How to Balance Engineering and LIFE

                As many engineers will tell you, succeeding in engineering classes takes a lot of time and effort.  A lot.  Sometimes it can feel as if all of your time and energy is going to schoolwork.  This can make you feel stressed out and burnt out.  Balancing your time while at school will help reduce stress, make you feel more fulfilled in what you are doing and actually help you in classes.  You will perform better in your classes if you are rested, relaxed and focused. 

                Time management is crucial if you want to have a balanced college career.  Without it, school work will consume every minute of your life and you still won’t have time to finish it all.  A key tool for me is to create assignment sheets for myself.  Whatever method you use, important things to keep track of are: what assignments are due, and when? ; how long will the assignment take?.  Then it is important to have an hourly calendar of you week and plot out hour by hour how you will complete each assignment.  This may sound time consuming, but it will actually make you feel in control of your workload.  It will give you a concrete idea of what tasks you will work on, and when. (Feel free to email me at mlo5114@psu.edu if you would like one of my templates).

                Another important way to create balance in your life is through the clubs and organizations you join.  There are many excellent engineering related clubs available at Penn State.  I would encourage you to also look at non-engineering clubs.  These clubs will help you meet friends outside of your major.  Look back at your high school career and ask yourself what were your favorite activities.  Was it volunteering? The basketball team? The choir? Try to find groups at Penn State to continue pursing all of your interests.  You may have one less hour to study a week, but being happy and fulfilled at Penn State will help you study and in the end be willing to stick with engineering.

                Finally, I would advise you to use your gen-eds wisely.  Many engineers complain about how ‘dumb’ gen-eds are.  I think this attitude limits your college experience.  General education classes give you an opportunity to pursue interests outside of engineering.  You can learn about many engaging topics.  I personally am very interested in French and Art.  I have taken an art history class and am double majoring in French and Francophone Studies.  I know I would have gone crazy in engineering without the balance these other classes gave me. 

                It is possible to live a balanced life as an engineer! All it takes is some time management and a little effort finding clubs and classes through which you can pursue or discover your other interests.

Molly O'Brien is a junior in Electrical Engineering, and she is a Mentor for WEPO '14!