Aspiring and accomplished engineers alike will agree that, compared to a load of bulky books, a smartphone is a much better tool for both learning new skills and tackling daily tasks. Today’s engineering-focused apps can help you become more productive, organized and efficient.
As the capabilities of the average smartphone reach new heights, developers are putting out more and more powerful apps with a growing range of useful features. From handy calculators to extensive learning tools, here are the 10 best smartphone apps for engineering students.
Mathpix
Available on both mobile and desktop platforms, Mathpix is an app that uses OCR (optical character recognition) to accurately read images and turn them into digital format. The app is even capable of visually solving math problems, be it from printed or handwritten text. In doing so, it effectively replaces your calculator and streamlines your workflow.
Wolfram Alpha
Wolfram Alpha is commonly described as a powerful computational knowledge engine. It uses a combination of algorithms, artificial intelligence, and its own extensive knowledge base to answer questions on a plethora of topics, including everyday life, society and culture, mathematics and, of course, engineering.
All you need to do is input a question and Wolfram Alpha will scan its database plus a list of curated resources to provide the most accurate possible answer. Think of it as the Wikipedia of engineering. Wolfram Alpha is available in your web browser and as a standalone mobile app for both Android and iOS devices.
Office Lens
Microsoft’s free scanner app is designed to help you reduce the number of documents and papers you have to deal with by digitizing them. All you need to do is take a picture of the document, crop to size and store it in your file format of choice. Office Lens further makes things easier by allowing you to enhance the image and make it more readable.
iStudiez
If you’re looking for an app in the note-taking space that’s geared specifically towards students, iStudiez is a considerable option. It combines the best of what popular apps like Evernote and Google Keep have to offer, while also adding a plethora of its own useful features.
This includes a comprehensive calendar overview of your schedule and tasks, live tiles and alarms, a planner feature, online sync, grades tracking, assignments and much more. You can even integrate iStudiez with other apps to further enhance its functionality. The app is available on just about every device, including mobile and desktop platforms.
DropBox
Whether you’re working on CAD design, robotics, animation or another type of bulky project, it helps to have a convenient and efficient way to store and share all your files. DropBox serves this purpose expertly, providing a secure and affordable way for you to manage your important files, regardless of device, time or location.
Online Universities
Since we’re talking about all things digital, it’s worth noting that you can now further your engineering studies through online universities. This way, you can obtain a more marketable and esteemed degree that will help you improve your employability.
At the same time, it’ll cost a fraction of the price and will prove significantly more flexible as you won’t have obligations to attend a physical campus. For instance, if you’re looking to enter a management field, Kettering University offers an engineering management online master’s degree for you to check out.
OneNote
A note-taking app is an absolute must, both now as a student and when you enter the working world. Microsoft’s OneNote is a popular option in this space, with a cloud-based infrastructure that allows you to access your notes on any device. Use it to write down your thoughts, share ideas, organize work, schedule meetings, make to-do lists and more.
Chegg
As a student, you can probably agree with Chegg’s sentiment about textbooks – full price is overpriced. That’s why they offer a wide range of textbooks that you can rent for as long as you need them, instead of buying them outright. What’s more, you can use Chegg’s Study feature to get help with your homework.
But that’s not all, Chegg also offers career advice, as well as help with finding jobs and internships. If you’re unsure as to where you want to take your degree when you’ve completed your studies, Chegg has a useful Career Profile feature to help you find a suitable profession based on your chosen criteria. Their app is available on both Android and iOS devices.
Electrodroid
Despite its name and icon, Electrodroid is available on more than just Android, including iOS and Windows. The app is designed specifically for electrical engineering students. It serves as a database of references and tools that you can use to learn more about the ins and outs of engineering or search for solutions to common problems.
Engineering Unit Converter
This unit conversion app is significantly more powerful than its simple interface would suggest. Despite not requiring an internet connection, having no hidden code, being completely ad-free and only half a megabyte in size, Engineering Unit Converter offers a wide range of useful features.
First, you can choose a category such as energy, electric charge, entropy, length and so forth. From here, you’ll use the intuitive “spinning wheel” feature to change the input value and voila – your calculation is complete. Pressing the help button will give you more information about a specific measurement. The app is available on Android and iOS devices.
Wabbitemu
Don’t have the dough to splurge on a Texas Instruments graphing calculator? You’re not alone. In fact, you’re one of so many that an app was created to emulate exactly what the expensive calculator does. The app is tiny in size and dead-simple to set up. There are also a variety of different calculators to choose from. Get it on Android or iOS for free.
Conclusion
Once you’ve downloaded the apps you find most suitable for your needs, rest-assured your life as an engineering student will become unquestionably easier. Given the size of the app market today, you’re likely to find many more useful apps by doing a bit of digging. Don’t hesitate to try something new.
