Any electronics technicians/Electric engineers around?Because I want to learn electronics technology.

[Black Haven]

I’ve always been fascinated by electronics since I was a child but lately I’ve been curious about how it all works from the schematics, diagrams, components and, even the math and science(despite not being proficient at it atm but I’m willing )behind it.I know it’s going to be INCREDIBLY difficult but I’m so serious about this I have even decided to turn down a chance at an electrical apprenticeship to pursue this career. I just want some advice and guidance on what books to read on, best electronic kits, improve my problem solving abilities or the best study techniques. I already been on khan academy and even purchased a physics book and thinking of getting Boolean algebra and linear algebra books aswell. My girlfriend was also generous enough to give me her pre calculus text book she never turned in after high school lol. Any feedback would be nice.

 

[IIVI]

Unless you want to do it mainly as a hobby, I'd really suggest start going to school as soon as you can and take it one set of courses at a time. It's highly difficult to find work as an EE if you do not have an ABET-accredited college degree.That's because a company doesn't want to make themselves liable by hiring an engineer with no formal credential. It'll be tough to break into the industry without a degree, that was true before then and in this job market especially true now.

When in school, make sure to get a good understanding of each semesters' courses as the next will build on it. You can't shortcut the process so prepare for the grind. It'll take years to earn the title of engineer and years to build that knowledge. If your pre-Algebra is weak, your Algebra will be weak. If your Geometry is weak then your Trig will be weak. If both of those are weak, your Calculus and Physics will be weak, etc. EE is one of the heaviest Math fields out there so make sure the math knowledge is comfortable. You'll definitely be making use of everything you learn in a standard Pre-Calc book: Trig, Complex Numbers, Secants/Tangent Lines, etc. However, taking Algebra I and II, Geometry and Trig courses go into the material deeper (and will provide more practice). Taking the easy courses will build familiarity and confidence. Later on you'll see how it all relates and has useful applications (like Euler's Formula).

I'm finishing up a degree in EE right now because I truly found what I wanted to do while working in full stack software. The last time I studied Physics and Math was back around 2011. I'm really fortunate that I took those subjects very seriously from day 1 and tried to learn everything about them, how each piece of knowledge relates to one another and studied to make sure the material is 2nd nature and intuitive to me. Going back to school over 10 years later and I remember so much of this stuff because I really took time to understand and make it intuitive the first time rather than just memorizing things to pass an exam. Yes, anybody can learn subjects to that extent by simply making the decision to go the extra mile day after day. It sounds like a lot, but the nice thing about Math is when a concept is understood the details don't have to be memorized as they can be derived from the understanding (some memorization is needed though, don't get me wrong). Do all your homework, not to earn marks but to check for understanding.


That's so true for any STEM field.

You don't got to be an A student, but really make sure you understand the critical information and fundamentals of each course good enough. You're only cheating yourself if you don't. At the end of each course look back and make sure you walk away knowing the main points. Use all resources available - text books, professors/staff, tutors, Youtube, Khan Academy, Google, classmates, ChatGPT to help with explanations (the newer generations of A.I tools for education will probably be insane), etc. to get to that point. When you see a problem that's tough, break it down into it's components and see if you understand each component and that component's subcomponents. If not, that's an opportunity to go back and make the information concrete and intuitive. Do extra problems. Speaking of which these are highly useful tools for circuits:
https://www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html (good visualization tool)
autoCircuits (will generate random circuits and answers)

If you want to get ahead, look at the very first Math course you're going to take and get a grasp on that before you start taking courses. If it's basic Math/Pre-Algebra don't be discouraged or embarrassed, everybody got to start somewhere. It's not about comparison or competition, it's about knowledge and getting more practice in the fundamentals to get a deeper understanding of that layer/level of material. I started college in Algebra I and now I'm completing Upper Division EE courses. All those practice problems I've done prepared me far more than just going into Pre-Calc right away. It's the slower route that requires more courses, but it was 100% worth it. Standard Geometry knowledge is so overlooked because people think they're above taking a Pre-Algebra level course, but three semesters of Calculus-based Physics all make use of Geometric relationships to resolve Forces.

Overall, the whole program and material might sound like a lot, and it is, but it's not about how smart anyone is as it's completely doable for the average person as long as they're dedicated. In the past people got it done with so fewer resources so it's exponentially easier today than it's ever been over the last 40 years. Like I said, take it one step at a time rather than firehose everything. It's an enormous field but don't get overwhelmed, start small and focused and maintain that scope each semester - the knowledge will build from there.

If for purely hobby and you just want to setup a lab at your place, I found this recently and thought it looked very cool: InventrKits – Make Something Meaningful. Then go from there. Your focus should really be on Math though if you want to finish college. Very few graduating Electrical Engineering majors don't even touch their first piece of hardware until their Junior year of college. It won't hurt to get ahead, but not at the expense of ignoring the Math foundation.

Best of luck breh!

 

[Black Haven]

Unless you want to do it mainly as a hobby, I'd really suggest start going to school as soon as you can and take it one set of courses at a time. It's highly difficult to find work as an EE if you do not have an ABET-accredited college degree. It'll be tough to break into the industry without a degree, that was true before then and in this job market especially true now. That's because a company doesn't want to make themselves liable by hiring an engineer with no formal credential.

When in school, make sure to get a good understanding of each semesters' courses as the next will build on it. You can't shortcut the process so prepare for the grind. It'll take years to earn the title of engineer and years to build that knowledge. If your pre-Algebra is weak, your Algebra will be weak. If your Geometry is weak then your Trig will be weak. If both of those are weak, your Calculus and Physics will be weak, etc. EE is one of the heaviest math fields out there so make sure the math knowledge is comfortable. You'll definitely be making use of everything you learn in a standard pre-calc book: trig, complex numbers, secants/tangent lines, etc. However, the Algebra I, II and courses specifically about Trig go into the material deeper (and will provide more practice). Later on you'll see how it all relates and has useful applications (like Euler's Formula).

I'm finishing up a degree in EE right now because I truly found what I wanted to do while working in full stack software. The last time I studied Physics and Math was back around 2011. I'm really fortunate that I took those subjects very seriously from day 1 and tried to learn everything about them, how each piece of knowledge relates to one another and studied to make sure the material is 2nd nature and intuitive to me. Going back to school over 10 years later and I remember so much of this stuff because I really took time to understand it and make it intuitive the first time rather than just memorizing things to pass an exam. Yes, anybody can learn subjects to that extent by simply making the decision to go the extra mile day after day. It sounds like a lot, but the nice thing about Math is when a concept is understood the details don't have to be memorized as they can be derived from the understanding (some memorization is needed, don't get me wrong). Do all your homework, not to earn marks but to check for understanding.


That's so true for any STEM field.

You don't got to be an A student, but really make sure you understand the critical information and fundamentals of each course good enough. You're only cheating yourself if you don't. At the end of each course look back and make sure you walk away knowing the main points. Use all resources available - text books, professors/staff, tutors, Youtube, Khan Academy, Google, classmates, ChatGPT to help with explanations (the newer generations of A.I tools for education will probably be insane), etc. to get to that point. When you see a problem that's tough, break it down into it's components and see if you understand each component and that component's subcomponents. If not, that's an opportunity to go back and make the information concrete and intuitive. Do extra problems. Speaking of which these are highly useful tools for circuits:
https://www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html (good visualization tool)
autoCircuits (will generate random circuits and answers)

If you want to get ahead, look at the very first math course you're going to take and get a grasp on that before you start taking courses. If it's basic math/pre-algebra don't be discouraged, everybody got to start somewhere. I started college in Algebra I and now I'm completing Upper Division EE courses. I might sound like a lot, and it is, but it's not about how smart anyone is as it's completely doable for the average person as long as they're dedicated. In the past people got it done with so fewer resources, it's exponentially easier today. Like I said, take it one step at a time rather than firehose everything. It's an enormous field but don't get overwhelmed, start small and focused and maintain that scope each semester - the knowledge will build from there.

If for purely hobby and you just want to setup a lab at your place, I found this recently and thought it looked very cool: InventrKits – Make Something Meaningful. Then go from there. Your focus should really be on Math though if you want to finish college. Very few Electrical Engineering majors don't even touch their first piece of hardware until their Junior year of college. It won't hurt to get ahead, but not at the expense of ignoring the Math foundation.

Best of luck breh!

Thanks for the detailed reply I realize appreciate it. I have a question, is it recommended I should I attend a community college and transfer credits to a 4 year university in EE?

 

[IIVI]

Thanks for the detailed reply I realize appreciate it. I have a question, is it recommended I should I attend a community college and transfer credits to a 4 year university in EE?

No problem breh.

I honestly would do as much as I can in Junior college as it's the cheapest route.

I'd try and take Math up to Differential Equations, all Calculus-based Physics courses (usually there are three of them) and any kind of Programming/Computer Science courses you can take at a Junior College that would meet your target University's program.

Basically take every single thing you can take at a Junior College imo. It's cheaper and classes aren't as packed so you can get more help.

Considering how many resources there are available, the quality of instruction on a course like Calculus II at a Junior College vs University won't matter. If you have a problem with your current professor or you can't understand something, there are so many lanes to get help and explanations now compared to the past so don't think you're missing on any kind of quality by finishing what you can at a Community College.

That said, I cannot emphasize enough how vital it is to do the assigned problems and finding more problems from other sources (and they have an answer key to check with). Do not get caught up in the cycle of attending class, reading the book, watching lectures, etc. and think you have the material down. Completing problem sets are what you'll most likely learn the material the most from as you'll most likely be referencing back to learning materials often to knock down knowledge barriers and fill knowledge gaps.

 

[slikkp]

I have my BSEE. Do as the poster above said and take as many classes as possible at community college before transferring to a 4year ABET accredited university.

 

[Black Haven]

I have my BSEE. Do as the poster above said and take as many classes as possible at community college before transferring to a 4year ABET accredited university.

Appreciate it fam I found a cc that can actually probably transfer me University Parallel, Engineering Emphasis - AS

Also Hats off to you and @IIVI for pursuing and capturing this degree that’s apparently on some seven levels of hell lol. I hope I can pull it off without psyching myself out

 

[IIVI]

Appreciate it fam I found a cc that can actually probably transfer me University Parallel, Engineering Emphasis - AS

Also Hats off to you and @IIVI for pursuing and capturing this degree that’s apparently on some seven levels of hell lol. I hope I can pull it off without psyching myself out

No worry breh. Straight up though, there's no reason to be psyched out. It ain't like you're trying to make the NFL or NBA. A lot of people graduate with a degree in electrical engineering each year (along with may other advanced degrees) - it's completely doable for the average person if they maintain discipline and take it one step at a time. Stay focused on the classes you're actively taking, seeing how it relates to what you already know/have learned and go from there. Next thing you know your knowledge will be at a point where you'll be a professional.

 

[slikkp]

One last bit of advice is knock out all your Calculus as soon as possible. At my school, you needed Calc 2 to take any EE classes beyond circuit theory and Calc 3 to take any classes beyond electromagnetics. If you can get all math and physics out the way early, progressing through the degree program will be easier.

 

[mson]

Do all your homework, not to earn marks but to check for understanding.

 

[Gritsngravy]

You should probably go to a community college and take every math and physics class they have to see if you like it

And I’m assuming you were trying to become an electrician, you should probably still pursue that, you can do both, the hands on nature of an electrician will help a lot towards becoming an engineer

Matter of fact I just noticed u specified “electronics technology”, you should definitely still see about that apprenticeship

 

[Black Haven]

You should probably go to a community college and take every math and physics class they have to see if you like it

And I’m assuming you were trying to become an electrician, you should probably still pursue that, you can do both, the hands on nature of an electrician will help a lot towards becoming an engineer

Matter of fact I just noticed u specified “electronics technology”, you should definitely still see about that apprenticeship

From my understanding in researching on both subjects and hearing from people with years of experience in both fields that doesn’t seem to be the case. Going the electrician route won’t help me understand how to design an electric system nor help me understand physics to degree that I want to. Sure it may help me with ohms law but, EE seems to go more in depth than that. Besides I’m already in my early thirties I don’t want anymore wear and tear on my body atm, but thanks for the advice.

 

[Gritsngravy]

From my understanding in researching on both subjects and hearing from people with years of experience in both fields that doesn’t seem to be the case. Going the electrician route won’t help me understand how to design an electric system nor help me understand physics to degree that I want to. Sure it may help me with ohms law but, EE seems to go more in depth than that. Besides I’m already in my early thirties I don’t want anymore wear and tear on my body atm, but thanks for the advice.

Well here’s is my thinking on the matter, not saying you should do this, but it sounds like you starting from the beginning, it’s going to take about 5 years or more to earn that degree, you stick with electrician because of the hands on knowledge and experience and it’s definitely “engineering” jobs out there that will accept your electrician experience, for example I’m looking at this job application at Leidos for a power engineer position, the requirements for the job is a bachelors in ee and 12 years certified electrician, more likely than not you will be working with electricians with most ee jobs

I’m just saying it doesn’t hurt to do both, it shouldn’t interfere that much with each other, think of it like a job you do to pay for school