To Any and All Current and Former CIE Students

Thread Starter

drwrabella73

Joined Jul 30, 2018
23
I recently began a program through The Cleveland Institute of Electronics. If there is anyone on this site who has either participated in, or graduated from, any of their programs I would be interested in what you might have to say about your experience, good or bad.

Thanks,
Drew
 

KL7AJ

Joined Nov 4, 2008
2,229
I recently began a program through The Cleveland Institute of Electronics. If there is anyone on this site who has either participated in, or graduated from, any of their programs I would be interested in what you might have to say about your experience, good or bad.

Thanks,
Drew
I knew Carl Smith, who was the founder of CIE. He was our consultant engineer at KJNP, and taught me just about everything I know about directional AM antennas. He pretty much wrote all the specs for DAs, which the FCC adopted, in the late 1930s. A great man.

We had several engineers at the station go through the CIE course....it was the best of the best, at least until the late 1970s.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
MOD NOTE: Moved to Career Advising (Feedback and Suggestions is a forum for feedback and suggestions about the AAC site).
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
From the little that I've been reading, it would appear that CIE had a solid history for several decades after its founding -- something that many votech schools could proudly and justly claim. But it appears that, like many of them, a sea-change in the last quarter of the 20th century resulted in them becoming something that their founders would find unrecognizable.

Apparently in the 1970's CIE had over 40,000 students. As near as I can tell, the total enrollment today is about 1,000. That, by itself, doesn't say a lot because the reasons for it matter. In the 1970's there was still a huge market for electronic technicians and repairmen for TV's alone, let alone broadcast equipment. Today that market is all but nonexistent.
 

Thread Starter

drwrabella73

Joined Jul 30, 2018
23
I wonder if the decline in students was due, at least in part, to the rapid advancement in technology of the time? Or if it was because of a change in the people running the school. Either way, enrollment might still be declining considering I was the 23rd person to enroll in June and I enrolled at the very end of the month. I have to admit, though, the fact that they have been around for more than 80 years was a selling point to me.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
I have to admit, though, the fact that they have been around for more than 80 years was a selling point to me.
A lot of companies are around for a long time before they go under.

Case in point - Digital Equipment Corporation. Ken Olsen didn't believe in personal computers. Why would anyone want one when they could have a refrigerator sized computer with a fraction of the compute power and pay many times more?

His often quoted, now silly, statement is "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."

Vision like that is what drives companies into the ground.
 

Thread Starter

drwrabella73

Joined Jul 30, 2018
23
A lot of companies are around for a long time before they go under.

Case in point - Digital Equipment Corporation. Ken Olsen didn't believe in personal computers. Why would anyone want one when they could have a refrigerator sized computer with a fraction of the compute power and pay many times more?

His often quoted, now silly, statement is "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."

Vision like that is what drives companies into the ground.
To think about it looking back it is an incredibly silly statement considering now almost every individual has a computer in his/her pocket!
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
To think about it looking back it is an incredibly silly statement considering now almost every individual has a computer in his/her pocket!
That's one of the reasons why the company went out of business after 40-50 years. The CEO lacked vision and refused to adapt to market conditions.

Personally, I liked PDP/RSX and VAX/VMS computer systems. They were eventually replaced with workstations (the commercial version of personal computers).
 

BR-549

Joined Sep 22, 2013
4,928
There simply is not much need for electronic technicians. The industry has evolved and can now replace, cheaper and faster, than troubleshoot and repair. It's that simple.

And it's even getting worse as far as electronic skill is concerned. It's becoming plug and play for everything. Circuits can self configure, self proportionalize and self tune.

When we can replace a car, cheaper and faster than repairing it, auto mechanics schools will disappear too.
 

Thread Starter

drwrabella73

Joined Jul 30, 2018
23
I think there is one area where technicians are still needed and that is in the music industry. There are a lot of musicians that prefer older, analog equipment. Unfortunately, there are so many people that are involved in that, that you either have to come up with something different; be able to improve on something that already exists; or be the absolute best at producing/repairing things that already exist. The boutique amp and effects industry is huge. Which is unfortunate for me because that is what I would really like to do. And I'm already behind the curve. But, I like to think positively and believe that I can find my niche in that area.
 

Thread Starter

drwrabella73

Joined Jul 30, 2018
23
That's one of the reasons why the company went out of business after 40-50 years. The CEO lacked vision and refused to adapt to market conditions.

Personally, I liked PDP/RSX and VAX/VMS computer systems. They were eventually replaced with workstations (the commercial version of personal computers).
It makes me think of the old saying that people who refuse to recognize history are doomed to repeat it. Maybe there should be another saying that goes along with that. People who refuse to recognize the future are doomed to be trampled by it.
 

BR-549

Joined Sep 22, 2013
4,928
I would doubt that students are required to use real circuits now....with the sims. Do they offer electronics in high school? I bet they offer programming.

That's true about the audio industry. But you will also find the newest engineers and circuit techniques there too. Hardware also. The function density is a miracle.

Someone might come up with a new sound transducer that could change the industry overnight.

A graphene curtain perhaps. Or maybe a new conductor that does not require a potential....just an alignment.

It's hard to tell what electronics will be in 10-15 yrs. It can change quickly. All change happens much faster today.

Hobbyist and the internet will keep the old techniques alive. Like AAC. Ham radio operators used to be a great source of electronic techs in an emergency. Now we have internet and audio geeks.
 

Thread Starter

drwrabella73

Joined Jul 30, 2018
23
I don't really know if they still teach electronics in high school anymore. I graduated 27 years ago. I took an electronics class in school, but that was 29 years ago. I'm just trying to gain, and in some cases regain, enough knowledge to even be considered a hobbyist. I suppose they probably only teach home wiring and HVAC in high school nowadays, maybe electronic theory. There's a lot of information that I have forgotten over the years, and like you said, technology changes so fast now that some of the stuff I learned back then may be obsolete these days. But, I still seek out old Ham radio books and old radio manuals on eBay and Amazon.

I am looking forward to where things will be 10-15 years from now. I want to be a part of it in one way or another!
 

DickCappels

Joined Aug 21, 2008
10,152
I have not had any contact with them but it is my general observation that schools like that have a terribly low graduation rate -20% would be considered excellent.

There are some "more than excellent" online programs that have high if not very high graduation rates.

30 Online Schools With The Highest Graduation Rates

There is a greatly reduced demand for technicians who understand electronics because of modern product design practices. It is better for the manufacturer, who must provide some after-sales support including honoring warranties to hire "semitechs" who know which module or board to swap out. No real electronics knowledge is required.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
I'd also look at the percentage of graduates who found jobs in their degree field. From what I've heard, they don't give that information. That would be a red flag for me. If they don't track employment stats, do they even care?
 

JoeJester

Joined Apr 26, 2005
4,390
I agree with @dl324 assessment on the employment statistics.

Speaking of silly opinions, Bill Gates once said "why would anybody need more than 640k of ram."

I would think that the job placement rate would be a larger seller than graduation rates. I did check and MIT did publish both graduation rate and employment rate.
 
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Thread Starter

drwrabella73

Joined Jul 30, 2018
23
I'd also look at the percentage of graduates who found jobs in their degree field. From what I've heard, they don't give that information. That would be a red flag for me. If they don't track employment stats, do they even care?
Job placement may be that way in every field. My wife has a master's degree in education; and she sells tax accounting software.
 

Thread Starter

drwrabella73

Joined Jul 30, 2018
23
I don't want anyone to think that I put up this post to bad mouth CIE. In fact, even though I've really only just begun my program, I do feel like I'm learning something. I'm just trying to get a feel for what I might expect to ultimately get out of it, and I know, results may vary. Although I've come to the conclusion that completing my program is more than likely not going to lead to some sort of dream job, I never really expected it to. If, when all is said and done, I have the ability to successfully complete the projects that I have in mind; or be able to buy an electronics textbook and actually understand it; or get on a more technical forum on this website and be able to contribute something useful, then I will consider my time and money not wasted.
 
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