I’m an AN/SPY-1D(v) Radar technician for the US Navy and I’m interested in getting into EE. I’d like to talk and get to know people in the community as well as get any tips for entering the field.

 

The best advice I can give is to make sure you have a solid foundation. There is literally nothing worse than pulling the trigger too soon, becoming overwhelmed, and quitting in disgust. On the way to your goal, you're going to need to tackle some subjects for which you may have less passion and little interest. The main areas that I am thinking about are mathematics and writing. You do not want to embark on an engineering program without a solid background in mathematics, and you certainly will need to know how to communicate with the written word.

Posting on this forum is good practice for writing and I encourage you to make use of it. As you can see there are numerous sub forums where you can ask questions and get some answers. When it comes to working on problems, we do encourage folks to show us their best attempts before guiding them to a solution. It is homework help, not homework done for you.

Good luck on your journey and thank you for your service.

 

The best advice I can give is to make sure you have a solid foundation. There is literally nothing worse than pulling the trigger too soon, becoming overwhelmed, and quitting in disgust. On the way to your goal, you're going to need to tackle some subjects for which you may have less passion and little interest. The main areas that I am thinking about are mathematics and writing. You do not want to embark on an engineering program without a solid background in mathematics, and you certainly will need to know how to communicate with the written word.

Posting on this forum is good practice for writing and I encourage you to make use of it. As you can see there are numerous sub forums where you can ask questions and get some answers. When it comes to working on problems, we do encourage folks to show us their best attempts before guiding them to a solution. It is homework help, not homework done for you.

Good luck on your journey and thank you for your service.

My writing could definitely stand to improve, but I feel as though I have a good understanding of mathematics as far as starting out goes. Thank you for your support and advice.

 

Welcome to AAC!

I’m an AN/SPY-1D(v) Radar technician for the US Navy and I’m interested in getting into EE. I’d like to talk and get to know people in the community as well as get any tips for entering the field.

You should talk to people with your background who pursued EE jobs after leaving the US Navy.

All of the people I met with electronics backgrounds from the USN needed some basic classes before they were employable as technicians. I only knew one who worked in an engineering position, but I don't know if he needed more education after leaving the USN. He wasn't a very good designer, but he had a job where it didn't require much design expertise.

 

Welcome to AAC!

You should talk to people with your background who pursued EE jobs after leaving the US Navy.

All of the people I met with electronics backgrounds from the USN needed some basic classes before they were employable as technicians. I only knew one who worked in an engineering position, but I don't know if he needed more education after leaving the USN. He wasn't a very good designer, but he had a job where it didn't require much design expertise.

Taking courses is inevitable, since a degree cannot be obtained with OJT experience alone. A reason I joined this forum is because in my experience, a lot of people in my background don’t pursue engineering degrees; they simply work for one of the big mil tech companies like Raytheon or Lockheed Martin as a SME contractor.

 

My writing could definitely stand to improve, but I feel as though I have a good understanding of mathematics as far as starting out goes. Thank you for your support and advice.

Among the first-year math classes will be calculus and linear algebra. This is one place you may be quickly overwhelmed. If those two are not enough to set you back, then how about solving systems of simultaneous linear equations.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from pursuing this goal, I just want you to have your eyes open. When considering courses you might take pay particular attention to their prerequisites. Do not under any circumstances take ANY course for which you do not have the proper foundations. If in doubt, talk to the professor or your academic advisor. They can help you decide if your preparation is adequate. If you did not take four years of math in high school with grades of B+ or better, then I'm guessing some remedial math will be required. This is not a bad thing, and it will give you the confidence to proceed.

EDIT: One more thing. You need to have two books in your permanent library:
https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Sty...&sprefix=the+elements+of+style,aps,447&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/How-Solve-Ma...801102&sprefix=how+to+solve+it,aps,261&sr=8-1

These were both invaluable to me when I was an undergraduate (ca. 1965-1969) and remain so today.

 

Among the first-year math classes will be calculus and linear algebra. This is one place you may be quickly overwhelmed. If those two are not enough to set you back, then how about solving systems of simultaneous linear equations.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from pursuing this goal, I just want you to have your eyes open. When considering courses you might take pay particular attention to their prerequisites. Do not under any circumstances take ANY course for which you do not have the proper foundations. If in doubt, talk to the professor or your academic advisor. They can help you decide if your preparation is adequate. If you did not take four years of math in high school with grades of B+ or better, then I'm guessing some remedial math will be required. This is not a bad thing, and it will give you the confidence to proceed.

Thank you for the advice. I’ll be sure to keep the prerequisites in mind. I’ve independently studied calculus and linear algebra to a decent degree of confidence in my ability to perform integration and matrix operations in my attempts at understanding the meaning of maxwell’s equations.

 

Thank you for the advice. I’ll be sure to keep the prerequisites in mind. I’ve independently studied calculus and linear algebra to a decent degree of confidence in my ability to perform integration and matrix operations in my attempts at understanding the meaning of maxwell’s equations.

That's good, you might be further along than I thought. I wish you well.

 

Take some time to think about all of the different types of electronic engineering there are and all of the different types of products you might work on. If it is a growing segment of the industry that's great but it should be one in which you are truly interested.

I spent my years as an employee in Silicon Valley companies. Many people I knew stayed with the same kinds of products as they bounced from company to company (and sometimes it was pretty violent bouncing!) I walked into a Job interview in Taiwan and ran smack into an old friend with whom I had worked twice before in Silicon Valley. Once you acquire a "bag of tricks" and become proficient in a product area you become more valuable, and an important part of that is you need to really enjoy your part of the field. Think carefully.

 

That's good, you might be further along than I thought. I wish you well.

Likewise,

That's good, you might be further along than I thought. I wish you well.

Thanks for the kind words. I wish you the best as well.

Once you do understand the meaning of Maxwell equations whatever you do...do not let your ego get in way.

And thank you for your service!

Of course, I am humbled to receive guidance from anyone in pursuit of my goal, even if I one day attain accolades as a leader in the field, one must accept that everyone can teach you something. Thank you for your support!

 

I’m an AN/SPY-1D(v) Radar technician for the US Navy and I’m interested in getting into EE. I’d like to talk and get to know people in the community as well as get any tips for entering the field.

Follow your heart. If you 'love' electronics then a electrical engineering education will be a labor of love with the level of money VETS get today. I paid for my education with the old Vietnam war GI Bill. Use your money wisely.
https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career-Management/Education/GI-Bill/Vietnam-Era-GI-Bill/

If you still like Radar there's phased-array systems in Weather and commercial applications.
https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/tools/radar/mpar/

 

First - thank you for your service and keeping my family safe at night, particularly in this time of uncertainty.
Second - If you like being a radar technician - have you thought about being a radar tech in industry? It's a highly valued skill - it can frankly pay as well as the engineers with OT/Holiday Pay/etc - but doesn't come with all the stress of being responsible for the design of the systems. But there is a glass ceiling on what you can do as a tech that will be hard to break if you want to move up. I will bet you can be one of the best in your class if you do pursue the EE. Many vets are good at engineering. Their disciplined, they see the end game, and they are goal driven. All skills learned in the military that have made them very successful in my interactions with vets.
Third - Good luck, and I'm glad my taxes are going to pay your GI Bill if you choose to go that route.

 

Many times during my career I would look around me, be it in the lab, at my desk, or some meeting room, etc. and remind myself how terribly lucky I was to be doing something I love and getting paid to do it, have my expenses covered and people hired to help me. I hope that can be part of your goal.

 

I’m an AN/SPY-1D(v) Radar technician for the US Navy and I’m interested in getting into EE. I’d like to talk and get to know people in the community as well as get any tips for entering the field.

Not sure of what today's GI bill does but take advantage of every benefit they offer. While my career was nine years Marine Corps my later active duty was with Naval commands NAVAIR. Try to use your off duty time on the books. This will afford you a good foundation. Today an BSEE is not like years ago. With the basics out of the way most turn to the various directions within the field. Years ago things were simpler. Find yourself what you want to pursue and follow it. I have been retired going on 9 years and looking back it was a hell of a great ride. So my advice is take advantage of every benefit to help you get from where you are to where you want to be. That done as you move along choose the disciplines in electrical engineering which interest you, the proverbial classic I ask the grandkids, what do you want to be? Wish you the very best. Map out your future.

Ron

 

I was a FT(SS). I went to work as a Controls technician for a year after getting out in 2008. I then decided to avail myself of the Post-911 GI bill and go for EE so I quit my job and went full time. After a few months in school I got bored so I started an LLC to continue working for previous employer as a vendor (they would not agree to a part-time position) and picked up a few more customers as well. It wasn't until near the end of my first year in school that I researched the salary of an Electrical Engineer. I was dismayed to find that the white collar position I was seeking paid less than the blue collar one I left behind. In fact it paid less than I was making with my LLC side hustle. So I quit school and went full time self employed. From there I went through periods of sometimes 100% self employed, sometimes working for an employer, sometimes both. But I ended up finding myself in an Engineering position despite not getting my degree. For the past 6 years I've worked as a Controls Engineer by day and a rogue Field Service Technician by night.

My recommendations are:
- Research the salary. It's not what it should be because the job is outsourced to India and other countries whenever possible. You're competing with people who will work for $5k/yr salary.
- if you're passionate about EE, go for it anyway. Doing something you find fulfilling is better than doing something you hate, just for the money.
- don't quit your job to go to school full time. I mean, go full time, but don't quit your job. "Full time" college was presented to me as something that would require a great amount of time and effort. It turns out that was based on the relative amount of time and effort expended by the average fresh high school graduate. Someone who has experienced 60 hour work days at sea will find it laughable.
- get yourself mentally prepared to go back to high school, sitting in a classroom full of 18 year olds.
- start an LLC. Comes in handy for lots of things and it's free for veterans (at least it was here in TX). Never know, maybe you want to pressure wash driveways or mow grass to supplement your GI cheese, this gives you a way to do that legally and protect your pocketbook if someone decides to sue you claiming that you took $5k worth of paint off their garage door with your pressure washer.