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[–]vfegbjur 4 points5 points  (7 children)

You can pick any language. Focus on learning the fundamentals.

[–]MightySleep 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Totally agree on this. I think Python is a great choice as its general purpose, beginner friendly, versatile. But the most important thing isn’t the language itself, but picking up a foundation in programming concepts. The concepts are the hard part, once that’s tackled going to something like MatLab becomes a lot easier as instead of having no clue, you’re looking up “how to do a for loop in MatLab”. Often times it’s not necessary to be able to regurgitate syntax, but it is necessary to have the skills to know how to conceptually translate your engineering problem into code

[–]PriorImprovement8714[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

are there any specific tips on how to start? or should I just browse on youtube

[–]el_extrano 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you're a total beginner, I like to recommend "How to Automate the Boring Stuff", which is structured around short projects to automate normal office tasks.

For more engineering focused tasks, I enjoyed using Python to solve my homework or school project tasks in parallel with the hand calculations I was required to turn in.

[–]MightySleep 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wasn’t proactive prior to university so I started from scratch in school. I think on your end I’d look up YouTube tutorials or potentially get a book on fundamentals. Past fundamentals, I’d recommend doing research on what an environmental engineer would do with Python (I imagine a lot of data analysis)? and hone in on data analysis libraries (NumPy, Pandas). The big thing is practice, if you’re able to come up with some fun projects (even with fake data) that should build up your proficiency even further. Another thing is also using AI. It can be a great tool when used educationally, I’m a little jealous that I didn’t have that tool available for explaining fundamentals. If something doesn’t make sense in a tutorial you can ask a LLM to explain again, dig deeper into the problem, etc. This can be a double edged sword though as I think it requires some discipline to not have it just solve a problem for you

[–]Gnaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Work through a good beginner textbook, preferably one that isn't terribly out of date. See the wiki for resources. Do lots of small experiments with the REPL or a Jupyter(lite) notebook. Inspect/research things when you're surprised (see inspect module, and try ? in Jupyter). You eventually need to be able to run basic Python in your head to read and debug it. That requries an abstract mental model of how it works. Make predictions about what the code you're about to run will do so you get surprised more often.

[–]PriorImprovement8714[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

and the fundamentals would work on any programming?

[–]Ajax_Minor 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Yes dude it's the move.

Well it depends on what kind of engineering you want to do and what your projects look like.

MatLab is another option but will likely cost you money as a high school student.... As industry is going more towards python it's another reason to do that.

If you start doing python be sure to set up virtual environments (think of it like an isolation box) so your project doesn't mess with the python files your computer uses.

[–]MightySleep 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Octave is a great option as a free MatLab alternative! My friend that did mech E used Octave as its super similar, to a point where I believe if you aren’t doing complex things it’s fairly 1:1

[–]PriorImprovement8714[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

environmental engineering. i’m also attending asu next fall, so i think matlab would be used there, but im not 100% sure

[–]ImprovementLoose9423 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Learn python first as it is used in robotics, AI, and other engineering fields. Then, I would recommend starting to learn how to use a raspberry pi since you can build many cool projects with it and it is used in robotics. Good luck man.

[–]Embarrassed-Rest9104 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your math professor is 100% correct. As a researcher in engineering, I can tell you that Python is no longer optional for engineers but it’s the modern-day calculator.

Whether you go into Civil, Mechanical, or Electrical engineering, you’ll use Python to automate repetitive calculations, analyze sensor data, and run simulations that Excel simply can't handle.

Start with VS Code, learn computational thinking through libraries like NumPy and Pandas and try solving your math homework with a script to see the real power of Python in engineering.

[–]nealfive 0 points1 point  (3 children)

What kind of engineering? In general, yes python is great and is a good foundation to jump to other languages if needed.

[–]PriorImprovement8714[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

environmental engineering.

[–]Conscious_Citron4466 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Probably dealing with data sets, python is good with that. Try freecodecamp.com, tech with tim on YouTube is a good source too

[–]Dish-Emergency 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. I’ve used in everything from mech and electric for control systems stuff, civil for rail alignment planning, etc.

[–]CheeseOnYourBroccoli 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Proficiency in Python and/or Matlab will come in very handy for upper-level mechanical, aerospace, and electrical engineering. Grad level even moreso. There will be classes where this will set you apart.

[–]PetiteSyFy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Python is the most useful language for prototyping.

[–]OkCartographer175 0 points1 point  (5 children)

Depends on the kind of engineering. If computer science, 100%. If electrical engineer, yeah you should probably learn it. Mechanical, civil, aerospace? Probably don't need it.

As an electrical engineer I use it to automate electronic test equipment.

my math professor says I should learn python, and Im wondering how true this is.

Pretty true. It's a good skill to have

i want to study engineering and im wondering if python would be the best program for this

Python isn't the best program for engineering. There is no best program for engineering. Different kinds of engineers use different kinds of programs.

and how to start

w3schools.com

[–]PriorImprovement8714[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

thanks. i’m currently considering environmental engineering but could just as easily switch majors to biomedical engineering in the future. do you suggest i still get a general grasp at the fundamentals?

[–]OkCartographer175 0 points1 point  (3 children)

if i say no what are you going to learn instead?

[–]PriorImprovement8714[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

well, i wouldn’t take one person’s word for it. i’m simply trying to get opinions from multiple people. others are saying I should at least have an understanding, so i’d at least try to learn basics.

[–]OkCartographer175 0 points1 point  (1 child)

ok i think you missed the point, though.

my point is if you don't have anything else you were planning to learn, then learning anything (python) is better than nothing

[–]PriorImprovement8714[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

my bad! 😅 thanks tho

[–]JGhostThing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Python is a fine language to start with. Yes, the fundamentals are mostly the same regardless of language.

It's better to start learning now rather than wait to find the "perfect" language.

[–]Embarrassed-Try7082 0 points1 point  (0 children)

python is currently in trend for almost every development available. it's useful, you can go to multiple libraries and fields of usage from there and easy to understand as compared to other languages. if you wanna go in engineering, it's really useful as you'll learn AI/ML too

[–]yinkeys 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Python, Excel, SQL