What do you think of this question on Engineers needing math skills?

I think the word "important" is a double-edged sword in this case.

Engineers can get by with having weaker math skills today. We have better, more powerful software, which can do increasing amounts of work for us. A person just has to know what inputs to put where, and can often use software without a knowledge of how to do what the software does by hand.

I say often, but what about the rest of the time? What about those times when the engineer needs to understand what's going on in the background of a program to be able to correctly interpret unusual results?

What is more "important" - being able to DO engineering, or completely UNDERSTANDING the engineering that you're doing?

I think good math skills are more important than ever, and as the field becomes more and more computerized, these skills will become even more important. We cannot allow engineering to become a vending-machine profession - put numbers in, get answers out, no idea what happens in between.

I will say true, with the understanding that good math skills were vitally important for engineers ten years and are exactly as important today, no more no less.

Math is the language of science and engineering. If you are not fluent in this language you might as well go home. Engineering software cannot be used to solve everything so having good judgment and knowing how to setup a problem is half the battle.

It's similar to asking "Can I play professional football if I can't run very fast?"