Quote Originally Posted by Aloha_Shooter View Post
Yes and no. I don't expect someone to calculate a Fourier transform manually but I want the to know the material well enough to recognize when the numbers coming out of the programs don't make sense. I see too many junior engineers these days that just trust outputs directly because it came from the computer. The process of actually doing the work yourself conveys learning and helps you understand when to trust your tools and understand their limitations.
The problem that I had in the engineering program hat I used to attend was that it was so disconnected from industry. Learning hand calculations are good to a point, but we never learned how to do it any other way. It's hard to teach to people going into industry when most professors are career students. I have other college gripes but that's a big one to me.