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Any electrical engineers working in tech, such as software engr, big data, cybersecurity?
Hello, I am a junior studying electrical engineering. I am interested to learn from engineers who went into tech. what was your main reason? was it difficult to get into, and the prep you had to do? Finally, how do you cope with staring at code for a long period of time?
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8 answers
Updated
Chitra’s Answer
There is a strong demand for electrical & mechanical engineers in automotive industry. Modern cars with EV & Autonomous Vehicle technology needs strong electrical background. It would help to supplement your skills with a system level programming language (Rust / C, C++), which will distinguish your resume.
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Michel’s Answer
Hey, so I studied Mechatronics engineering. During college, I had a lot of different programming experiences and projects. It just came to me, people would be struggling on something and I would just write it down easily. When I graduated, I started working in a career path which is more mechanical engineering and I just did not click. Honestly a huge motive for the move was the salary as Tech pays more. However when I did the move, I felt I just clicked there. It inspired me !
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Tony’s Answer
I got my BSc in Electrical and Computer engineering, and got a job in Software development at IBM. There were plenty of jobs in software and few openings in hardware. Nevertheless, IBM then paid for me to get my MSc in Electrical Engineering in case they needed hardware designers for the hardware side. I worked on both hardware and software projects over my past 34 years, but prefer software. As hardware gets more commiditized, the differntiation is in the software and microcode.
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Husni’s Answer
Hello,
I started when I was a teenager back in 1982. I was interested in learning how I can instruct the computer to do exactly what I wanted it to do. At the time the resources were very few. Books and journals. In short I had a passion for it. I worked in multiple technology disciplines. I like what I do and therefore I do not have a job but something I do everyday and I like at the same time.
Yes it was difficult at the time to to the limited resources but I depended on teaching myself. For example, I would write a small program and keep working on it until I succeed. The computer will tell me if I am doing my work correctly by compiling my code without errors and displaying the expected results. I also used books to evolve my knowledge and be more efficient. Today, there are many resources especially on the Internet and YouTube. The problem now maybe that there is too much out there. You need to know what to pick. You need to ask people around you to guide you on the what.
Once you start coding, you will be engaged for hours. The trick is to spend long hours. You have to commit long period in order to learn faster and optimally. If you do not like to sit for that long, try to listen to music if you can focus while doing so. Also, ty to take short breaks - once every hour or so. Finally, make sure you start small, write small programs, test often to make sure you are doing alright.
I hope that helps.
I started when I was a teenager back in 1982. I was interested in learning how I can instruct the computer to do exactly what I wanted it to do. At the time the resources were very few. Books and journals. In short I had a passion for it. I worked in multiple technology disciplines. I like what I do and therefore I do not have a job but something I do everyday and I like at the same time.
Yes it was difficult at the time to to the limited resources but I depended on teaching myself. For example, I would write a small program and keep working on it until I succeed. The computer will tell me if I am doing my work correctly by compiling my code without errors and displaying the expected results. I also used books to evolve my knowledge and be more efficient. Today, there are many resources especially on the Internet and YouTube. The problem now maybe that there is too much out there. You need to know what to pick. You need to ask people around you to guide you on the what.
Once you start coding, you will be engaged for hours. The trick is to spend long hours. You have to commit long period in order to learn faster and optimally. If you do not like to sit for that long, try to listen to music if you can focus while doing so. Also, ty to take short breaks - once every hour or so. Finally, make sure you start small, write small programs, test often to make sure you are doing alright.
I hope that helps.
Updated
Baxter’s Answer
Hey Taner!
I'm not an electrical engineer, but I was an industrial engineer with a computer science minor! Those are really interesting and hot fields to be in. I worked for a big tech consulting company (Accenture). If you're not as interested in being a 'hardcore coder' I would check out the consulting field. Most consulting firms have great internship programs and hire a LOT of new college grads, but I would recommend having a few 'hobby projects' you've worked on in your free time to speak to during interviews. In these fields you get to work with clients to develop tools that most accurately fit their needs, and have a ton of flexibility on which field (cyber, big data, SaaS, etc...) you want to specialize in!
To answer your 'why?' question: going into tech puts you at the cutting edge of the world. You'll be an expert in the technology of tomorrow before the general population even hears about it. I spent a lot of time working with a telecommunications company on their 5G plans. Most the country doesn't even know what 5G is, whereas I got to help develop and implement! It's an exciting and fast moving industry, so be prepared for that!
I'm not an electrical engineer, but I was an industrial engineer with a computer science minor! Those are really interesting and hot fields to be in. I worked for a big tech consulting company (Accenture). If you're not as interested in being a 'hardcore coder' I would check out the consulting field. Most consulting firms have great internship programs and hire a LOT of new college grads, but I would recommend having a few 'hobby projects' you've worked on in your free time to speak to during interviews. In these fields you get to work with clients to develop tools that most accurately fit their needs, and have a ton of flexibility on which field (cyber, big data, SaaS, etc...) you want to specialize in!
To answer your 'why?' question: going into tech puts you at the cutting edge of the world. You'll be an expert in the technology of tomorrow before the general population even hears about it. I spent a lot of time working with a telecommunications company on their 5G plans. Most the country doesn't even know what 5G is, whereas I got to help develop and implement! It's an exciting and fast moving industry, so be prepared for that!
Updated
Shweta’s Answer
Hi Taner,
I am a computer engineer but many of my Electrical engineer friends are working in software industry and they are doing very well in the software industry. Since now a day more and more work is moving towards the software side so there are lots of jobs and growth opportunities are available that is the main reason people are attracted towards this field.
In software industry there are multiple kind of roles not only coding, it depends upon your interest. For example in software industry you could use your electrical engineering knowledge by working as a system engineer/business analyst, who knows the in and out of electrical systems. They understand how the system should work then create a software requirement document and give it to the development team who does the coding for some of the electrical products. You can do MBA after your electrical engineering if you want to pursue the carrier as a manager. In technical companies there are many requirements for managers. If you are open to learn new things then lots and lots of opportunities are waiting for you. All the jobs needs a good aptitude and attitude.
Regarding the preparation, First you need to understand what is software engineering for that I would recommend you to understand the software engineering life cycle. There are many books and online tutorials available on internet. If you want to learn coding then you have to decide which language you want to do coding incase embedded system then go for c/c++/pyhton tutorials, if you are interested in webdesigning then Java and different variance of technologies are available.
Its not must that the developer will always be just keep on doing the coding there are multiple steps in that developers are responsible for making the design, then coding and then testing & debugging. But yes you have to understand the code but thats not very difficult. If you are interested then it would be fun.
Best of luck.
I am a computer engineer but many of my Electrical engineer friends are working in software industry and they are doing very well in the software industry. Since now a day more and more work is moving towards the software side so there are lots of jobs and growth opportunities are available that is the main reason people are attracted towards this field.
In software industry there are multiple kind of roles not only coding, it depends upon your interest. For example in software industry you could use your electrical engineering knowledge by working as a system engineer/business analyst, who knows the in and out of electrical systems. They understand how the system should work then create a software requirement document and give it to the development team who does the coding for some of the electrical products. You can do MBA after your electrical engineering if you want to pursue the carrier as a manager. In technical companies there are many requirements for managers. If you are open to learn new things then lots and lots of opportunities are waiting for you. All the jobs needs a good aptitude and attitude.
Regarding the preparation, First you need to understand what is software engineering for that I would recommend you to understand the software engineering life cycle. There are many books and online tutorials available on internet. If you want to learn coding then you have to decide which language you want to do coding incase embedded system then go for c/c++/pyhton tutorials, if you are interested in webdesigning then Java and different variance of technologies are available.
Its not must that the developer will always be just keep on doing the coding there are multiple steps in that developers are responsible for making the design, then coding and then testing & debugging. But yes you have to understand the code but thats not very difficult. If you are interested then it would be fun.
Best of luck.
Updated
Tad’s Answer
Taner,
I had these exact same questions graduating. I hated "coding" in school. How could I possibly do it all day?
But as an engineer in active work, I found myself spending more and more of my time developing software to bridge gaps in tools provided to me as an engineer to solve problems. Examples include taking ProEngineer CAD models and exporting them and then importing them into fluid flow analysis software, writing C code for microcontroller functionality, using code to collate data into usable visualizations for presenting to management, etc. You'll be hard pressed to find a position as an EE that doesn't spend massive amounts of time in front of a computer screen of some type.
That said, I grew to love building software so much that I shifted careers into full time software development; instead of engineering, where I applied code I began building the software tools others would use. In 20 years I have had few times where I spend all day/night writing code (it does happen for projects that are late). Instead, much of my time is spent in meetings discussing what software will do, collaborating with others on software issues, reading / documenting requirements, etc. In fulltime development I spend less that 2 hours a day deep in a integrated development environment writing code on average.
So how to start as a EE and move into Software?
I include 4 steps for you.
Good luck in your journey!
1. Identify which technology interests you. Example C#, Java, Oracle, etc
2. Build a certification around technology chosen in step 1
3. highlight your experience in language from 1 and 2 in your resume so recruiters can focus you into jobs matching that technology
4. Contact recruiters, they werre my gateway into the software dev world when I was changing career paths. Once you're in, it's easier to find companies to move onto.
I had these exact same questions graduating. I hated "coding" in school. How could I possibly do it all day?
But as an engineer in active work, I found myself spending more and more of my time developing software to bridge gaps in tools provided to me as an engineer to solve problems. Examples include taking ProEngineer CAD models and exporting them and then importing them into fluid flow analysis software, writing C code for microcontroller functionality, using code to collate data into usable visualizations for presenting to management, etc. You'll be hard pressed to find a position as an EE that doesn't spend massive amounts of time in front of a computer screen of some type.
That said, I grew to love building software so much that I shifted careers into full time software development; instead of engineering, where I applied code I began building the software tools others would use. In 20 years I have had few times where I spend all day/night writing code (it does happen for projects that are late). Instead, much of my time is spent in meetings discussing what software will do, collaborating with others on software issues, reading / documenting requirements, etc. In fulltime development I spend less that 2 hours a day deep in a integrated development environment writing code on average.
So how to start as a EE and move into Software?
I include 4 steps for you.
Good luck in your journey!
Tad recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Krantisinh’s Answer
Hello,
I am an electronics and telecommunication engineer. When I was in the first year of my engineering, I got interested in programming and over the next 3 years, my passion for programming grew a lot. Although I had a keen interest in electronics as well, I loved to code so much that I chose electives in my fourth year that were more aligned to programming than electronics.
At the time of campus placements, I opted for a technology company and luckily I cracked their interview.
I was strong in mathematics and logical reasoning, I had studied basic data structures and algorithms and C programming before going for the interview. It was a world-leading service-based company, and they expected fundamental skills from the students such as logical reasoning and analytical abilities. Once I got in the company, they allocated me a skill (which was .NET) and had me undergo a training program. And that's how I started my technology journey.
It has been 9 years since and I have worked on a variety of technologies. Every day, I spend about 4-5 hours in coding. Coding is fun and thought-provoking. Hence I never get tired of it. And eventually, one gets better at it. Maintaining a good posture while working is necessary and having a good work setup is equally essential. It boosts productivity. The best part of being in tech is every day, you get to learn something new. And you have to keep your curious self awake at all times.
I wish you all the best for your technology career ahead!
I am an electronics and telecommunication engineer. When I was in the first year of my engineering, I got interested in programming and over the next 3 years, my passion for programming grew a lot. Although I had a keen interest in electronics as well, I loved to code so much that I chose electives in my fourth year that were more aligned to programming than electronics.
At the time of campus placements, I opted for a technology company and luckily I cracked their interview.
I was strong in mathematics and logical reasoning, I had studied basic data structures and algorithms and C programming before going for the interview. It was a world-leading service-based company, and they expected fundamental skills from the students such as logical reasoning and analytical abilities. Once I got in the company, they allocated me a skill (which was .NET) and had me undergo a training program. And that's how I started my technology journey.
It has been 9 years since and I have worked on a variety of technologies. Every day, I spend about 4-5 hours in coding. Coding is fun and thought-provoking. Hence I never get tired of it. And eventually, one gets better at it. Maintaining a good posture while working is necessary and having a good work setup is equally essential. It boosts productivity. The best part of being in tech is every day, you get to learn something new. And you have to keep your curious self awake at all times.
I wish you all the best for your technology career ahead!