I quit my EE studying in university.. can I still work in electronics ?

[Louai]

Hi everyone , I need your advice please..

Recently I quit my university (EE) in Israel after finishing 2 years of materials that took me longer than that because I struggled with it. it is the top tech university here, but I hated it, not because it had hard study materials, I didn't find any material too hard for me, but I reached a solid conclusion that this is because universities traditional dictating way of teaching doesn't motivate me and doesn't fit my way of learning and it is far from my hobby in electronics that I had in my childhood, actually being a student was depressing for me. I could talk a lot and elaborate about this topic.

Now I'm considering what to do next..
Since I know some programming both from my high school and university and I fairly find it interesting to some degree, and after thinking of many options I'm thinking to take a university program in web development for 1 year, it's going to be mostly practical and job oriented with many projects so I can bare it. I will also learn some languages like Java and Python online on my own and work on some projects and by a year from now I could start working in this field, I need to have a reliable job at this point I'm 28 and married.
The good thing also is that software related jobs are open for people without a degree and it's more skill based than jobs in electrical engineering, it's hard to get in electrical engineering jobs without a degree in our days, it was more possible in the past.

So financially and practically this seems to me currently the best option to move forward, the problem is that by going that path I change route in my life! and getting away from electronics where my heart is, I'm fearful of that.
I considered that even having enough time for electronics as a hobby at home would be hard with a demanding Job in software, and it would be harder to take my hobby in electronics to a more professional level without working in the industry.
I know that some few people make it into electrical engineering jobs by starting small like technicians, testing or whatever and climb up the ladder slowly to EE, also by showing projects of their own as an experience , but that's a long road for me without a reliable good paying job.

What should I do ?
Could you think of a path to take in software that could bring me at some point to electronics without a degree ?
Is it reasonable to have an electronics hobby while working in different field that needs self improvement on it's own beyond the working hours? and can I bring this hobby to a professional level where I could become employable in EE field someday in the near future ?
I should add that I'm planning after few years (like 3 years) to move to the united states and it's going to be a different market there I guess.

[JohnnyMalaria]

I should add that I'm planning after few years (like 3 years) to move to the united states and it's going to be a different market there I guess.

How do you plan to do this? Do you have family with US citizenship who can sponsor you for a green card? If not, I assume you will look for employment. You will find that very difficult. Companies can bring you in on an H1B visa but there are quotas to how many such employees a company can have. The typical next step is to get sponsorship by the company for a green card. To do this, the company has to prove to the government that it has advertised a particular position within the US and that they cannot find anyone with suitable qualifications. You would have to have qualifications superior to those of the domestic workforce. Without a degree, that is almost certainly not going to happen. Indeed, I cannot imagine an employee accepting an application for a professional electronics engineering post from someone overseas without a degree.

Many companies, typically the larger ones, will receive many resumes for an open position and the initial screening process is based on very scant reading of them. As someone who has screened many resumes, I would see dropping out of university as a major red flag whether it is a fair assessment or not.

[Louai]

JohnnyMalaria , my wife is an american so green card is not hard to obtain for me.

[David Chamberlain]

Buddy, I'm going to lay down some hard truths for you in the hopes that you reconsider your course of action. I've read hundreds of CV's doing hires in my workplace for EE's / Web devs / service technicians.

A degree backed candidate tells me one thing and one thing only - This person is prepared to take shit and get the job done. The value of a degree beyond that is minimal as I've seen PhD's apply for embedded firmware roles who don't know the difference between a char and an int. So I take degrees with a grain of salt for the most part. The biggest takeaway from such a candidate is at very least I'm looking at someone who can stick something through to the end and SEE THE JOB DONE <--- that's important.

Of course there are always exceptions, candidates who have a tone of projects and references behind them and no degree all that shows me the same thing... BUT they are extremely rare. AND depends on the role because that person is not likely to be put in charge of particle accelerator design - by way of example.

My first preference is to shortlist the degree candidates and keep the others hanging just in case ( I realize that might sound a little cut throat but them's be the breaks)

Perhaps after two years you just got a little burnt out and need a break, I get that and is totally cool. Perhaps after a rest you will go back and finish it?

Please though what ever course of action you take never ever say this in an interview "...because universities traditional dictating way of teaching..." and anyway if you really decide not to go back why not just say 'Hey I gave it a go and found EE was not for me after all' that's OK as well.

You got 2 years in and say you didn't find it all that hard... that was not my personal memory at the time it was a struggle and a grind for me (maths especially) but I'm glad I can look back now and say that I did.

[apis]

Many companies, typically the larger ones, will receive many resumes for an open position and the initial screening process is based on very scant reading of them. As someone who has screened many resumes, I would see dropping out of university as a major red flag whether it is a fair assessment or not.

I heard a "joke" from someone working at a big company recently: "We always begin by taking the top half of applications and throwing them in the bin. Those people were unlucky, and we wouldn't wan't to employ unlucky people anyway."

[Ice-Tea]

A degree backed candidate tells me one thing and one thing only - This person is prepared to take shit and get the job done.

^^ This.

Which is the opposite of what the OP is demonstrating. Much of the stuff you will have to do out in the big bad world will be less logical and more frustrating. Not the other way around.

[TK]

Finish your degree.  You can switch to another field if EE program is not for you

[EEVblog]

can I bring this hobby to a professional level where I could become employable in EE field someday in the near future ?

In most countries, yes. Experience and talent trumps qualifications.
In Australia for example very few employers care what qualifications you have, it's tucked away at the end of your resume.
Different countries and cultures vary.

[JohnnyMalaria]

can I bring this hobby to a professional level where I could become employable in EE field someday in the near future ?

In most countries, yes. Experience and talent trumps qualifications.
In Australia for example very few employers care what qualifications you have, it's tucked away at the end of your resume.
Different countries and cultures vary.

Keyword: experience. No previous employment in the field and no formal qualification? Hmm.

[Kjelt]

Recently I quit my university (EE) in Israel after finishing 2 years of materials that took me longer than that because I struggled with it.

Ok so are you more practical oriented or more theoretical?
What does your (dream) job look like ?

Is there some form of BSc education in your country with more practical classes (some fat in the meat to make you more enthousiastic than books alone ? )

My personal history: I did MBA at university for three years and quit halfway the 3rd year because I realized I hated most of the classes, it was superficial bullshit and I like to know more about electronics than organisational theory.
Changed to BSc EE and loved it all A's , then could not find work in EE so changed to embedded software, still close to the hardware and I like that very much.
A few years back my company wanted me to learn web stuff and all that was to far from hardware for me to stay interested so dropped that as well.
You have to find what you would like to do, best way is to join linkedin and start to link to persons close to your livingplace having a job you might like and start a coffee talk with them. Show them you are in doubt of which course and would like to know what their job looks like.
So start from the job you like, then see what education best fits that job.

Since I know some programming both from my high school and university and I fairly find it interesting to some degree, and after thinking of many options I'm thinking to take a university program in web development for 1 year, it's going to be mostly practical and job oriented with many projects so I can bare it.

This sounds like you are not really wanting it. Don't do it then. IMPE you should do what gives you energy to study and energy to do.
If you already think it is a struggle why do it ?

I will also learn some languages like Java and Python online on my own and work on some projects and by a year from now I could start working in this field, I need to have a reliable job at this point I'm 28 and married.

Ouch that changes things, if you are an earner you should look at evening studies. This is really hard, I had to do the last two years of my EE besides a day job, did not have a partner then so I put in 12 hours a weekday, 9 for work and 3 for study, in the weekends another 6 hours a day.

The good thing also is that software related jobs are open for people without a degree and it's more skill based than jobs in electrical engineering.

There are a lot of jobs yes, but you still have to pull your weight. Experience counts.

and getting away from electronics where my heart is, I'm fearful of that.

Why? You can always have it as a hobby. Change is often considered scary. After my EE I was pretty devistated that I had a SW role, but as long as it is close to hardware it was pretty fun. My knowledge of EE and hobby experience even made me more valuable than my other SW colleagues to the companies. I still practice it as a hobby which is also fun, without the pain of a boss or marketing guy demanding the impossible.

I considered that even having enough time for electronics as a hobby at home would be hard with a demanding Job in software

Nonsense argument, I proof you wrong. It is the wife that will take up the most free time next to your job 
How to manage that you have to find out on your own, each one comes with(out) a different manual.

and it would be harder to take my hobby in electronics to a more professional level without working in the industry.

That sounds like you would like to start your own business, which is again an entirely different path. What is it that you really want to do, and be reasonable , a superhero, billionaire business owner is not an answer.

What should I do ?

IMO at least get a BSc degree, perhaps besides a day or parttime job to help support your wife. Why a degree, because it helps getting hired and pays more in the long run than without a degree. The only reason a degree won't help is if you want to start your own business but from your words I don't hear an entrepreneur 

[Louai]

can I bring this hobby to a professional level where I could become employable in EE field someday in the near future ?

In most countries, yes. Experience and talent trumps qualifications.

That's nice but with 'Experience' you mean experience working in a company in the field or could be working on my own projects ? because if you mean the experience working in the field in a company then how could I get in the first place to the first company without a degree ? is there a way ?

[Mr. Scram]

^^ This.

Which is the opposite of what the OP is demonstrating. Much of the stuff you will have to do out in the big bad world will be less logical and more frustrating. Not the other way around.

I don't agree there. The real world makes much more sense and is a lot less artificial feeling than a lot of coursework. It's such a relief to do something useful, or something that has a chance of being useful.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Well, the way it's to go back to school and finish your EE degree or start a new one. There's no magic way to bypass the standard by which every applicant's academic prowess is assessed. Granted, specific academic discipline often falls by the wayside once you are on your career path but, as mentioned earlier, it's a way prospective employers assess your ability to apply yourself, deliver results etc. It signals your potential.

[Mr. Scram]

Well, the way it's to go back to school and finish your EE degree or start a new one. There's no magic way to bypass the standard by which every applicant's academic prowess is assessed.

Except that it's not, or not necessarily. In some countries people adhere to degrees a lot, in others other things are more important and in both cases there's exceptions either way. Not to mention we've told each other you need degrees to succeed so much that everybody and his cat has one, including a lot of people you wouldn't want to employ.

It tends to be a good start and make life a bit easier, I'll grant you that.

[Louai]

Buddy, I'm going to lay down some hard truths for you in the hopes that you reconsider your course of action. I've read hundreds of CV's doing hires in my workplace for EE's / Web devs / service technicians.

A degree backed candidate tells me one thing and one thing only - This person is prepared to take shit and get the job done. The value of a degree beyond that is minimal as I've seen PhD's apply for embedded firmware roles who don't know the difference between a char and an int. So I take degrees with a grain of salt for the most part. The biggest takeaway from such a candidate is at very least I'm looking at someone who can stick something through to the end and SEE THE JOB DONE <--- that's important.

Of course there are always exceptions, candidates who have a tone of projects and references behind them and no degree all that shows me the same thing... BUT they are extremely rare. AND depends on the role because that person is not likely to be put in charge of particle accelerator design - by way of example.

My first preference is to shortlist the degree candidates and keep the others hanging just in case ( I realize that might sound a little cut throat but them's be the breaks)

Perhaps after two years you just got a little burnt out and need a break, I get that and is totally cool. Perhaps after a rest you will go back and finish it?

Please though what ever course of action you take never ever say this in an interview "...because universities traditional dictating way of teaching..." and anyway if you really decide not to go back why not just say 'Hey I gave it a go and found EE was not for me after all' that's OK as well.

You got 2 years in and say you didn't find it all that hard... that was not my personal memory at the time it was a struggle and a grind for me (maths especially) but I'm glad I can look back now and say that I did.

I think you are misjudging when you say that university dropouts can't take shit and stick to end and GET THE JOB DONE, in my case I spent almost 4 years to finish 2 years of material. that shows my determination which I consider it more as stubbornness now.
I look at quitting differently, This shows that a person have the ability to self-assess and make tough decisions, good traits for employees to have. Especially when he didn't drop out of college to just waste time, and especially when financial reasons and family obligations exist!
As you said the degree doesn't show anything about your talent and ability, and more than that I see it as a waste of time, so I'm not inclined to go back and finish my degree, at least not in the coming few years, and I hope I won't NEED to do that in the future, Imagine how not motivated you would be going back to university to study more years to finish something that you know deep in yourself and by experience how vain it is for a shitty piece of paper when you can study much better on your own, it's depressing even to think about it.
I'm tired of doing that thing that contradict with my mind and soul just because it's needed for an imaginary job. the problem was always with motivation.
If I didn't need to work in the same time, If I didn't have family obligations maybe I would be able to take more of this shit until I finish it but I would still consider it an unfortunate waste of time because I know that deep with no argument about it. I just hope that the world was functioning differently in this matter.

And to all those who tell me that I should finish the degree, I'm sorry I already took the decision, and I can't be a full time student anymore so it's going to take more time if I goo back. and it doesn't help to change to another field than EE when it's going to be the same shit way of studying, EE is what I'm mostly interested in but universities teach it without context, not in an interactive way, too much theory and a little bit of the practical side, I like to learn in an interactive way, online self paced learning mostly, to learn by discovery.. then my goal of learning would be to find an answer for a question already in my head that came out of reality and practicing,mostly in order to implement it in something I'm working on, I'm motivated to study like this and could read a whole book in one day to find an answer for a specific known question.
but when I'm in university I don't decide what to study and when and in what pace, and the goal is to FINISH and FINISHING is not enough reason for motivating me in studying, especially when my knowledge is evaluated with a shitty impossible exam that the professor can't pass it himself, and when I feel my self an expert in a course and have to repeat it to improve my grade which was based on wrong evaluation system in the first place! for these reasons also most students end up forgetting all what they learned after the course is finished. it's not like you are working on a project that you want to finish it where you have a practical goal where you see real results of your effort.

[james_s]

A degree shouldn't really matter, but in many cases it does, especially to larger companies. It doesn't even have to be a degree in the field that interests you, having *any* degree will help you significantly and I say this as someone who dropped out of college due primarily to financial reasons at the time.

The degree certainly doesn't guarantee anything though. A few years ago I interviewed a gal who had a phd in EE, it was for a software job but being a hardware guy myself I was looking forward to talking to her. Well as it turned out she didn't seem to know much at all about EE, and didn't have the software skills we were looking for either. I've worked with some really brilliant people, and some less so and frankly I have not seen much correlation between the degrees they held and their abilities to do the job. If anything it seems the higher the degree, the less they have in practical abilities, but the degree will still help you get in the door.

If you do have to drop out of school, make sure you never stop learning. Also, having to finish a project you started, even if you are no longer interested in it or can't see it going anywhere in the market is a significant part of work. Employers will want to see that you can take on a project whether it personally interests you or not and drive it all the way to completion without being pushed along.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Well, the way it's to go back to school and finish your EE degree or start a new one. There's no magic way to bypass the standard by which every applicant's academic prowess is assessed.

Except that it's not, or not necessarily. In some countries people adhere to degrees a lot, in others other things are more important and in both cases there's exceptions either way. Not to mention we've told each other you need degrees to succeed so much that everybody and his cat has one, including a lot of people you wouldn't want to employ.

It tends to be a good start and make life a bit easier, I'll grant you that.

I understand where you are coming from. The OP has said he wants to move to the US in 3 years or so. Getting into a mainstream company for a professional engineering position will almost certainly require an appropriate degree. Of course, a smaller company that someone you know knows may offer you a position but at a lower level. The benefits would likely not be very good. At 28, starting a career in the US means playing catch up on retirement savings etc. That's a big deal that people that age generally ignore.

At some point everyone has to endure something the idea of which they detest and fear. Look beyond the fear and see the long term benefits of doing that thing. Just about everyone has tales to tell of the crap they have had to deal with during their career. It's just the way it is. Your seniors and elders call the shots. In my own case, about 3 years ago I was shuffled off into a part of the company that most people hated. It was also about 120 miles round trip everyday. The place was soul destroying. I didn't get to apply my knowledge. Well, I did. I solved multimillion dollar issues that the powers that be then chose to not implement. "What's the point?" I thought. I could have just left but there was a huge, huge carrot that meant I *had* to stay 2 more years - health insurance benefits for life after leaving. Everyday of those two years was a test of my resolve. I counted down the months, then the weeks, then the days and even the final hours. It was tough but it was the right thing to do for the sake of my future.

There also some seriously fucked up behaviors in Corporate <insert country>. One is that you may have been employed for your expertise, you may be known as both an internal and external expert in your field but your company won't listen to you. Instead, they'll pay for outside consultants to come in and believe them. It can be truly fucked up and I didn't see many beds of roses. It's a sad reality that for much of the time you don't get to flex the academic muscles that the company required from you but you deal with politics, incompetence and general bullshit.

[hermit]

I look at quitting differently, This shows that a person have the ability to self-assess and make tough decisions, good traits for employees to have. Especially when he didn't drop out of college to just waste time, and especially when financial reasons and family obligations exist!

What you think only counts if you are the person doing the hiring.  This tells me you'd be better off seeing if you can do some kind of self employment.

[JohnnyMalaria]

I'm going to put my hiring manager hat on. You have asked for advice and the advice you have received is overwhelmingly the same. You are coming across as not listening to that advice but being defensive and hoping someone will provide the key to unlock an imaginary door.

I think you are misjudging when you say that university dropouts can't take shit and stick to end and GET THE JOB DONE, in my case I spent almost 4 years to finish 2 years of material.

But you DIDN'T get the job done. You opted out. That's the point others are trying to make.

This shows that a person have the ability to self-assess and make tough decisions, good traits for employees to have. Especially when he didn't drop out of college to just waste time, and especially when financial reasons and family obligations exist!

As hiring manager, all I get is you didn't finish the job. The reasons may be very noble. How you respond to family matters may have no bearing on your staying power in a corporate environment.

and I hope I won't NEED to do that in the future

The odds are very high that you will.

Imagine how not motivated you would be going back to university to study more years to finish something that you know deep in yourself and by experience how vain it is for a shitty piece of paper when you can study much better on your own, it's depressing even to think about it.

I'd be impressed that you faced something you passionately didn't want to do so that you could provide a better future for you and your family.

it's needed for an imaginary job. the problem was always with motivation.

Imaginary? Yes, motivation is a problem especially if you admit to have an issue with it before you are even through the door.

I just hope that the world was functioning differently in this matter.

Well, it doesn't.

but when I'm in university I don't decide what to study and when and in what pace, and the goal is to FINISH and FINISHING is not enough reason for motivating me in studying

Two deal breakers. You would be employed to complete projects that the company requires for its business. You won't get to pick and choose your work nor the timeframe to complete it.

I'm sorry you are frustrated. The advice given in the many responses to your original question is well-intentioned.

[eyiz]

What should I do ?
Could you think of a path to take in software that could bring me at some point to electronics without a degree ?
Is it reasonable to have an electronics hobby while working in different field that needs self improvement on it's own beyond the working hours? and can I bring this hobby to a professional level where I could become employable in EE field someday in the near future ?

Everything is possible. Follow your passion. As I see it, the only problem you have is that you're married. Single people can take time out to pursue all sorts of interests. Thinking only of themselves, and their own self development. But, married people have to allocate time to the spouse, and kids when they come along. That's a reality that must be taken into account.

You can do anything, but you can't have everything.

You can, for example, get into web development, and use that skill for earning income. Then, use that skill again to set up and run your own Electronics web site in your spare time, learning Electronics on your own, as you go along. Fill your Electronics site with lots of content that brings in visitors, then sell those eyeballs to advertisers, to earn some extra income from your hobby passion. Then, sign up for some online Electronics courses, and eventually enroll in some University Official distance learning program and complete your degree in EE. Now, with your Electronics web site, and EE degree, and web development skills, to make you look smart on your resume, you apply to for a job at some company that sees the value in having someone around with that particular complement of skills. With your foot in the door, at one of these companies, you can then work your way towards whatever particular area of focus you might have. Some companies will even pay for additional education for you, some even pay for your PhD, which you can actually do sometimes while working at that company etc..all you really need is to "demonstrate" a strong interest and high motivation to the right person in these companies. By your Electronics web site, and online courses, you'd "demonstrate" that committment and interest to the field. So, go for it, and beg the wife forgiveness for any neglect she feels because your attention is focused on your true passion.


 

[IanB]

You've written so much stuff that paints a really unfortunate picture. Let me pick just one quote out of all of it:

I'm tired of doing that thing that contradict with my mind and soul just because it's needed for an imaginary job.

What makes you think that a real job won't be just the same only more so?

For heaven's sake don't try to work in programming/web development. That is the definition of a high stress, head down, get it done quickly, don't question orders kind of workplace.

But it seems to me that what you are having trouble with is "mind work". That doesn't seem to fit your temperament. If you don't find enjoyment in solving abstract problems then you need to find something more concrete and practical instead. Something hands on, mechanical, physical, perhaps?

[ucanel]

I am sorry to hear you drop the EE,
as I understood you could easily finish it if you change your point of wiev.

As an EEE and little job experienced one (2 years)
I used all of the things at my job that I learned at the university,
everything come across this or that way usefull for the real job,
and  many times I got the real meaning of what I have learned at the school when doing a job.

I do not want to encourage you to not to ever finish your degree but
I had to say this, my last boss did not have the even high school degree
but he was really really very hard working person and
he was knowing the needed subjects for the job he was doing better than me, I learned so many things from him.
As an primary school degree boss he has nearly 100 employees,
and he is building control cards for nearly 30 years.

[rhb]

Read "Max Wien, Mr. Hewlett and a Rainy Sunday Afternoon" by Jim Williams.  Then read who Jim Williams was and what Bob Pease and others had to say about him when Jim died.   Also read about Bob Pease and Bob Widlar and read articles they wrote for trade magazines.

You'll find it difficult to get a job without a degree except as a technician.  But Jim worked at MIT for many years as a technician at low pay.

I personally am now completely unwilling to take a class in anything.  But I have 12 years of university and a 5000+ volume technical library.  I spent 4 years pursuing a PhD at UT Austin and only abandoned it when my supervisor, who was going blind at the time, dropped my support.  I was not going to start over at Stanford and spend another 4-6 years not making any money.  I'd already lost $100K in income working as an RA.

I did not get my union card, but I acquired the skills the PhD brings with it.  I recently spent 3 years teaching myself sparse L1 pursuits from "A Mathematical Introduction to Compressive Sensing" by Foucart and Rauhut and the 3rd ed of "A Wavelet Tour of Signal Processing" by Mallat.  That is by far and away the most challenging mathematics I've ever tackled.

Much of university is a con job, but not engineering.  The fact is a BSEE is a pretty bare bones training.  It really takes an MSEE to be good.  There is just too much you need to learn to do it in 4-5 years.  It really takes 6-8 years of *hard* work.  If you're not having fun you won't be able to keep up.  Yes, you will forget a lot of things because you don't do them regularly.  that's life.  All the MSEE says is that you have a reasonably broad exposure to the subject and you know a fair bit about your thesis project.

I dropped out twice before I completed my BA in English literature.  I was bored even though I was reading as many books each week outside of class as I was for class.  Pretty much a full length novel every day.  When I was out of school I worked construction, cleanup in a milk bottling plant and other similar jobs.  I also took a lot of geology classes for my electives.  I then spent 18 months as a cafeteria assistant manager because I'd grown up in the restaurant business and that was the best job I could get with an English degree.  I then paid my way through  3.5 years getting an MS in geology doing construction in the summers and holidays.  When I finished here were no jobs in my chosen specialty, igneous petrology, so I took a job in the oil industry as a geophysicist on the promise of training I never received.  So my evenings and weekends were spent with a stack of books teaching myself how to do my job the next day.

Like the others, I think you have unrealistic expectations of life.  Lots of younger people do in the developed world.  My father used to say that the natural condition of mankind was starvation and wretchedness and everyone deserved an equal opportunity to fail.  You are only special if you work at being special.

I learned my sophomore year working in a Pizza Hut, that it's more important to learn to enjoy what you have to do than it is finding something you enjoy.  I made a game of getting just the right amount of dough and getting it perfectly round just to avoid being bored out of my skull. Every job has its downside.  If it didn't, you would be paying them.

[Kjelt]

Pff you don't want to know how many MsEE colleagues I had that knew nothing anymore about any EE related topic because they choose a different job. If you don't use it regularly its gone after a few years.
So many many degrees are about having done it not about knowing it, let alone about being able to do it.

The whole gamechanger is the person that can use the old knowledge to come to something completely new. Often having old knowledge could hamper someone into thinking out of the box to get to something new. Creativity can't be taught, you just have to do it.

[Fire Doger]

I am sorry to hear you drop the EE,
as I understood you could easily finish it if you change your point of wiev.

As an EEE and little job experienced one (2 years)
I used all of the things at my job that I learned at the university,
everything come across this or that way usefull for the real job,
and  many times I got the real meaning of what I have learned at the school when doing a job.

I do not want to encourage you to not to ever finish your degree but
I had to say this, my last boss did not have the even high school degree
but he was really really very hard working person and
he was knowing the needed subjects for the job he was doing better than me, I learned so many things from him.
As an primary school degree boss he has nearly 100 employees,
and he is building control cards for nearly 30 years.

This.

You have to understand that as an engineer you can only get the job done with knowledge.
You are not a hacker/maker nor a hobbiest, you must get the JOB DONE, and thats the harder part because you you cant skip steps, you have to know what you don't already know to so you can learn it and do the job!

I have heard lately the term "fast food generation" and perfectly fits on your situation.
There are a lot of ways to learn something, to learn it properly you have to use all the ways.

You can learn how to fix a Mac by working on a repair service, if you know how a computer works you can fix any motherboard. To understand how each component on a motherboard works you need a ton of knowledge. If you have experience and you know things that may looked useless when you learned them this ton will be reduced significantly.

University has a reason on what it teaches you, way of teaching may not be efficient but your job is to get most of what it can offers and use it to become better.

Noone can teach you how to be an engineer or get the job done, this is the result of constantly learning and that's why experience beats degrees, because everything comes in place and you keep adding from overcoming difficulties.