What degree does Dave have.

[theoldguy]

I am starting UF in two semesters and will be getting a degree in Electrical Engineering. I watch all of Dave's videos and love them. Just wondering what degree he has.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Larger than my ...          

[Longhair]

After watching all of the blogs from the beginning, I get the sense that the degrees are just an after thought to learning something new.

[Bored@Work]

After watching all of the blogs from the beginning, I get the sense that the degrees are just an after thought to learning something new.

Every sane owner of a degree will tell you that the degree is "just" the admission ticket for the corresponding profession. It is like getting a drivers license. The license just permits you to take part in the traffic. It doesn't say you are a good or skillful driver. It just says you have a more or less standardized set of skills on which you need to work.

[ColinA]

Having a degree doesn't make one competent..There is a 50% chance your doctor finished in the bottom half of his class.

[migsantiago]

Every sane owner of a degree will tell you that the degree is "just" the admission ticket for the corresponding profession. It is like getting a drivers license. The license just permits you to take part in the traffic. It doesn't say you are a good or skillful driver. It just says you have a more or less standardized set of skills on which you need to work.

I agree. No degree gives you a perfect expertise. Expertise is only achieved with good effort and work, not with a degree.

[Simon]

Degrees are just certificates that make you a first class citizen with the right to any job you fancy even if your not qualified for it, your automatically ingenious, for example a friend of mine has a degree in chemistry and got a job as an analyst for a bank (mortgage risks) now I know I don't have supernatural powers but i didn't know i needed them to see the link 

in the UK a degree seems to guarantee any jerk any job while the real intelligent people that do know how to use their hands and minds together to accomplish something are left in the ditch

[Alex]

@Simon: It is much much worse in some other countries, you really should not complain.

@theoldguy: Only Dave can answer that, but seeing the stuff he used to do when he was a boy, my bet is electrical/electronic engineering or the equivalent of that time.

@ColinA: I agree, having a degree doesnt make you competent. However, you can have a degree and be competent, or you can have a degree and then become competent, or you can be competent without a degree. The truth is though, having a degree means to your employer that you have  more chances of you being, or becoming competent.

@BoredAtwork: Thats true, getting a degree exposes you to whole industry and the subject you have chosen. It opens up paths that you must then walk on your own.

@migsantiago: During your studies you are given the opportunity to begin building your expertise in a particular field of your choice and that takes a lot of effort and hard work.

In general, getting a degree is part of just one of the paths one might take to become/achieve what he wants. It is certainly not the only one! Therefore you cannot base your final judgement on whether someone has, or doesnt have, a degree. I personally have equal respect for both.

[Zero999]

It depends on the degree and the university.

For example a degree in surf science studied at somewhere like Luton is worth nothing compared to a Chemistry degree attained at Cambridge.

I think the government should only fund degree courses which get students high paid jobs or are useful to the NHS or scientific research rather than those which students take purely for fun and give little return on the investment.

[Mr J]

A degree is nice to have, it's a start, but it's what you know and how you can convey it. I've had ppl work for me that came from a very well known college here in Boston that didn't know how to operate a scope or solder (I was floored! I interviewed about 20 or so students). While a high school vocational kid half his age knew more and could do more and out performed the college guy. I learn a lesson that day not to dismiss the vocational kids, they have a lot more lab and class hours than a 4 year college. Yes, when I do interview I have a 50 question basic electronics test with hands on work and a "live" troubleshooting problem.

On another subject note what is better a EE degree or an EET degree? This is always a great discussion in my work.

   

[Simon]

in the UK a degree seems to guarantee any jerk any job while the real intelligent people that do know how to use their hands and minds together to accomplish something are left in the ditch

i know some people here who got "reputable relatives" who managed to "bought" the degree without having to go through all the "hard and pain" in U. those what i call jerks!

Yes I have one such relative in Italy that bought himself a degree just so that he can be listed as "doctor" in the telephone directory. At the end of the day a degree ascertains that at the time of taking exam you had the knowledge and hopefully knew how to put it to good use (having knowledge alone serves no one). Whether you remember any of that knowledge or can indeed put it to use when you are taken into consideration via that degree is another matter.

I have some really clever engineers where I work, one draws a piece of pipework consisting of a large pipe and two 1/2" pipes going into the side, spaced 20mm apart, he then expected a hose and jubilee clip to be installed on both pipes. No you don't need a degree to know some simple maths: 1/2" = 12.5mm, 20-12.5=7.5mm 7.5/2=3.725mm so each pipe had 3.725mm around it for a thick hose and jubilee clip. The section supervisor told him he could not make it for him, his answer: oh well you make it as you think it should be and I'll draw it. The supervisors answer: Which one of us in the engineer they seem to think where I work that if they can draw it, the shop floor can make it. I think most people know that theory and practice do not meet at the same point.

Sure there are lots of clever people out there with degrees, they were clever before they took the degree and obtained the knowledge and skill in that particular field. but just getting a degree does not make one clever. I'm sure that if you look into any accomplished engineers life you will find that he was passionate about the subject he took and like Dave was probably a hobbiest in it as a child

[Zero999]

Some courses teach practical skills. I know someone with a degree who built a massage chair for his final project. He had to assemble the chair and to both the mechanical and electronic parts of the project.

The HND course I studied taught some practical skills, we had to build some circuits on stripboard and breadboard and test them with a DVM and oscillosope but it was mostly theory based. The thing which was really missing were a modules on reading datasheets and PCBH design, although I learned that on the job.

[Simon]

ultimately you will learn for yourself most of what you need to learn. Essentially nobody taught me a thing, my electronics college was a joke and lessons lasted 5 minutes. Yet considering the amount of formal education i had a I have a fair understanding of electronics and can design things for myself and will learn from my mistakes and am capable of identifying what i need to know and going and finding the info i need

[Bored@Work]

A degree is nice to have, it's a start, but it's what you know and how you can convey it. I've had ppl work for me that came from a very well known college here in Boston that didn't know how to operate a scope or solder (I was floored! I interviewed about 20 or so students).    

this is the misconception or myth that people think of. they expect degree'd engineers to be able to handle all those "get down and dirty" job, which in fact not what the degree level is all about, but of course hands on will be much helpful. another thing in question is the quality of education that a particular U or college provides.

Why is that a misconception? It is supply and demand. If the demand for the particular job is that an engineer can solder and handle an oscilloscope, then those 20 candidates simply failed.

What I think is a misconception is to try to restrict the area an engineer should work in just because he is an engineer. Statistics in my country say that 40% of all engineers end up working outside their formal area of expertise. Which I think is great. It shows that the education and training is good enough to do a lot of things.

[Time]

An engineering degree from any decent school is a mark of aptitude for problem solving.  Engineering as a whole is about solving problems efficiently.

This comes natural to many but its further honed by your education.  If you just want to tinker in your free time and build simple things than you might not need a degree but if you want to be a serious engineer in the industry than your schooling is essential.  There are certain topics you can only learn in a rigorous class room environment and are simply too complex for independent study.

In the states, if you want to be a licensed professional engineer you have to take and pass a fundamentals of engineering exam than work under the eye of a PE for a certain amount of years in the industry than take your professional engineering exam which is more focused on your area of expertise.  Its pretty difficult to pass these tests without proper education.  PE licensing is less common with EEs though and more common with civil and mechanical.  I am not sure but I think this is because they do more direct government work which tends to be bureaucratic by nature.

[theoldguy]

Guys I have employed many engineers in my day so no need to tell me about what they are or not. I just was curious about what degree Dave has.

[Bored@Work]

Guys I have employed many engineers in my day so no need to tell me about what they are or not. I just was curious about what degree Dave has.

You have?

I am starting UF in two semesters and will be getting a degree in Electrical Engineering. I watch all of Dave's videos and love them. Just wondering what degree he has.

Since these two statements from you hardly match I don't believe you. But anyhow, this is a public forum. We discuss what we want, not what you want us to discuss. And since Dave couldn't be bothered to give you an answer until now, your question was probably not very relevant.

[Simon]

Guys I have employed many engineers in my day so no need to tell me about what they are or not. I just was curious about what degree Dave has.

You have?

I am starting UF in two semesters and will be getting a degree in Electrical Engineering. I watch all of Dave's videos and love them. Just wondering what degree he has.

Since these two statements from you hardly match I don't believe you. But anyhow, this is a public forum. We discuss what we want, not what you want us to discuss. And since Dave couldn't be bothered to give you an answer until now, your question was probably not very relevant.

True and well spotted, and the op has only made two posts to this thread in days, hm interesting.

[Zyvek]

I thought Dave was self taught, like Jeri Ellsworth?

[Simon]

hm maybe but you tend to find any good engineer with qualifications was also a hobbiest right from a child and personally very into the subject. my college was crap and i had to learn it all by my self, to listen to me you'd think i have no qualifications (if you can call a piece of bog roll they couldn't get my birth place right on from italy a qualification)

[tyblu]

All good engineers are self-taught, though some silly school may have given them a certificate in the past

[TopherTheME]

All good engineers are self-taught, though some silly school may have given them a certificate in the past

My high school yearbook quote: "Never let your schooling interfere with your education" - Mark Twain

[Simon]

All good engineers are self-taught, though some silly school may have given them a certificate in the past

My high school yearbook quote: "Never let your schooling interfere with your education" - Mark Twain

so true,

[Time]

Whether or not you are self taught just depends on what type of electrical engineering you do and how advanced it is.  You can teach yourself MCUs and digital design because everything costs very little and has been well documented since the first logical gate.  If you are an electrical engineer who is doing designs for a research laboratory like CERN or Sandia than I don't see how you can possibly get by (much less hired) without higher education in conjunction with extensive laboratory experience.  Some areas are so complicated that learning it on your own in a timely manner is overwhelming and in some cases impossible.  Making clever circuits in your garage is one thing and practicing on the forefront of research and design is another.

[Simon]

ah yes but we were discussing practicing engineers not researchers, Researchers are often multidisciplinary and very well studied, as you say not a lot of alternatives there