Hi, hello, good morning, avro, evening, night, howdy to all you beautiful engineers. Looks at imaginary clock It is indeed the 20th of October. Which means it is time for me to write my blog… yayy…
Alright, sorry guys, I KNOW this blog is written extremely late. I deeply apologise to you, my structural engineering fans. Exam season was one heck of a ride, and even though there were only two exams that were torturing me, the aftermath of those two was the MOST MASSIVE BURNOUT I have ever experienced in my 20 years of existence on this planet.
Anyway, enough of my excuses, let’s commence the final blog. As heartbreaking as it is, all good things come to an end. In this blog, I will talk a bit about my experience with Part II Structural Engineering, some final tips on how to survive it, and finally, a very bitter and heartbreaking goodbye 🙁
The Part II Experience
Now that I can officially say that I have finished Part II, I believe I am qualified enough to give you all a quick summary of how I felt about this year. Here are a couple of questions I have been asked and saw in my askme box I posted in the last blog:
“Does it get easier or harder in Part II?”
Alright, I don’t want to pull a Socrates and get all philosophical with it, but it depends on how you define ‘hard’.
Does the content get more technical and challenging to grasp? It depends on the course, but overall, yes. Is it manageable compared to Part I? Hell yes.
I personally enjoyed Part II way more than Part I, for a couple of reasons. First off, I got to study courses related to what I chose and enjoyed! Yes, of course, there were courses here and there where I did not exactly fully 100% enjoy or cried my eyes out trying to understand (cough cough CIVIL 202 and even STRCTENG 200), but overall, I much prefer them over ESCE courses or yucky dynamics (sorry Hazim and William, you guys are awesome).
Second, personally for me, Part I was hard because of the transition from high school to uni. The workload, how the courses operate, and all that was fresh and new for me. So I always refer to my Part I (especially semester 1) as the “experiment phase” because what the heck. Part II was way more chill for me. I did have hellish weeks, but I was not at all close to being as stressed out as I was in Part I because I was used to it and sort of expected it? And the third and most important reason: I just really like my degree!!
Part II is not going to be an easy peasy walk through the park, do not be fooled (especially semester one, omg). But if you have finished and passed Part I, trust me, you will know what to expect and, in general, how to study at uni!
“How are the assignments like in Part II? Are they hard?”
Again, how would you define ‘hard’ (I’m probably really annoying right now, sorry guys)?
With Part II Civil and Structural, you have weekly homework and quizzes that assess your knowledge of weekly content. Are they annoying? Heck yes. Are they useful? HECK YES. Specifically for the content-heavy courses you will have to study in semester 1, you need to revise weekly. (Refer to my third blog about courses for more context).
Fortunately, with engineering at UoA, help is available everywhere. Your answer is not going to be served to you on a silver platter, yes, but you will get the guidance you need to reach your answer. So DO NOT BE AFRAID, ASK FOR HELP, CHILD!
“Is there coding in Civil/Structral?”
Nope.
Well, as far as I know for Part II, no. The only coding you will do is for your ENGSCI 211, which is pretty chill (coming from the biggest coding hater out there, by the way). From what I have heard from my Part III and IV buddies, you should not really expect coding for any of the Civil/Struct courses. So, if ECSE is not your biggest strength, do not worry at all (because same).
“I can’t choose between Structural and Civil! How did you choose which one to go for?”
My story of choosing Structural Engineering is kind of long, so I would like to plug in my first blog, where I talked about it in more depth. To summarise, I chose engineering because I wanted to do something with buildings and designing them. So, structural engineering was an easy decision for me.
Also, as I mentioned before, Part II Civil/Struct is the same for both cohorts. It is in Part III where you will separate as a cohort and do your own courses. So, you will have time to switch if you want to (too many of my structural friends are switching to civil; it is heartbreaking). I did go into structural engineering knowing I could swap if I didn’t end up enjoying the structural courses, which I fortunately did!
So, for now, I’d say have a look at the Civil and Structural courses and see which ones you vibe with the most as of now, and if by any chance your mind changes, you know you can swap!
Here are the course viewer links for a quick view:
Structural Engineering Course Viewer: https://uoaengineering.github.io/courseviewer/structural-engineering/
Civil Engineering Course Viewer: https://uoaengineering.github.io/courseviewer/civil-engineering/
Final Tips and Advice from Granny Sonia
As a proud Part II veteran, I see it as my duty to give you some final tips and advice to make your Part II life easier and more enjoyable. So, huddle around my chair, children, as I whisper these final words before I pass away into my Part III life (yeah, studying engineering is like passing away—oop).
1. DO NOT GIVE UP!
Oop, Granny Sonia starting off with a deep one right off the bat. Yeah, children, do not give up. Part I was not exactly my best year. As I mentioned, I like to refer to it as the ‘experiment phase’ because what the heck was I doing back then yall.
The summer of Part I was a mix of stressing out about my future and whether I was going to get an internship, plus just freaking out about Part II. But kids, it gets better. As long as you are putting in the work and staying motivated to do your work, trust me, things will get better. You are going to be doing this engineering work for a very long time, so it is key not to give up when something goes off track!
2. Stay organised like your life depends on it.
Honestly, you can say this about basically any degree. Uni is a whole new lifestyle compared to high school. You’ve probably already seen how crazy some weeks can get with assignments, quizzes, and tests piling up on each other. It is CRUCIAL to keep track of everything.
Back in high school, I used to wing everything by trusting my brain to remember everything I had due. Yeah, it worked, but girl, uni is a different story. Especially if you have other commitments outside of uni.
My bestest friend out there is Google Calendar. Make different calendars and colour code them so you don’t get confused! I have one for uni assignments, tests, clubs I’m in, and just personal stuff. I try to keep track of EVERYTHING, even when I want to go to the gym. 😭 Start by putting down all your assignments and test dates once you’re enrolled in your classes. Trust me, it gives you a very good overview of your year!
3. Attend your lectures in person (if you can ofc).
“I can watch online.” “I just can’t be ceebs.” “I can focus better at home.” LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER
Commuting to uni can be a pain, especially if you don’t live in the CBD. But trust me when I say going to uni helps you with your studying and just in general with your mental health.
Going to lectures every day means you get to see a group of people in your cohort that you will soon become acquaintances with, and it feels nice to see familiar faces every day. You also showcase commitment, and a change of environment helps anyone to focus on the work they have to do. Of course, it is understandable that not everyone may have the ability to commute to university with ease, but if you can at all, I 100% recommend coming to uni every day.
4. Take breaks, PLEASE.
Yeah, I learnt this the hard way.
I was so deep into my “academic comeback,” “engineering girlboss” era that I forgot I needed breaks from time to time. So, I overloaded myself with study plans and way too many extracurricular roles. The result of that? Extreme burnout during midsems and intersems.
One rule I’ve implemented for next year is to do absolutely nothing on the weekends (well, there will be exceptions, of course, e.g. if I have a test or something) and just rest! It gets hectic on the weekdays, so I deserve my rest at least once a day, right? A good guilt-free rest helps you be more productive on the days you are meant to, so please, please, please rest when you need it! That academic comeback or whatever can wait for a day.
5. Have a hobby that is NOT engineering.
Ok, ok, here goes the structural engineering student who had no GPA requirement to get chosen into her spec. But for real, do some other stuff alongside your average engineering study. Join clubs, go to the gym, do some arts (join Revue surely 🥺), I don’t know, do something outside of engineering.
Are you studying full-time engineering? Yes. Is it your whole personality? Probably yes. But should you have other things to look forward to in your life other than engineering? YES.
The importance of doing other things alongside engineering is honestly shown when you are looking out for internships. Companies often look for people who are approachable and have multiple hobbies and interests alongside their degree. And trust me, for all the job interviews I’ve ever done, one of the questions asked has always been about my hobbies 🙂
6. Enjoy your uni life!
Grandma Sonia back again, but honestly, enjoy what you have right now. You’re currently at a phase in your life where you’re flexible and young enough to juggle so many things at once. You get to do some adult work and study but also have fun with your friends!
Once you graduate, you’ll be going into your big, scary adult jobs (which I’m sure are fun), and you won’t have the same opportunities as you do right now in uni. So try everything, be confident, and enjoy it as much as you can!
Actual Final Words
Well, well, well, we have reached the end of this very final blog. As bittersweet as it is for me to say goodbye to this blog and Part II, I can’t wait for the next swaggy, cool structural blogger to take over and introduce the next wave of young engineers to my degree.
If you’ve chosen Structural Engineering as your top choice, I just want to congratulate you for being cool and swaggy. If you haven’t, I want to let you know that it’s okay to not slay sometimes…
Okay, all jokes aside, I’m proud of each and every one of you for getting past Part I and making it through! Your next three years will be hard work, for sure, but they will be full of so much to learn and so many unrepeatable experiences that you will cherish.
If any of you beauts ever have a question or need any help, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn, and I’ll be happy to help (can’t really plug my LinkedIn, but I don’t think there are that many Sonia Jafaris who study Structural Engineering at the University of Auckland).
Anyways, keep slaying as you always do, and all the best for the rest of your engineering journey 🙂
– Sonia <3