Study Organization

Charles Darwin famously said that he was of average intelligence. What is funny is that many people, both then and now, agree with him. He wasn’t a savant, a genius, or a prodigy. Yet his contribution to science was monumental. How did a regular guy become so exceptional? There are many reasons of course. One of the ways he was exceptional was in his note taking. He took observations continuously and cataloged them for reference later. I have always liked this story, because it shows me that habits accomplish what talent cannot.

What specifically can I learn from Darwin in 2021? Precisely copying Darwin’s approach would be overkill and an ineffective use of time. In the Information Age of internet and smart phones so much knowledge is only a few clicks away. Taking notes is something reserved for being in class. I don’t have to write it down if I can instantaneously look it up later. On the other hand, it is so easy to record and backup everything. Every email saved, every conference call recorded. It is pedantic to point out, but it is a bad idea to record nothing and it is a bad idea to record everything.

Today I want to talk about organizing my studies. Creating a personal topical guide around engineering. This is something in my career that I have had varying degrees of success in. It has come in fits and starts, and because of that the payoff has been inconsistent. In the spirit of becoming the best engineer I can be, I am digging into this again. It also is a good time, since I have started restudying many topics from college. It is nice to hang my new knowledge somewhere.

Requirements

My goal is to provide myself a high quality reference manual for things I may use again. Many engineers and engineering departments have a “Reference Material” folder where they drag and drop things they use over and over. I want to add organization in order to: 1) make things easy to find, 2) make it obvious which things I don’t know enough about. It is 2021 so I will be using software to pull this off. Cloud based storage and access on all my devices are things Darwin could only have dreamed of. Also search engines 🙂

The first question is a matter of which software to use. I used Google Drive at my first job because that is what I had access too. It is great for attaching multiple types of files. It is really clunky for organizing actual notes. I am currently using Microsoft OneNote, once again because it is what I have access to. So far the strengths are a reverse of Google Drive – great for text notes, clunky for other types of files. Even though this is a permanent record, it is also a work in progress.

General organizational structure

Below is my current outline – don’t bother reading if you don’t want to dig deep. It reflects both the things I already know and the ones I want to improve.

1. Design Skills
   1. CAD
      1. Simulation
      2. Rendering
      3. Solidworks
         1. Expert
         2. Surfacing
      4. Onshape
   2. Electronics prototyping
      1. Microcontrollers
         1. Arduino
         2. Raspberry Pi
      2. Programming languages
         1. C++
         2. Python
         3. Matlab or Octave
   3. Testing
      1. IP Testing
      2. Drop Testing
   4. Documentation
      1. Latex
      2. Mathcad or Smath
2. DFM/Manufacturing
   1. 3D printing
   2. 3D scanning
   3. Brazing & Soldering
   4. CAM
   5. Castings
   6. Fasteners
   7. GD&T
   8. Glues & Chemical Bonding
   9. Hand Tools
   10. Hydraulics
   11. Injection Molding
   12. Inspection Tools
   13. Laser Cutter
   14. Lathe
   15. Plasma Cutter
   16. Pneumatics
   17. Pressbrake
   18. Punch
   19. Robotic Arms
   20. Router
   21. Saws
   22. Sewing
   1. Waterjet
   2. Welding
   3. Woodshop
3. Material Selection
   1. Steel
   2. Aluminum
   3. Stainless Steel
   4. Plastic
4. Undergrad ME
   1. Math
      1. Precalc/Algebra/Trig
      2. Calculus (1-3)
      3. Linear Algebra
      4. Differential Equations
      5. Statistics & Probability
   2. Physics
      1. Physics 1&2
      2. Statics
      3. Dynamics
      4. Adv Dynamics
      5. Vibrations
   3. Materials Fundamentals
      1. Chemistry
      2. Material Science
      3. Composites
   4. Fluids Fundamentals
      1. Thermodynamics
      2. Fluids
      3. Heat-Mass Transfer
   5. Solids Fundamentals
      1. Strength of Materials
      2. Machine Design
      3. Adv Mechanics of Materials
   6. Misc ME
      1. Circuits
      2. Control Systems
      3. Mechatronics
      4. Numerical Methods
      5. Instrumentation
      6. FEA
5. Adjacent Roles
   1. Industrial Design
   2. Manufacturing Engineer
   3. Electrical Engineer
   4. Firmware Engineer
   5. Project Manager
6. Non Tech Skills
   1. Meta Learning
   2. Communication
   3. New Product Development
      1. Leadership
      2. Business