'm doing fairly well in 3 unit maths and my teacher highly recommended that i do 4 unit maths. However, I wasn't able to due to timetable clashes...
- My main problem, however, is physics. I did year 11 physics but I dropped it in year 12 due to personal (not academic) reasons. Since physics is assumed knowledge, does that mean I will struggle to do civil engineering? Honestly, I am a hard worker and not afraid to put in that extra effort. However, my friend recommended that engineering may not be a good idea because I didn't do year 12 physics or 4 unit maths...

So what do you think? Honestly, any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thanks
=)

P.S. I know that there are bridging courses available. However, I'd prefer that to be my final option (and only if absolutely necessary).

I do exactly the same degree civil/commerce.
1. You will not struggle with civil engineering, if you did decent in 3unit maths you should be fine (at least an E3).
2. Physics lecturer said in the first lecture to forget everything you learnt about physics in the HSC and I agree HSC physics was entirely useless, 3unit and 4unit maths was more useful.

If you like civil engineering is you should definetly do it.

 

[freddie_mercury]

I am currently in year 12 and thinking about the possibility of doing a combined degree of Civil engineering and Commerce (we have an upcoming career day at school, so we were asked to do some research over the holidays)... however, I also have some questions to ask:

- I only do 3 unit maths, does that mean I will struggle to do civil engineering? I'm doing fairly well in 3 unit maths and my teacher highly recommended that i do 4 unit maths. However, I wasn't able to due to timetable clashes...
- My main problem, however, is physics. I did year 11 physics but I dropped it in year 12 due to personal (not academic) reasons. Since physics is assumed knowledge, does that mean I will struggle to do civil engineering? Honestly, I am a hard worker and not afraid to put in that extra effort. However, my friend recommended that engineering may not be a good idea because I didn't do year 12 physics or 4 unit maths...

So what do you think? Honestly, any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thanks
=)

P.S. I know that there are bridging courses available. However, I'd prefer that to be my final option (and only if absolutely necessary).

3u is fine. HSC physics is useless except it gives you a slight headstart on some of the concepts but they arent hard to grasp and if you do well in 3u you should pick them up straight away.

Why do you want to do a double degree with commerce though what career are you aiming for?

 

[freddie_mercury]

I dont even know why hsc physics is a prereq i have not encountered anything of it. The only thing i can think of is that knowledge of newtons laws of motion is handy but that shit is very elementary

 

[Equilibrium1]

Wow, thankyou everyone for your reassuring and helpful advice... I really appreciate it. =)

I do exactly the same degree civil/commerce.
1. You will not struggle with civil engineering, if you did decent in 3unit maths you should be fine (at least an E3).
2. Physics lecturer said in the first lecture to forget everything you learnt about physics in the HSC and I agree HSC physics was entirely useless, 3unit and 4unit maths was more useful.

If you like civil engineering is you should definetly do it.

Out of curiousity Kaz1, what is your major in commerce? How do you think it will assist you in your civil engineering degree? Do you go to UNSW?

Sorry for all the questions! (I really appreciate your advice though... thanks heaps *rep*!)

To 'freddie_mercury': I guess the double degree with commerce appeals to me because I also have an interest in economics and finance (which can be chosen as majors). Thanks heaps for your advice too *rep* =)

Furthermore, is it true that you need to be artistic/creative to do well in civil engineering? I thought it was more mathematical/problem solving. =S

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[kaz1]

Wow, thankyou everyone for your reassuring and helpful advice... I really appreciate it. =)



Out of curiousity Kaz1, what is your major in commerce? How do you think it will assist you in your civil engineering degree? Do you go to UNSW?

Sorry for all the questions! (I really appreciate your advice though... thanks heaps *rep*!)

To 'freddie_mercury': I guess the double degree with commerce appeals to me because I also have an interest in economics and finance (which can be chosen as majors). Thanks heaps for your advice too *rep* =)

Furthermore, is it true that you need to be artistic/creative to do well in civil engineering? I thought it was more mathematical/problem solving. =S

Sorry for all the questions.

I haven't really decided my major for commerce yet. Civil Engineering is the most comercey engineering methinks and we even do some finance shit like calculating present values and stuff and a lot of single degree engineering graduates end up going into commerce fields so a engo/comm would probably help with that.

 

[Equilibrium1]

Kaz1:
How are you finding civil engineering so far? Is it boring? Do you regret choosing that field of engineering?

I like that civil engineering is the most commercy field of engineering =P

Did you happen to do 'PHYS1121 Physics 1A' in your first year? How did you find it? I saw it on the online UNSW handbook.

http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/undergraduate/programs/2012/3620.html

 

[kaz1]

Yeah I am enjoying it and am very glad that I picked civil engineering and yeah I did PHYS1121, course is pretty difficult but the mark very easily and scale it very generously.

 

[Equilibrium1]

Yeah I am enjoying it and am very glad that I picked civil engineering and yeah I did PHYS1121, course is pretty difficult but the mark very easily and scale it very generously.

Is PHYS1121 the only course that you have to complete that is pure physics? Are most courses after that primarily mathematics?

Out of curiosity, what field of civil engineering are you thinking of specialising in? On the wesbite theres: geotechnical, structural, transport, water and engineering construction & management.

Sorry for all the questions! Thanks so much for answering them, I really appreciate it.

 

[TheStallion]

I'll jump in, I'm in aerospace eng but most first year eng is all the same, and did PHYS1131, the higher version of PHY1121, so same content just a more fucked final exam. The only pure phys subject you'll need to do is Phys 1A, yeah. The first two years of eng have maths courses, namely Maths 1A+1B in sem1/sem2 of year 1, then Eng Maths 2E in sem 1 of year 2, dunno if civil end up doing year 2 sem 2 maths since civil is pretty light on the maths compared to most other disciplines. Check with the link below/kaz though.

Look at civil eng subjects here - http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/undergraduate/programs/2012/3620.html

 

[kaz1]

Is PHYS1121 the only course that you have to complete that is pure physics? Are most courses after that primarily mathematics?

Out of curiosity, what field of civil engineering are you thinking of specialising in? On the wesbite theres: geotechnical, structural, transport, water and engineering construction & management.

Sorry for all the questions! Thanks so much for answering them, I really appreciate it.

Probably not water and geotech, but I am considering the other ones. ^^ And yeah with civil you do 4 sems of maths MATH 1A and 1B, Engineering Maths 2E and Statistics and Numerics.

 

[Equilibrium1]

Probably not water and geotech, but I am considering the other ones. ^^ And yeah with civil you do 4 sems of maths MATH 1A and 1B, Engineering Maths 2E and Statistics and Numerics.

Kaz1, how does your workload compare to someone who does just plain civil engineering? Do you do the same amount of work, but just spend an extra year and a half at uni?

Any other contributions to this thread are more than welcome
=)

 

[Amogh]

I haven't looked into this myself, but aren't there bridging courses for Physics? You should still be fine if you've got true passion for Engineering.

 

[M@ster P]

Re: Can I please have some advice about Civil Engineering? Thanks.

I am currently in year 12 and thinking about the possibility of doing a combined degree of Civil engineering and Commerce (we have an upcoming career day at school, so we were asked to do some research over the holidays)... however, I also have some questions to ask:

- I only do 3 unit maths, does that mean I will struggle to do civil engineering? I'm doing fairly well in 3 unit maths and my teacher highly recommended that i do 4 unit maths. However, I wasn't able to due to timetable clashes...
- My main problem, however, is physics. I did year 11 physics but I dropped it in year 12 due to personal (not academic) reasons. Since physics is assumed knowledge, does that mean I will struggle to do civil engineering? Honestly, I am a hard worker and not afraid to put in that extra effort. However, my friend recommended that engineering may not be a good idea because I didn't do year 12 physics or 4 unit maths...

So what do you think? Honestly, any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thanks
=)

P.S. I know that there are bridging courses available. However, I'd prefer that to be my final option (and only if absolutely necessary).

EDIT: I just noticed that my question didn't make sense in the thread title, sorry!... how embarrassing lol =P

Ok first of all I had similar questions that you have about civil engineering when I was in high school.

1. Like you, I only did 3 unit maths and I did ok in it. In first year civil you will do two math subjects math1131 and math1231. To be honest these subjects aren't hard, the main point is how hard you work because they go through the content quickly. If your curious I got distinctions for both. Once you completed these two math subjects, your mathematical foundation is almost set for the rest of the degree. In second year you will do one more math subject called math2019, again its not hard just depends on how hard you work, I got a high credit. So in summary if your doing 3unit and doing well, you should be fine. If your doing 2unit, you will have to work harder because most things will be new as math1131 and math1231 covers 3unit and 4unit work.

2. High school physics is a piece of shit. It should be renamed to "History of Physics" because most of the things you learn is about the history. If anything, highschool physics helps you to get you interested in physics. So I wouldn't worry if you didn't do high school physics. Uni physics is much more mathematical which is real physics and I've heard its much more like 4unit, so I would focus much more on your mathematical skills. The focus is on problem solving.
Commenting on the difficulty, for me it was the hardest subject in first year, and my year was considered easy as the quizzes were all online which meant that everyone could copy eachother. I heard the quizzes are done in exam conditions now so all I can say is good luck!

3. To Sum up, it sounds cliche but it all depends on how hard you work and how focused you are. If you have these two things they will serve you well!

 

[TheStallion]

I dunno why so many people say PHYS1121/PHYS1131 is "real physics" when compared to the HSC course, the first 6 weeks of PHYS1121/PHYS1131 was pretty much HSC physics except with a bit of calculus thrown in that you didn't even really need to know.

There's a shitload of resources out there for PHYS1131 though, so with no physics background at all you'd be fine.

 

[Equilibrium1]

Re: Can I please have some advice about Civil Engineering? Thanks.

Ok first of all I had similar questions that you have about civil engineering when I was in high school.

1. Like you, I only did 3 unit maths and I did ok in it. In first year civil you will do two math subjects math1131 and math1231. To be honest these subjects aren't hard, the main point is how hard you work because they go through the content quickly. If your curious I got distinctions for both. Once you completed these two math subjects, your mathematical foundation is almost set for the rest of the degree. In second year you will do one more math subject called math2019, again its not hard just depends on how hard you work, I got a high credit. So in summary if your doing 3unit and doing well, you should be fine. If your doing 2unit, you will have to work harder because most things will be new as math1131 and math1231 covers 3unit and 4unit work.

2. High school physics is a piece of shit. It should be renamed to "History of Physics" because most of the things you learn is about the history. If anything, highschool physics helps you to get you interested in physics. So I wouldn't worry if you didn't do high school physics. Uni physics is much more mathematical which is real physics and I've heard its much more like 4unit, so I would focus much more on your mathematical skills. The focus is on problem solving.
Commenting on the difficulty, for me it was the hardest subject in first year, and my year was considered easy as the quizzes were all online which meant that everyone could copy eachother. I heard the quizzes are done in exam conditions now so all I can say is good luck!

3. To Sum up, it sounds cliche but it all depends on how hard you work and how focused you are. If you have these two things they will serve you well!

Wow, thank you so much for your detailed and helpful advice! I really appreciate it *rep*
Out of curiousity, what are the topics from MX2 and physics that are used in engineering?
I have a copy of the Cambridge 4 unit book and the topics are:
graphs, complex numbers, conics, polynomials, intergration, volumes, mechanics, harder 3 unit topics.

P.S. I'm mainly asking this out of curiosity.

 

[TheStallion]

The MX2 maths used in first year engineering doesn't really go beyond integration techniques, complex numbers, polys, and graphing. A friend of mine asked a School of Maths lecturer why more MX2 isn't in it, and he replied that most of the stuff in MX2 doesn't have much of an application (e.g conics), it's just hard shit thrown in there, so it'd be pointless to teach it as part of a uni course.