Quote from: Guest

OP here.

Thank you for all the comments.

PA school was recommend to me by someone as a bit of a side-comment. I'm not investing anything in it at the moment.

Electrical Engineering and Optometry seem interesting.

I am very average in math however. I'll need to work on that - any suggestions? I guess there really isn't a magic way to become better at math.

Luckily most undergrad Engineering programs only require Calc I or Calc II at most. Mine only requires Calc I (though my advisor recommends Calc II, Calc III, and Partial Differential Equations as electives!). The only suggestion I have for getting better at maths is to just do it. Over and over and over again. Most important: learn to solve equations, obviously (algebra), and start learning graphs (both linear and non-linear, again, algebra)- domains and ranges are important, as are the basic graph shapes for exponential equations (x^2, x^3, sqrt(x), etc. as well as how to draw the graphs when given the equation, and vice versa, how to find the equation of a graph. Almost everything in algebra relates to graphs- so if you are a visual learner, it's really quite easy to learn. Trigonometry is mandatory and you should start to memorize the basic trig functions (sin = y/r, cos = x/r, etc, and identities such as sin^2 x + cos^2 x = 1, etc, reciprocal identities, and of course Pythagorean equation) and their wave forms/graphs and how they relate to the unit circle. Learn the unit circle! Also memorize radian angles and their graph points (such as 30 degrees = pi/6 = (sqrt(3)/2, 1/2)) This is especially important for electrical engineering as you will be working with sine waves and must understand concepts such as period, frequency, and angle, for working with AC circuits, since alternating current, unlike DC, is constantly changing. Fortunately, engineers exist to make life easier so the equations used in EE are soooo much easier than using trig.

Again, it's all very visual and if you have a good teacher or are good at self-study, you will pick it up quickly. For instance, I never thought of a sine wave as what it really is- a graph of the unit circle. Going round and round the circle produces the wave. Take a circle, cut it in half and then flip the bottom part over. Trace the curved edges and you have a sine wave. For some reason this small fact helped it all click for me- it takes away the mystery of all the mathematical terms and junk and you realize, dude, it's just going around a circle over and over.

So, yah, IDK the state of your education, but if you have high school math, just brush up on it- that's basically all simple college algebra. I guarantee if I can do it, anyone can. I didn't go to high school. I soent the last 17 years working as a laborer. When I decided to return to school, I had to start college with a math class called Basic Math Skills. I had to learn how to add negative numbers and fractions! Three years later I'm in Calc and upper-level EE classes. So much easier for a youngster! If you just apply yourself and work hard for four years, you will save yourself decades of hard, rewardless work in the future!