Most of the time, you'll see extraordinary people share their stories on this subreddit. But this is one of the few times when it's different.
I am a top 10%–20% student, nothing extraordinary, but above average and closer to the upper half. Except when it comes to mathematics.
During my secondary education, I was good at mathematics. But as the years passed and the subject got more complicated, I stopped studying. Why? Because my peers and seniors were doing the same. The constant "I never used integration in my life, it's a waste of time and effort" got to me. I thought they were right.
But now that I'm a sophomore in CSE (AI+ML), I realise that it wasn't just a school thing. My high school teachers used to tell me that these things would be used in college, but I always told myself, "I won't be using any of this ever. My goal is to be a Computer Science Engineer. I don't need to learn this. I just need to learn programming."
I know, I was so naive, and I should have done my research. But now I'm left with just one question.
I am facing the same difficult mathematics again. And this time it isn't just about marks, it's about my placement, my job, and my future career. So, my question is, should I restart learning mathematics? Should I go back and build my base in mathematics while covering my current syllabus? I know the college syllabus isn't enough to get a good placement and that I will need to work really hard, even harder than right now. Because I won't just be covering the college syllabus, I will be covering the syllabus, learning other current industry technologies, and potentially learning mathematics again.
I could have asked this of any AI tool, but what I need is real advice from real people. Someone who will tell me the reality, or inspire me.