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Electronic Designer
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Overlord:
Hello to everyone, in this topic I want to discuss a challenge to every electronic engineer in Latin America. How to become a certified electronic designer around the world?.
I'm almost an electronic engineer (I said almost because I have 3 subjects to get my degree), but I was always interested on design, so this was my first step. I'm from a country where we need to almost fight for be recognize in our discipline, without to many resources but good will to learn, that's primordial for us. In order to start my new gold I searched for information and self learning, but I think it's not enough so I require to ask on this forum, about recommendations on certified courses online, maybe to travel somewhere or how to become better.

Sorry for my bad English, and thank you all for the attention
ataradov:
There is no universal certification, nor one required in most cases. Just design stuff and you will be a designer.
Brumby:
Just so.

Also, consider the scope of such a designation:  Electronics designer - certified in .... what?  Audio ... RF ... digital ... FPGA ... automotive ... process control ... avionics ... communications?

The range is so diverse, there is no way I could ever see a standard certification ever being possible.  Even within one discipline, there can be a myriad of specialities.

I cannot speak from knowledge of what is available in the academic world, but it is my understanding that you build such accreditation by doing the work.

Having the degree under you belt is not a bad thing - but don't expect it to carry much weight in achieving recognition ... unless your thesis project is appropriate and brilliant.  And even then...
spec:
There is a lot more to being a design engineer, than just design. In fact, you spend more time on other activities than design: documenting your design, interfacing with the customer, writing specifications/reports of all types, internal meetings, design testing, interfacing with other departments, especially finance, procurement, and production...
As a result the additional skills you need are:

* Interpersonal skills
* Technical writing skills
* Presentation skillsAs the other members say, there is no universally recognized design qualification. instead you get a design job by contacts and responding to job adverts or just phoning/emailing/writing, to likely companies. Then, when you get an interview, that is where the interpersonal skills and presentation skills come in.

But there is a catch 22. You won't get a design engineer job until you have had a design job, if that makes sense. But if you are a new graduate you may get a junior position in a design department. If you can achieve that, and you are keen, you are made, because working alongside old hands you will get all the inside information.

Before you graduate write a curriculum vitae (CV). This is a vital document so always keep it up to date. Your CV tells your prospective employer what you are all about. But, remember that the person who will be appraising your CV may have literally hundreds of CVs to go through, so keep your CV, clear, informative, short, and to the point.  Once you have a few designs under your belt, and write them up in your CV, you will then be a design engineer. :)

As a student/ junior engineer, you can augment your formal training with home electronics study and making. You can include this in your CV and describe any designs you have done from scratch and completed, but don't overdo it.

Finally, there are two questions you should always keep in mind: what use am I to a company, and what are my career objectives. The last point is most important because design engineering does not suit everyone: The old adage, 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration comes to mind.
rstofer:
You need to pay your dues by working with design teams as a junior member.  That may be quite difficult if there aren't any openings because the field isn't very large in your home country.  What does your university have to say about this?

At our local university, there is a 2 summer internship requirement. The idea is for new engineers to actually get some time out in the field.

What if you had to leave home?  Is that a possibility?  If so, finish grad school and try for a US H1B visa through some kind of employment firm in the US.  I have no idea how this works but I do know that those with post graduate degrees are welcomed in most advanced countries.  And younger is better.

A different approach is to get an MBA (Master of Business Administration) and go into engineering management or project management.  You may find it pays better to have an engineering degree papered over by an MBA and work the management side of the equation.  Trust me, it's better to hire engineers and tell them what you want than it is to actually DO engineering.  And it pays better...
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