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Then a month or so I had work experience (aka job shadow), I just sat there for the next 5 days crimping wires and screwing on sockets onto various cases, boring and repetitive. I didn't even get to do any soldering, because I was "inexperienced", I tried telling the guy I was a hobbyist and if he could only give me a chance to show that I can! But no bulge. I asked various questions about electronics, but none of them seemed to be interested in it outside of the workshop. They told me they didn't use math at much and the whole process with picking values and components was just a hit and miss selection. The experience really shook me and gave me a wake up call, I began to question whenever I really want to have a job like this. Whenever I really am just going to be somebody working in a dirty lab soldering PCB's and screwing on components onto boxes."
Gee,my heart bleeds for you!
Seriously,though,it looks like your work experience may have been someplace where they are making products for sale.
A lot of these places,below the level of Design Engineer,are pretty much the bottom end of the food chain in Electronics.
There are usually two levels at the bottom,Tech & Assembler,& in practice,the Techs are used as Assemblers most of the time.
You,on the other hand,are a "work-experience kid",& a "Smartarse work-experience kid" at that!
How about a wild guess where you fit into the food chain?
There is not a lot of maths use needed in these places--that's for the EE-your place is to "just shut up & crimp!"
That said,there are reasons for limiting what you were allowed to do.
The standard of hand soldered joints is regarded of utmost importance by manufacturers,& they usually have a "Solder Nazi" to check your joints & reject any which are not up to scratch.
Still with soldering,their insurance may not have covered you,as you were not officially an employee.
The other people may not really know much about the stuff you are making--they may have been enthusiastic & interested at some time,but have been "kept in the dark" due to a misguided concern about IP.
After many years with employers where I was expected to think for myself & know everything possible about the equipment I worked on,I ended up as a so-called Tech in a place where they wouldn't let us look at a circuit diagram,as we might tell the competitors.
Never mind that the only IP in the circuit belonged to National Semiconductors!
As far as learning Electronics is concerned,I would echo the advice of not trying to design things,just because other people on this forum do so.
Many of the others have been involved in design for many years,& other are well advanced into their EE degrees at Uni.
Some of them may have been prodigies & designing stuff in year 11,but I would guess the majority were not.
My suggestion is to build a few things designed by others.
Be very cautious of what you build off the Internet,as some stuff is crap,& will not work.
"Silicon Chip" is a good magazine to build things out of,or just read the construction articles,as they usually tell you a good bit of the theory behind their design decisions.
And read,read,read,The stuff you need to know is in books,magazines,& on the 'Net.
If you are trying to remember something,write it down as you read it,work out examples,& so on.
There is something about writing things out ,& working out Maths,which makes it stick in your mind.
If you want to put Electronics away for a year & concentrate on school,it doesn't mean you are giving it up.
It will still be there in a years time!
In the meantime,Year 12 is a major thing to get over----- remember,Maths,Physics,& Chemistry are all excellent tools to help you understand Electronics better,& English helps you express yourself.