Hello,
Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Rick and I am in need of some help or advice. I recently graduated with a PhD in mathematics and my area of focus was in Computational Mathematics. Up until a couple of years ago I thought I'd want to teach math, but during the time I was in school I accepted a consulting job for a small startup company doing electronics, but they were in need of a mathematician. This sparked my interest in electrical engineering and truthfully, I always thought that I'd do more applied math geared in the direction of engineering anyway. This is why I have a masters in numerical analysis and went into computational mathematics.
As stated above, I'd like to do electronic engineering...but at the same time, I don't want to waste the degree I have. I've looked online for jobs and it appears as though I need several years of work experience to even qualify. So, I guess my question is where should I apply? What job should I apply for? I've always been the kind of guy who teaches himself things, because I'm so curious by nature. I outline some of the skills that I have below, but things I don't think I possess physical qualifications for.
I know how to program, in many different languages. In particular, my favorite and go to language is C. I also know my way around assembly (self-taught), C++, java, and python. The only true educational experience I have in this area is that as an undergraduate I minored in computer science. As an undergraduate, I got a coauthored a research paper about calibration of robotic arms using an "eye in hand". I believe the name of the robot language was named Q, but could be wrong. I also contributed work for a C math library and found a few bugs for that library.
I am also a hobbyist in electronics. I've been building circuits for several years now. After the consulting job I took during the time I was in school, I taught myself how to solder and started buying more and more equipment to build circuits and experiment in my leisure. I don't want to get too detailed about my consulting job, due to non-disclosure agreements, but I don't think it's out of bounds to say that my job was doing mathematical analysis for an inertial measurement unit.
I look forward to any advice that is given and I wish to thank you beforehand for at least reading.
Thanks,
Rick