ATKT- Aaj thoda Kal Thoda

Engineering-A pleasant struggle Engineering, they say is like a public toilet. People outside are waiting to get in and the ones inside just can’t wait to get out. The smart, level headed and organized students end up at IITs and NITs and the procrastinators working under the presence or absence of peer pressure have to settle for state or district university institutions. At the end of every academic year in Engineering, it so happens that a few students have to lose a year due to their backlog. Although this seldom happens in top tier colleges like IITs, it is a common sight in other engineering colleges. Engineering may be one of the most over hyped courses but the truth is that it determines how consistent a student really is. It is just a series of tests that helps you to develop an affinity towards the subject you intend to work on for the rest of your life. ATKT grants come and go, and is something all engineers will be very familiar with irrespective of whether they suffered from one or not. The first year of Engineering or F.E as most would like to call it, focuses on nurturing the general skills and knowledge of a to-be engineer in many fields, some of which many students may not be familiar with. For some, Computer Programming may be a nightmare whilst for others Mechanics and Engineering Drawing may not be their cup of tea. Unless a commendable amount of effort is invested in these subjects, it isn't the easiest job to clear them. They say failure is a stepping stone to success. You have to be an optimist of the first order for that adage to hold true in engineering. Here you keep learning from your mistakes until you correct them. It is not always that an individual can figure out what his/her shortcomings are as far as preparations for a failed subject go. Enter seniors. If you ask any senior for help, a majority of them will be more than happy to help you. If not anything, there is one feeling that they exhibit towards you- EMPATHY. It is worth noting that they will start off by quoting cocky sentences to make it obvious that they are seniors, but inevitably they are the ones to help you out. Fortunately or unfortunately, engineering is the survival of the fittest. Another very crucial thing we observe in an engineer’s is an unsettling feeling-restlessness. When you put all of your blood and sweat into earning a degree, you often compromise with sleep, socializing and even food on many occasions. That’s when you need a de-stresser. Something as simple as listening to music or as weird as playing with Lego blocks. Even if you are not stressed and have all your work done on time, reward yourself and try to stray away from a saturated state of mind. Engineers need to be determined, yes, but also dynamic. An engineer’s life might not be as exciting as a tour guide who gets paid to travel the world or as easy as a comedian who gets paid to talk his heart out, but it is definitely saner and more secure than both. Engineering should ideally be consisting of 5 hours of daily studies, 6 hours of sleep, staying away from vices, not succumbing to peer pressure and doing what you intended to do…but many of us eventually submit our assignments and projects a day or two past the due date and also end up imbibing a few not-so-good habits. All-in-all, this course shapes an individual, imparts toughness and conditions a person to perform under considerable stress. Ideally, nothing should deter an engineer from scoring (and not passing, 40 marks isn't exactly the definition of top quality performance). Failing is not an option; for not every budding engineer would like to ask himself/herself the question at least once during the course of his/her degree studies-After 5 years from now, would I like to sink my forehead into my hands and sulk about how I can't get into a line of work just because of what I was (or was not) doing during those crucial years? P.S: We engineers cherish our vacations and exploit our Industrial excursions.