can i self develop to electronic eng

Thread Starter

charles2014

Joined Aug 20, 2016
4
I am 28 yrs , Graduated as electro-mechanical eng, have some background of electronics especially power electronics, but i want to completely change direction to become an electronic eng by self studying please help me guys.

I real, have hobby of being electronic expert,

Its my dream though i wasn't admitted to electronic class during application to college.


Please help
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,157
In today's competitive environment with graduate engineers being downsized out of a job on a regular basis; how do you plan to compete with them? The only thing I can think of is to leverage your existing skills at your current job and look for opportunities to develop new ones.
 

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
And being 28, you still have plenty of time to develop those skills. I'd do as Papabravo suggests. Dedicate yourself to your current job, and try to guide your professional trajectory to which you want to go along the way.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Agree with above. There's no problem learning the material on your own, but no one will recognize you for your new education without a formal degree of some sort. Then, you're in head-to-head competition with other degreed candidates.

Merging a hobby with a career is not always the best way to go. You can continue as a hobbyist in one area while still having a career in another. I've seen many times where a person interested in a field becomes frustrated and disgusted with it when they get formal education in that area. That's not what interested them about their hobby. Flying model airplanes doesn't mean you'd like aeronautical engineering.
 

ninjaman

Joined May 18, 2013
341
i am in the same position. studying through distance learning. it can be hard learning on your own but reading and practical stuff will get you there. this forum is helpful. find as many different options as possible, dont go with the first one or the most expensive. i looked around for a while trying to find different options. i then found a distance learning course that was the same price but offered a greater range of units. though the coursework required you to research the information yourself. not too difficult really, just a bit confusing depending where you get your information. using simulation software is quick compared to actually making things, but making things offers a lot more when it comes to practical experience/knowledge. i learnt more by working with my tools, making mistakes and fixing those mistakes.
 

hp1729

Joined Nov 23, 2015
2,304
I am 28 yrs , Graduated as electro-mechanical eng, have some background of electronics especially power electronics, but i want to completely change direction to become an electronic eng by self studying please help me guys.

I real, have hobby of being electronic expert,

Its my dream though i wasn't admitted to electronic class during application to college.


Please help
Possible, but who would recognize it?
 
I was lucky in 1980, I got on a government training course in industrial electronics.
From that got my city and guild certificate.
That got me into my first job just testing and aligning equipment.
From there I learned how the equipment worked and progressed to repairing it.
Then I got into designing equipment.
Then an opportunity came up to write some software for some equipment and I enjoyed that.
I was then offered a job as electronics design consultant.
I did that for 13 years then became Chief design engineer for another company.
In that I didn't study electronics further but did do a part degree course in software engineering.
I now run my own company.
 

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
I was lucky in 1980, I got on a government training course in industrial electronics.
From that got my city and guild certificate.
That got me into my first job just testing and aligning equipment.
From there I learned how the equipment worked and progressed to repairing it.
Then I got into designing equipment.
Then an opportunity came up to write some software for some equipment and I enjoyed that.
I was then offered a job as electronics design consultant.
I did that for 13 years then became Chief design engineer for another company.
In that I didn't study electronics further but did do a part degree course in software engineering.
I now run my own company.
Congrats, that's some trajectory.
What does your company do?
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
I tried that. It doesn't work.
As a self taught person, I was correcting degreed engineers for a living at 23 years old, but I could never get paid for it.
With the diploma, you can get paid a professional salary and be incompetent compared to a brilliant technician.
As a brilliant technician, you can get minimum wage for correcting new designs by people with college degrees.
My highest pay as a technician was $13/hour.
So I changed to air conditioning and worked for myself.
My last year in business, I averaged $125/hour.

Let me break that down: Corporations are not going to pay you what you're worth. They are going to give that money to the people with college degrees who depend on you correcting their designs. I changed to what is called a, "tradesman" and got paid.:cool:
 

laceholes

Joined Jul 26, 2016
30
I agree with papabravo. Starting as an apprentice I did this myself and eventually I designed and developed the world's first Cat 3 B ILS ground transmitter for Standard Telephones and Cables. They gave me the job because they could see that I was good with electronics design of small odds and ends that they had wanted previously. Jobs are also a matter of who you know and what they think of you, you know.
 

Thread Starter

charles2014

Joined Aug 20, 2016
4
I agree with papabravo. Starting as an apprentice I did this myself and eventually I designed and developed the world's first Cat 3 B ILS ground transmitter for Standard Telephones and Cables. They gave me the job because they could see that I was good with electronics design of small odds and ends that they had wanted previously. Jobs are also a matter of who you know and what they think of you, you know.


Your right what if am not employed i am still hunting for job related to my career as electro-mechanical but infact i need to develop myself in electronics so that i will be able to develop personal projects of robotics and mechatronix
 

Thread Starter

charles2014

Joined Aug 20, 2016
4
you hiring?


How did you start and manage to start your own company ? i think you have first develop your skills in the related field, that is why i need to develop myself on this field of electronics becsuse even its projects are not costly than mechanical and others.


If you design a mechanical mashine it need a lot of money to make it physical unless most of the projects are ended up on the drawing and sketches, that why i need to strengthen my electronics skills
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
How did you start and manage to start your own company ?
That is another opportunity for mistakes.
I knew a guy who was good at sheet metal. He decided Air Conditioners are made of sheet metal, therefore he must be an air conditioner man. He was so bad that we still call a completely botched job a, "Kermit".

How bad was he? He was so bad that, when confronted with a fan motor that wouldn't stop running, he replaced the motor.

Eventually, one of my work mates decided that, if he could make the owners of the air conditioner company rich, he must be a good business owner. He got his State License and filed papers of Incorporation. After 6 years of refusing my help and failing miserably, he put a bullet through his head.

You have to know where your talents are and stay there, or develop new skills. Many a good designer never made a dime trying to run a business. Dozens of good designers are now filthy rich. It's called, Silicon Valley. What's the difference? Knowing how to structure a corporation or knowing who can do that for you. Know your talents, choose wisely, never stop learning, get help when you need it.
 

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
If I take you seriously, I can't click a, "Like" on that. You must be joking.:confused:
Oh yeah, that's what :D means.
You're joking...right?
Actually ... no... I interpreted your initial suggestion as "swallow your pride, and get help from people that know better, even if you feel it makes you look bad" ... you see, one of my weaknesses was (and sometimes still is) to want to do everything myself, instead of simply running to a friend and asking him for help and advice.

It's actually more of a cultural thing. In my language we generally (but not always) use the word "help" for altruistic activities. Whereas when you intend to pay for that work, we use the word "delegate", or simply "hire".
 
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