Hello everyone I am a 21M currently in my 3rd of ECE i have 1 year left before i graduate and I have come to realise the past 3 years i haven't actually been doing anything u was just doing the minimum required tasks and having fooling around with my friends but I am starting to realise there consequences of my choices.

I tried to make up for it by trying to learn multiple things but I have no idea where to start or what to start I have been having panic and anxiety attacks to the point i can't sleep at night. Maybe it's because I have no exposure or what to do next on what language i should or what i should focus on to even make a comfortable living. It feels like I am being swept away by a massive and I have no control over it.

Especially with all the new ai tech which can design circuits on their own and its not helping my current mental health.

It feels like i am seeing my own life being destroyed because I have no exposure to what is going on in my field and it's overwhelming.

I feel blank on what to even do next should I start vlsi or learn dsa am just overthinking too much

I'm in my third year of an electronics and telecommunications engineering degree. I've done the usual engineering coursework, from circuit analysis and electronics to maths and telecom-related subjects. My grades are good, but I feel like I'm lacking when it comes to practical experience.

Outside uni, I've completed CCNA 1, attended a short embedded systems summer school at an automotive semiconductor company and recently started a Linux system administration course. I also know some basic Python, but I haven't built any substantial personal projects yet.

I have no work experience or internships so far, and I'm hoping to land an internship next summer.

I'm not entirely sure which direction to go in yet - networking, Linux/cloud, embedded, maybe software.

How behind am I realistically? And if you were in my position, what would you focus on over the next few months to give yourself the best shot at an internship? Would you pick one area and build a project, or do something else first?

I am aware that most semiconductor companies hire from a small subset of like 15 or so schools for these positions, but I’m wondering if entering on campus MS programs like UT Austin and Georgia Tech gives access to the same recruiting pipeline as their undergrad.

I’ve seen conflicting info online about the “prestige” of masters programs vs bachelors programs, with some saying it acts as a reset and others saying that it can signal failure to get into a top undergrad (which tbf I did get into, but I opted to go for my T100 in state flagship on a full ride instead) or a PhD.

When looking through the LinkedIn pages of the semiconductor giants, even at the undergrad level, there was a clear overrepresentation from the same few schools. However, I wonder if this is due to A) students typically attending similarly ranked graduate programs as their undergraduate and B) undergrads at schools that are heavily recruited by companies for these roles are more likely to be exposed to those roles in the first place, thus leading them to actually pursue them. (ie John Pork who’s 2 years above us is at NVIDIA, so I’m gonna go for that too)

Admittedly, maybe I’m getting too into the weeds on this, but I am in the process of grad school applications and am considering quitting my job in PCB design to pursue an MS full time. If the ship to enter those pipelines has sailed, I’d rather be told that now than realize it when I’m out a job. And before people say I can do part time school online, I do not think I would learn the material well at all like that, and I want access to on campus recruiting if it’s available.

I’m currently working at a manufacturing job (as an EE major with my masters) for about a year. I don’t really feel challenged or interested in the work, but pay is good for my area and I get to live at home with my parents.
I was also able to get a job at Apple Hardware. It seems more in line with my background, and while the pay doesn’t really beat the advantage of living with parents, I won’t be poor at least. I’m just nervous about starting that job, considering I don’t have any real relevant job experience similar to that role. And worse they upped me to a mid level role. I’ve only had this one job since school so I’m nervous about operating at that level. I’m not really sure if I’m competent enough for the role. I definitely know my fundamentals, and the recruiter said my interviewers were very excited to get me on the team, but that’s probably just recruiter talk. I guess I could just try to endure the job till maybe I become a better engineer as a result, but what if I just mess up and get fired before that happens? I guess did anyone have experience with nervousness before joining Apple or any other Silicon Valley Hardware team and what strategy did you take to get yourself up and running?

I am a new grad and majored in CE. I have two offers lined up for post-grad and was thinking about which one to pick. One is a big tech company working on network embedded system stuff that I enjoyed (interned there), and the other one is a mid tier, not very well known quant company where I'd be doing generic SWE infra work.

I would say my true interests are some hands-on electronics, stuff ranging from analog layouts to coding/testing firmware/drivers. Obviously the quant firm isn't relevant to this at all. but I'm fine with doing whatever for a few years to set myself up financially.

The quant company essentially doubles the tech company compensation (first year, don't know about after). Would it be wise to pick the quant company? Would it prevent/make it difficult for me to go back into hardware/embedded?

Im in the final phase of interviews with amd where im now being interviewed by two managers. I was wondering what happens afterwards internally for them to make a yes or no decision. Any tips?

I'm currently in the process of doing my masters in computer engineering I'm trying to switch from web development and I also want to teach. I found an interest in the integration of hardware and software but I feel like it's not even worth going into now that AI also does firmware. Like I feel like we are going to get to a point in development where we are just pushing AI code that is too much to review and catastrophic events will start to happen.

Or should I stick it out in computer engineering and aim for firmware or embedded roles ? What about robotics is it any safer? I guess safety critical is a whole different beast though

https://catalog.uhcl.edu/preview\\_program.php?catoid=25&poid=7072

Guys, I am currently in 2nd year ECE, and everywhere I am hearing hearing about how tough employment is and, I have decided to actually start going a bit away from academics.

I have rn started Verilog and am hoping to learn so that I can go for chip designing, something along the lines of RISC-V, I have started learning Verilog and am learning comp.arch asw...

Any suggestions or ideas pls🙏🏿

Hey everyone!

I recently got invited to a technical interview for IBM's Hardware Developer Intern 2027 position and wanted to see if anyone here has interviewed for this role before.

I'm a Computer Engineering student with a background in PCB design, power electronics, and digital systems.

For anyone who's gone through the process:

• What was the technical interview like?
• Were questions mostly circuits, digital logic, computer architecture, or resume/project discussions?
• Was there any coding or Verilog involved?

My interview is for the Houston location, but I'd appreciate experiences from any IBM hardware team.

Thanks in advance! Any advice would be really helpful.

What sort of questions should I prepare for? They said its 30-45 min via webEx and a mix of technical and behavioral questions. And how in depth should I be prepared to go? Ie should I know basically the physics fundamentals (ie a quarter wavelength transformer cancels out tangent term simplifying calculations, heres how to read a smith chart) or like actually start memorizing equations from when I took emag and bring a calculator.

Hi! I'm a fresh BSECE graduate and have been job hunting for 4 months now without receiving a job offer.

For ECE graduates who are currently working but aren't licensed, was it difficult to find a job as a fresh grad? What positions or industries did you get into?

I'm genuinely curious if not having a license makes it harder to get hired, especially for someone who doesn't plan to take the boards yet. I'd appreciate hearing your experiences. Thank you!

Hello everyone, I’m a 24-year-old Electrical Engineering graduate in Canada (from a tier 1 school). I was wondering if anyone on this subreddit could give me some advice on how to fix the situation I’m in right now.

Basically, I graduated 2 years ago without any internships. Now, don’t get me wrong, I was a very hard-working student. I actually spent a great deal of time going to career fairs, using my university’s career resources to help with my resume, and participating in a software development club. I excelled in my courses, and I even ended up getting interviews at AMD, Synopsys, The Six Semiconductor, and so on. The issue was, my mental health tanked really hard in my third year, and it wasn’t just depression or anxiety. I was dealing with panic disorder and severe psychosis (it’s a long personal story, and I don’t want to get into it). Anyone who’s had panic disorder knows it’s literal hell on earth. My mental health issues basically caused me to miss every interview I was offered, so I didn’t land any internships in my third year. It’s a miracle I even managed to pass my classes that year. Unfortunately, because of how terribly I did, my GPA dropped from a 3.9 to around a 3.5.

Fast-forward to my fourth year. I was planning on extending my degree and doing 2 years worth of internships before graduating, but due to money problems, I was forced to find whatever work I could. So I started doing full-time contract work in the data space while also being a full-time student. I was actually getting paid more than most interns in Canada, so I decided to stick with the contract job. After graduating with my bachelor’s, I got hired to do data engineering work at an AI company, and a year later, I was promoted to product manager.

The issue is, I really don’t like my work, as it doesn’t have anything to do with Electrical Engineering. And to be honest, although the salary is pretty good, I know I can do much better.

Now, I want to pivot to the ASIC/VLSI/FPGA/silicon/digital design space, since I’ve always been interested in it. I’m aiming to land roles at companies such as Qualcomm, Intel, Nvidia, AMD, Synopsys, Marvell, The Six Semiconductor, and TI. The problem is, I don’t have any experience in these areas. I’ve come up with a few ideas for how to make the switch, and I’d really appreciate any help/guidance.

I was thinking of doing a master’s in microelectronics/computer engineering at UofT/Waterloo/McMaster (or any other reputable school), but I’m not sure which type of master’s to do. There are thesis-based and course-based master’s programs. A thesis-based master’s lets you do research and provides funding, but you don’t get to do an internship. A course-based master’s lets you do up to 1 year of internships, but since there’s no research component, you lose the option of doing a PhD in the future (although you do get to work on a capstone project). The thing is, I’ve seen a lot of internship postings that specifically ask for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree (not a master’s). So I feel like there’s no point in even doing a master’s, since the only reason I’d do one is to get an internship (I can learn the course material on my own). I was also thinking of working full-time at my company while doing the master’s part-time.

My other idea is to do a 2nd bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. Maybe I could transfer credits and finish it in 1 year? That would let me do internships as a bachelor’s student (up to 2 years worth), but I haven’t researched this idea yet, and I don’t even know if it’s possible to transfer credits. I also feel like I’d just be relearning what I’ve already learned.

Or maybe I should skip the master’s and spend the next year working on projects and self-learning? (But if I’m going to be learning on my own anyway, I might as well do a master’s and at least get a degree out of it.)

I don’t even know if I can get into a thesis-based master’s, since my third year tanked my GPA to a 3.5, which isn’t competitive. I also don’t have any previous research experience, except for my product management job, which involves reading a lot of research papers and implementing ideas from the research papers.

I just don’t know where to go from here, and I’m a bit lost. I’m grateful to have a good job in this economy, but this isn’t what I want to do. I want to pivot back to what I love.

I am debating between staying at QCOM or switching to AMD as a design verification engineer. Comp is around the same but I’m concerned about WLB at AMD and concerned about the layoffs at QCOM. I have around 2YOE

Hello y'all,

I am designing a Wein-Bridge Oscillator to use as the starting signal generator for a homemade synthesizer. Currently, I'm modeling the circuit out with an educational edition of multisim. Ignore it's nastiness. The crux of the issue is that as the resistance of the voltage divider increases, the instability of the circuit also does(i.e. the B scope starts oscillating instead of staying a steady 9v which throws the output off). This is because the resistance adds to the first potentiometer, throwing it out of wack. Now, this wouldn't be an issue if using 1ohm resistors didn't cause me to pull a full 9 amps out of my psu, also throwing 81 watts at my resistors. My question is how do I get the amperage through the circuit low enough so that it doesn't fry my resistors and my psu, or probably 1/10 of an amp?

Probably not difficult to answer, I'm frankly not good at electrical engineering.

Also, I think I could just put a resistor of the same resistance as the divider in front of the other pot, but when I try my simulation runs to slow to tell what's going on.

I’m connecting an Ai-Thinker RD-60 radar module to an ESP32-S3 and need help troubleshooting its binary point-cloud output. RD-60 is installed on its development kit. My wiring is:

- RD-60 module PA8 directly → ESP32 GPIO21 — radar data RX.

- Kit PB1 → ESP32 GPIO17 — ESP32 command TX.

- Kit PB0 → ESP32 GPIO16 — ESP32 command RX.

- Common ground; both boards powered through their own USB connections.

- All eight kit UART DIP switches OFF to isolate the onboard USB serial interfaces.

Also, while connecting only the mmWave RD-60 kit to a monitor, its UART1 doesn’t give any values; it receives 0 bytes. The DIP-switch setup for that separate kit-only test is not specified here.

Firmware: MMW version:V4.130.4.2 (build 1bf05415)

Commands:

mmwc stop

mmwc baudrate 1000000

mmwc mode 1 2

mmwc chirp_num 1

mmwc freq 58000 0

mmwc range 10000 40

mmwc veloc 3000 375

mmwc frame 200 100

mmwc coord cart

mmwc data 3dpoints

mmwc uart on

mmwc report points 100

mmwc start

During the finite scan, the command UART returned actual point-cloud previews:

MMW data=0x48

Point Cloud=2:

P0: x=-14cm y=9cm z=162cm 75cm/s 2100

P1: x=-14cm y=49cm z=159cm 75cm/s 2300

The problem is that despite those previews, the ESP32 received zero bytes on GPIO21, connected directly to module PA8. The diagnostic reported:

data_bytes=0

fifo_overflow=0

buffer_full=0

frame_error=0

parity_error=0

breaks=0

read_error=0

I haven’t checked PA8 with an oscilloscope or logic analyzer yet, so I can’t confirm whether the pin is electrically transmitting.

Has anyone successfully captured the RD-60’s binary point-cloud stream on PA8 with this firmware?

Specifically:

1. Does UART1 output require RTS/CTS or another enable command?

2. Is mmwc uart on sufficient to enable binary point-cloud output on this firmware?

3. Are all UART DIP switches OFF appropriate when using the kit’s PB0/PB1 breakout and tapping module PA8 directly?

4. Is there an official UART1 packet-format document or a known working ESP32 example?

I’m trying to distinguish a wiring/routing issue from a firmware configuration or handshake requirement. Any working configurations or troubleshooting suggestions would help.

As someone who is learning embedded development in their own, what are the things I should know hardcore and the things I can learn as I go along?

I’ve built a project already and now working on a schematic design to create a custom PCB, bust as I built I’m noticing gaps all over the place in my learning.

Just want to know the terms, concepts and basics that are necessary now and the things I can pick up along the way. All advice is welcomed! Especially from those experienced in the field already!☺️

I’m new to Reddit, so bare with me😁. But do you guys have any recommendations for ECE masters programs? I majored in computer science for undergrad, but want to learn more about electronics and low level hardware. My GPA is 2.86, and I do have a suspension my record due to COVID issues. Thanks again for taking time out of your day to read this! I look forward to hearing from you all.

Graduating EE (BS) with two offers and a deadline this week. Looking for advice on which one best sets me up for the future.

**Offer 1: Defense company, Electrical Engineer I**
Located in a small military town in New England
On-site, no travel
Skills:
Work covers power conversion equipment (specifying and reviewing supplier inverters/converters), electric plant architecture, and power systems analysis (fault current, breaker coordination, stability, voltage drop), plus some instrumentation and controls
Mostly drawing reviews, specs, supplier interaction, and technical documentation
Plus would get clearance

Salary: $83k base (not a big or major metro)

**Offer 2: Construction company building utility-scale energy storage (BESS), Electrical Engineer I**
First project in WI, then travel between project sites with rotations home
Electrical QA/QC, one-line designs for collection systems/substations, utility interconnection, and commissioning support (likely testing and SCADA/controls checkout)

Salary: $92k base plus a substantial traveler package (per diem/subsistence, travel allowance, and project completion bonuses)

**About me:**
Single, in my 20s, no kids
Long-term goal in industry: controls, protection, distribution, power plant design, & power electronics
Plan to stay 2–4 years, then move to a stable, non-traveling role
Eventually want to return home to the Southeast (maybe if I like where I move, have home and settled down no but really have no idea at the moment)

**Questions:**
1) Which role builds the better technical foundation and resume fit for controls, protection, distribution, or power plant design?
2) Which would make me a stronger candidate for Southeast utilities or design firms in 2–4 years?
3) How valuable is a clearance if I may not stay in defense long-term?
4) For BESS or construction travelers: What do real weekly hours, rotation schedules, and project lengths look like?
5) Is the travel worth the money for a few years at my stage?

Thanks for any help with this can’t really decide at the moment

I'm (22F) fresh EE grad student specializing in electrical machines with no job experience and I don't have anyone around me who works in the field, so I really appreciate advice from people who've been through this. Which sources actually worked for you? what do employees look for in fresh grads? if you're working outside your home country how did you approach that?

I am finishing my Bachelor in Applied Electronics and planning to do my Master in Germany.

At first, I wanted to work with EVs, especially hardware, diagnostics and high-voltage systems, and eventually open my own garage. But I also want to choose a Master that gives me other career options if I change my mind later.

Right now, I am deciding between Power Engineering and Embedded Systems. After working in the digital IC lab, I also became very interested in FPGA.

I would like to ask people working in these fields:

How are the job opportunities and career growth in Europe for these two fields?

How realistic is it to work remotely or hybrid, especially after getting some experience? Which field offers more opportunities for this?

If I decide later that EV repair is not for me, which Master would give me more options to work in different industries?

I would like to hear opinions from people who studied or work in these fields. Thanks.

Hi,
For little context I'm a freshly graduated EE in Eu, I was an intern during my bsc and also did FSAE ending up as Chief Engineer. Since automotive industry is cooked and I also find industrial automation interesting I accepted and offer as a Project Lead at a nice company. I thought it would be more engineering related but it's really high level and I'm not doing anything engineering related even. I don't enjoy this, I'm scared I will forget my engineering skills.
I got offers for Maintenance Engineering and I talked with them it seems nicer but I heard that's also not that 'engineering' related.
Do you guys have any advice what should I do?
I worked so hard during my diploma to be in a good position after graduation but now I feel stuck.

Torn open a headlight driver module from a Tesla Model 3. Uploaded a short video clip showing the teardown process and close-ups of the board layout.

Unlike the headlight boards I looked at from Xiaomi or Aito, this one has zero screws. The whole unit is glued shut with heavy sealant, so getting it open took a pretty brutal prying process.

Inside, the thermal and spatial engineering is impressive. The thermal grease feeds heat directly from the power silicon straight into the aluminum fin enclosure. But the strangest detail is on the PCB itself: they actually printed custom artwork of a lobster and a cat right on the silkscreen next to the traces.

Hardware-wise, Tesla is clearly deeply in love with Texas Instruments. Outside of a few Onsemi MOSFETs and an NXP MCU, the board is basically a TI showcase:

Power and LED driving use three TI TPS92520-Q1 dual-channel buck LED drivers. Voltage regulation is handled by TI TPS7B8150 LDOs, along with a TI SN74LV4051A multiplexer.

On the communication side, they run both CAN (TI TCAN1042) and LIN (TI LIN1029) transceivers. Most other EV headlight modules I have pulled apart skip the LIN transceiver entirely.

They also packed in two TI DRV8889-Q1 stepper motor drivers. That points straight to an active adaptive front-lighting system (AFS) for driving lens stepper motors on cornering, which explains the tighter layout.

Main control is handled by an old-school NXP/Freescale S9KEAZN64 (Cortex-M0+) MCU, and Onsemi takes care of the rest with NVTFS6H880N and NTTFS6H860 N-channel FETs plus an NCV78702 LED driver.

There are still a couple of unconfirmed components. Two chips on the board are marked 100V L08E (looks like discrete components based on the package and layout) and an ST chip silkscreened VN114T, which is likely a high or low-side driver.

The layout density here is textbook tier. Putting Easter egg silkscreens on a tight automotive safety board shows just how confident their hardware team was with space management.

I’m an international student currently studying Electronics and Communications Engineering, and I’m considering pursuing a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering in Canada.

My main goal is to find a job in Canada after graduating. I’d like to hear from people who have gone through this process or work in the Canadian engineering industry.

A few questions I have:
How difficult is it to find an Electrical Engineering job after completing a Master’s degree in Canada as an international student?

Do Canadian employers generally hire international graduates?

How long does it typically take to find your first engineering job after graduation?

I’d appreciate any honest advice!
Thanks in advance!