The “Tech Bro” Delusion
There is an unwritten rule in modern engineering: “Everyone wants to be a Software Engineer.”
I was no different. I entered the University of Moratuwa with a simple plan: Get a 4.0 GPA, get into the Computer Science (CS) department, and spend the rest of my life wearing hoodies and typing code in a dark room.
Spoiler Alert: None of that happened. Instead, I became a Mechanical Engineer who builds massive thermal systems. And honestly? It’s all because I was lazy, my internet was trash, and I really, really liked the TV show Daredevil.
Here is the story of how I failed my dream along with the first semester and found my destiny.
The “Gap Year” That Wasn’t
My university journey didn’t start with a party. It started with a pause button. First, a strike. Then, a global pandemic. For six months, I sat at home, waiting for the world to restart.
By the time the university finally opened its digital doors, we were forced into “Online Learning.” I bought a laptop using money I earned from my Amazon KDP experiments, set up a desk, and prepared to be a genius.
There was just one problem: My Internet Connection.
The Buffering Student
While my friends were upgrading to high-speed Fiber connections, I was stuck on an old-school ADSL line. For international readers, imagine trying to stream a 4K movie through a drinking straw. That was my internet.
The funny thing is, I thought this was normal. I sat in lectures hearing robotic, glitchy voices and staring at frozen screens, thinking, “Wow, university is really abstract, isn’t it?” Because of the lag, I couldn’t focus. So I told myself the Great Student Lie:
“I’ll just ignore this live lecture and watch the recording later.”
Pro Tip: You never watch the recording later. “Later” is a mythical place where productivity goes to die.
The “Code Trap” (and Ignoring Physics)
Because I wanted to be a CS major, I developed a dangerous strategy. I obsessed over the Programming module. When the coding lecture finished, I would feel like a hacker. I’d spend the next two days grinding through code, feeling productive.
Meanwhile, I completely ignored the subjects that actually matter for an engineer—like Fluid Mechanics. I remember thinking: “Why do I need to know how water moves? I’m going to write software!”
(Irony Check: Today, I work in R&D designing cooling systems for batteries. My entire career is Fluid Mechanics. The universe has a twisted sense of humor.)
The Daredevil Disaster
Fate gave me one last chance. The exams were postponed by a month. A smart student would have used this time to cram six months of Fluid Mechanics into 30 days.
I am not a smart student. I discovered the Marvel show Daredevil.
I watched Season 1. Then Season 2. Then Season 3. While my competition was solving past papers, I was watching Matt Murdock beat up bad guys in Hell’s Kitchen. I told myself I was “managing my stress.”
The Reality Check: Meeting “The Smart Kids”
Because of the pandemic, I hadn’t actually met any of my classmates in person. I lived in a bubble where I assumed everyone else was slacking off too. Then, right before the exams, the lockdown lifted. We met physically for the first time.
I met up with the “Matugama Gang”—friends from my hometown. It was a cold shower. While I was complaining about lag, they were discussing Bernoulli’s Principle and complex calculus. They had been studying for months. They had finished the tutorials I didn’t even know existed.
I realized I didn’t just have a “bad connection”—I had a bad work ethic.
Engineering First Semester Failure
The results came in, and they were brutally honest. My GPA was average. The cutoff for the Computer Science department was sky-high. I didn’t make the list. I was facing engineering first semester failure.
I was crushed. For 24 hours, I felt like a failure. But then, as I sat there staring at my laptop screen, I realized something. My eyes hurt. My back ached. I hated sitting there. I realized I didn’t actually love Computer Science. I just loved the idea of it. The reality of sitting in front of a screen for 12 hours a day made me miserable.
The Pivot
I looked at the list of remaining engineering fields. I wanted something real. Something I could touch. I chose Mechanical Engineering.
It felt like a “Plan B” at the time. But today, I’m leading R&D projects, building real machines, and solving physical problems. I wasn’t meant to write code; I was meant to build the hardware that runs it.
🎓 3 Lessons for Students (The Takeaway)
If you are a student reading this from a dorm room in London, Delhi, or Colombo, here is what you need to know:
1. “Watch Later” is a Trap If you miss a lecture, you will never watch the recording. Do not kid yourself. Attend the live class, even if you are tired. Just being there forces you to absorb 20% of the material.
2. Your Environment Matters I failed partly because I didn’t upgrade my internet. I was fighting a technology disadvantage I could have fixed. Invest in your tools. If your laptop is slow or your internet lags, fix it. It’s cheaper than repeating a semester.
3. Sometimes, You Lose for a Reason If I had gotten into CS, I would be a miserable software engineer with back pain right now. Failing that exam forced me into the field I was actually good at. Don’t fear the “Plan B.” Sometimes, Plan B is where your actual talent lives.
Sasindu J. Mallawa Arachchi Mechanical Engineer (B.Sc. Hons, University of Moratuwa) | R&D Engineer
Sasindu is a Mechanical Engineer specializing in Energy Conservation and Thermal Systems. Currently working in R&D at Alta Vision Pvt Ltd, he writes about the gap between engineering theory and real-world application. In his free time, he writes fiction and shares his personal experiences to help others navigating similar paths.
