It is always going to seem like it is too slow. You ARE learning. I got a PhD in Applied Physics from Caltech. Working together, first year graduate students would spend about 15-20 hours a week doing the homework assignments in “mathematical methods of physics” course. I worked mostly alone and drew the line at 12 hours. Whatever I had done in 12 hours I turned in. I got a C+ 1st term and I think low B’s the next 2 terms.
EVERYBODY in a Caltech Physics PhD program are the kind of undergrads who ripped through Calculus including multidimensional and dfferential equations and complex analysis, in GOOD undergrad schools, at a trot. WE were now banging our heads against problems.
It was just a scale change. And we learned how to do harder problems. We learned by doing them.
I am currently coding Android Apps, sort of for work, sort of for fun. I work as an R&D engineer on the “systems” and “rf” sides, and am definitely NOT one of the Software Engineers who make up the majority of my employer’s engineers. But it is hard to get a software guy to do coding for you, and coding Android is almost as compelling as websudoku. So I am hacking away at it. And I would estimate I am about 1⁄7 as productive as a software guy, I think what they can do in a day takes me a week. And I’ve been at it for pushing a year (not full time though). I have little doubt that I am as smart as these software guys. They just have YEARS of built up experience at solving software problems. It took me months to realize the code in an object, some of it could be running in one thread and some in another: the object was not what was in the thread. But now 100 things are easier with my enhanced understanding. But there are thousands of things for me still to learn. And don’t get me started on UI’s!
My point being, just keep doing it. The one piece of advice, spend one or two hours on a problem, and then seek help. I don’t think sitting their clueless and then finally getting it after 10 hours is the most efficient way to learn, and I think this is why people at caltech did problem sets in groups. Spending SOME time searching is needed, but you learn something when you see somebody else’s solution AFTER that searching hour. never just copy solutions, though, understand them as you write them down. Ideally, you would be able to do the problem a 2nd time without referring to the other person solution.
So yes, that is why we make the big bucks. A hell of a barrier to entry. A hell of a lot of intellectual capital constructed in our crania.
It is always going to seem like it is too slow. You ARE learning. I got a PhD in Applied Physics from Caltech. Working together, first year graduate students would spend about 15-20 hours a week doing the homework assignments in “mathematical methods of physics” course. I worked mostly alone and drew the line at 12 hours. Whatever I had done in 12 hours I turned in. I got a C+ 1st term and I think low B’s the next 2 terms.
EVERYBODY in a Caltech Physics PhD program are the kind of undergrads who ripped through Calculus including multidimensional and dfferential equations and complex analysis, in GOOD undergrad schools, at a trot. WE were now banging our heads against problems.
It was just a scale change. And we learned how to do harder problems. We learned by doing them.
I am currently coding Android Apps, sort of for work, sort of for fun. I work as an R&D engineer on the “systems” and “rf” sides, and am definitely NOT one of the Software Engineers who make up the majority of my employer’s engineers. But it is hard to get a software guy to do coding for you, and coding Android is almost as compelling as websudoku. So I am hacking away at it. And I would estimate I am about 1⁄7 as productive as a software guy, I think what they can do in a day takes me a week. And I’ve been at it for pushing a year (not full time though). I have little doubt that I am as smart as these software guys. They just have YEARS of built up experience at solving software problems. It took me months to realize the code in an object, some of it could be running in one thread and some in another: the object was not what was in the thread. But now 100 things are easier with my enhanced understanding. But there are thousands of things for me still to learn. And don’t get me started on UI’s!
My point being, just keep doing it. The one piece of advice, spend one or two hours on a problem, and then seek help. I don’t think sitting their clueless and then finally getting it after 10 hours is the most efficient way to learn, and I think this is why people at caltech did problem sets in groups. Spending SOME time searching is needed, but you learn something when you see somebody else’s solution AFTER that searching hour. never just copy solutions, though, understand them as you write them down. Ideally, you would be able to do the problem a 2nd time without referring to the other person solution.
So yes, that is why we make the big bucks. A hell of a barrier to entry. A hell of a lot of intellectual capital constructed in our crania.
Enjoy!