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| Education level required for employment as EE |
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| tggzzz:
--- Quote from: Hero999 on September 01, 2016, 09:10:19 am --- --- Quote from: tggzzz on September 01, 2016, 08:46:33 am ---You will find some people that say a degree is a waste of time. You must assess that person and why they have that opinion. Usually they don't have a degree, and often they have been unable to get a degree. If that's the case, how can they possibly know the value of a degree? --- End quote --- I think the reason why some people will say that a degree is a waste of time is because they've worked with people who are very well qualified but are totally useless at their job. Of course I wouldn't say a degree is a waste of time. It just won't make anyone a good engineer. --- End quote --- I refer you to my other key statement, viz: "An engineering degree is the easiest, fastest and surest way of mastering those topics[gained from a degree]. But while those topics are necessary for being a good engineer, but they are not sufficient for being a good engineer. " --- Quote --- --- Quote ---An engineering degree isn't necessary if you want to become a technician. Consider that engineer:technician = doctor:nurse. Both doctors and nurses support each othe and both are vital; vive la difference. --- End quote --- I wouldn't agree with that. There are plenty of people without engineering degrees who are doing exactly the same jobs as engineers who have degrees but are paid less. --- End quote --- I haven't come across them in my career. Or, alternatively, such people are doing work that doesn't require an engineering degree (most jobs in the world are like that, but they don't interest me!). I have come across extremely competent engineers that didn't have a degree, but I can count them on the fingers of one hand. |
| Galenbo:
--- Quote from: rstofer on September 01, 2016, 12:32:08 am ---As an electronics engineer... And the stuff you design won't even be interesting... ... You will soon get out of engineering and into project management where you will have to get away from your desk and supervise projects and people. You will be more self-directed and, actually, the work will be more interesting. ... and try to get a service business going... --- End quote --- Good to see that guys who totally suck in every de-facto technical aspect of engineering can take some voluntary steps down and end up in management, and be happy there. Someone has to do it ! |
| rstofer:
There's a side issue to an engineering degree independent of which field you choose: You will take a LOT of math classes and you will learn a great deal about Physics. Physics makes the world run and understanding it is a leg up. Truly my favorite subject - especally Mechanics! With Physics, I can explain just about everything there is to know about any other science. Except gravity... Math: Well, EE has a bunch of math classes and I have come to the conclusion that the better you are at math, the more money you make. Regrettably, Statistics is included in that observation. I hate Statistics! Truth be known, and keep this quiet, I'm not sure I really understood Maxwell's Equations. It's only since I started playing with an analog computer that I have finally gotten a handle on Differential Equations. They were a drag to solve with a sliderule... Even the entry level Calculus classes are useful in various ways. Never underestimate the value of those math classes. It is a fact of life that managing engineers pays better than engineering itself. As long as you plan to work for money, you might as well get as much as you can. So, if you don't want to get an MSEE, get an MBA. Heck, get both! The MBA program can be a lot of fun. Try to get over in the Operations Research side of the program. Those folks get to play with some cool math and simulations. I watched suit-and-tie engineers programming the CDC 6400 to investigate learning curves in an effort to understand the cost of assembling airplanes. They were so far above me... Circa '70... Later in my career, I spent less time engineering and more time managing. I simply bought engineering. We had a list of consultants and all I had to do was call and engineering just happened. I worked on the big picture and left the details to those far more qualified. |
| Jeff_Birt:
I work as an engineer at a university, I do not have a 'degree'. I took two years of industrial electronics in high school which was roughly equivalent to an associate degree. Without a degree the hardest thing is to get your foot in the door. I got a job once as I agreed to start at a lower salary and prove I could do the work and then be bumped up to the normal salary. I have a friend who taught high school band for 20 years while electronics was his hobby. When he got tired of teaching he got a job as a technician at Dale (which Vishay bought up later) and when they saw he knew his stuff they promoted him to engineer because he had 'a' degree, it did not matter to them what the degree was in. So being self taught in electronics and having a degree in education allowed him to be an engineer at Dale. Students coming out of university (in the USA) with a bachelor's degree in engineering may be qualified and some are still dumb as a box of rocks. The 'dumb as a box of rocks' group are smart enough to pass each class but have no clue how to apply what they have learned. I'm in the EE department (but work as an ME/EE mix) and senior level students do a 'senior design' group project. Some of the projects can really highlight the student's abilities and with some students I have to explain why they can't drive a stepper motor with the logic level output form their microcontroller. In the general EE track this is the most 'hands on' experience they get. There are opportunities for undergraduate to do research projects, be on student design teams, internships, and similar things. If a student has the initiative to get involved with these types of activities they have a much greater chance of learning to apply the theory they are taught. When I first started at the university I taught the lab sections of some classes. We would do a different project each semester that the professor and I dreamed up that was sometimes based on a current research project we were involved in (a simplified version). We tried to make the projects reasonable but we did not know the outcome, they were open ended as they might work or not. We acted as the customer saying "we want a product to do this", gave them some background info, provided technical assistance, etc. These were 300-400 level classes so the students were well seasoned but most had no idea how to approach a real world problem where there was not 'right' answer or an answer in the back of a book. I can remember vividly one student who was upset saying, "I have no idea how to do this". To which I replied, "welcome to being an engineer". After a couple of weeks of him doing some research on the subject and talking with us his attitude changed as he realized he could take what he knew and apply it to the problem and learn what he did not know. This is not an opportunity most students get, and that is sad. Being close to 50 now and without a degree I can look back at how much easier it would have been in some cases if I had a degree. There are opportunities at a university to be involved in research projects and actually learn to apply your skills but the student has to seek them out. I wish they were somehow mandatory. I suspect most students who go through a bachelor's degree and have no real hand on ability wind up in middle management. Some companies, like UPS, prefer to hire drivers who have a degree in anything as they tend to be better employees. So go get a BS in something useless and you can drive for UPS. You can be self taught but it is a tough row to hoe, i.e. it is hard to get your foot in the door. You need math skills, I had algebra and geometry in high school and some basic calculus in me EE course in VoTech. I learned what I needed as I went along but sometimes that is the long way around as you could have done something much simpler or quicker if you had known a bit more math. It is soooo easy these days to search things online that you can learn about different mathematic techniques that apply to your project. If you are self taught you have to have examples of your accomplishments to demonstrate your knowledge. When I started at the university I had a list of accomplishments at previous jobs that demonstrated my abilities. And, to be honest at my age now I get offered jobs based on what I know and who I know. I have had side jobs doing programming, board layout, etc. based on demonstrable skills. My dad sold newspaper advertising for several years and on the back of his business card he had a cartoon of a fella with his feet up on his desk and the heading of "The fella who doesn't advertise may know his business but nobody else does!" Engineers tend to be introverts but you do have to 'advertise' yourself to prospective employers, if you don't have a degree you have to advertise accomplishments. |
| rstofer:
Not to take away from electrical or electronics engineering but if you want a somewhat easier field of study for which there will be an increasing demand, consider Environmental, Health & Safety. It's junk science but with all the regulations promulgated by every level of government, EVERY company needs the services of an EHS professional. You do realize that, as a company, you can't just throw away burned out fluorescent lamps, right? Nope! You are a waste generator and you are responsible for those lamps from purchase through disposal. There's paperwork, disposal companies to deal with, records to keep and so on. I wouldn't recommend signing up for the clerk work but at the management level, these folks make good money with decent job security. Just try to find a high tech company that doesn't have a large EHS department! Consultants make a ton of bucks because they attend all the seminars and understand all the quirks in permitting. You can't just poke a hole through the roof and exhaust a chem sink without an Air Quality Permit. There are regulations! I never thought much of their engineering capabilities but I did realize that EHS folks were totally necessary to staying out of jail. |
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