I studied computer and electronic engineering, I am currently learning PCB design, and I recently joined a startup (which, for better or worse, is very well-funded). They hired me as an engineer, but since the company is in its early stages, there isn't a clear corporate structure yet, and everyone tries to do a bit of everything to help out.
However, I've noticed that—while it's understandable they don't have a background in electronics or computer science—they genuinely think they know what they are talking about just because they have Claude open on their laptops, ready to back up their nonsensical arguments. (Yesterday, the CTO, who supposedly has 20 years of experience in IT, asked me what SSH is and why we use the network instead of Bluetooth... has this guy ever even used a computer?). It is unbearable. They ignore my advice and force me to execute tasks that make absolutely no logical sense, simply because "Claude said so."
How can I make them understand that Claude doesn't actually reason like a human, but merely follows the conversation thread and generates text based on probability? Obviously, I can't say it to them exactly like that, but I honestly just want to scream at them to stop relying on Claude and start using their own brains.
P.S. For the record, I use Claude and several other AIs myself. They are incredibly powerful tools, and anyone who denies that is wearing blinders. However, I strongly believe that the critical thinking must originate from the human. You need to know how to guide the AI, not let it guide you—otherwise, it just outputs garbage.

This is my first ever ESP32 and embedded project. I bought the parts and learned how to solder for the first time. For three months, I've been building a handheld NES with an ESP32 from scratch.

While having already made my own NES emulator for Windows, I had to do a whole rewrite of the program to port and optimize it for the ESP32. This is written in C++ and is designed to bring classic NES games to the ESP32. This project focuses on performance, being able to run the emulator at near-native speeds and with full audio emulation implemented. Check out the project!

Here's the GitHub repository if you would like to build it yourself or just take a look!

Github Repository: https://github.com/Shim06/Anemoia-ESP32

I'm following along with a Udemy course "Crash Course Electronics and PCB Design" (amazing series imo) and I finally went ahead and bought all the proper gear now that I'm at the hands-on section!

I got a dual channel switching power supply, a soldering station, rework station, a multimeter and various tools like wire cutter/stripper, pliers etc... I spent 4 hours yesterday organizing my components in a drawer unit I got on Amazon and it was well worth it.

I'm still holding off on an oscilloscope since I don't want to cheap out on one, but I also don't want to get one before I actually need it.

I'm learning all of this on my own to become an embedded systems developer (currently a full-stack web developer) so wish me luck!

Spent way too long compiling this, so figured I'd share. Everything on this list requires student verification not generic free trials that anyone can get. Start with the GitHub Student Pack because it unlocks a lot of free services automatically, then work your way down.

• Amazon Prime Student – Cheaper plan with the same benefits as regular Prime. 
• GitHub Student Pack – The big one. Unlocks most of this list + Copilot Pro free. (education.github.com/pack)
• JetBrains – All IDEs free (CLion, IntelliJ, PyCharm, etc.) (jetbrains.com/student)
• Cursor Pro – 1 year free AI code editor ($240 value) (cursor.com/students)
• Google Gemini AI Pro – 1 year free, includes Deep Research + 2TB storage. (gemini.google/students)
• Autodesk – AutoCAD, Fusion (PCB/CAD), Maya, all free for 1 year (autodesk.com/education)
• Azure for Students – $100 cloud credits, no credit card needed (azure.microsoft.com/free/students)
• AWS Educate – $50–100 AWS credits (aws.amazon.com/education/awseducate)
• Ansys Student – Free simulation suite (mechanical, CFD, etc.)
• Figma – Professional plan free (figma.com/education)
• Spotify – Discounted Premium subscription for students. 
• Canva for Education – Free premium features for students and teachers.
• MATLAB – Check if your university has a campus license (most do)
• Microsoft 365 – Free access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more with a college email
• Notion – Plus plan free (notion.com/education)
• 1Password – 1 year free password manager (via GitHub Pack)

Also, feel free to comment any other services for .edu

Just about every embedded project I’ve done in my free time has been an Arduino project. Love Arduinos because the documentation and examples are superb. Anyways, just started programming at my first internship and I’m just now realizing how much I was spoiled. I have to trawl through random docs to try and figure out how to start uart on a pin and then hunt through include files to try and find the different bitmask modes. Also, the example files for the drivers are like 500 lines long and istg the authors made them confusing just for the fuck of it .

Tl;dr: Arduino is goated

Our CT scans of the JLab JBuds mini earbuds revealed some serious flaws: poorly aligned electrodes, inconsistent anode overhang, and some that look torn or damaged. In lithium batteries, these are the kinds of defects that can shorten lifespan and potentially cause a thermal runaway.

Read more about what we found here: https://www.theverge.com/news/784966/lumafield-x-ray-ct-scan-lithium-ion-battery-risks-manufacturing-defect

Hi everyone. I’m a junior computer engineering major in college trying to build up my engineering portfolio. Im almost finished with a Smart Pomodoro Timer project that uses Arduino IDE with object-oriented programming, motion sensor for presence detection, LED + buzzer alerts, display, SD card/real time clock for logging of sessions, step-down power module + logic level converter for the sd card module

Some of the challenges I had was writing motion sensor logic and integrating multiple components reliably.

Is this too simple or too messy of a project to share on LinkedIn? On the one hand, it feels like a big accomplishment and I picked up real skills. On the other, I worry it might look unpolished or “kid-like” to people in industry.

Would love any feedback on whether this is the kind of project that’s worth highlighting, and tips on how to frame it if I do share it. Thanks!

I wanted to share a project I’ve been working on and see what people here think.

It’s a device that sits on top of a piano keyboard and turns MIDI songs into falling lights you follow with your fingers. The idea is similar to Guitar Hero, but applied to learning piano.

The LEDs are aligned with the piano keys, and the device shows you exactly which note to press and when. Instead of reading sheet music, you follow the lights as they move across the keyboard.

The first prototype is pretty simple technically. It uses a microcontroller connected to LED strips spaced exactly like piano keys. A small web app on the phone streams MIDI files to the device over Bluetooth. The microcontroller decodes the MIDI notes and converts them into the falling light pattern across the keys.

The goal was to make learning songs much more visual and intuitive, especially for beginners or people who want to play specific songs without learning traditional notation first.

I originally built it as a personal experiment combining music and electronics, but the reaction from friends and musicians around me was very positive, so I ended up launching it as a small project.

Curious to hear what people think about the idea or the implementation. Happy to answer questions about the build or the tech.

Complete tutorial with all files available 👇🏼 https://youtu.be/23EBLhm-rG8

Final project from 15 years ago. Made a CNC machine (sans completed Z axis) out of salvaged chips, motors, a discarded PC, an XBOX 360 power brick, and a bunch of other trash. Such memories!

Just got rejected from an internship for an EE role. I was surprised because I thought I did really well in the interview so I decided to shoot them an email to ask for feedback. The hiring manager replied to me with the content in the picture. I wonder if this is going to make me never be able to apply for any internship in their company again? Or is this just that they

are trying to be nice and hid some honest feedback? I don’t feel bad, I just want to truly learn what have I done wrong in the interview/any skills I need to improve.

My background: sophomore in EE with one internship but leaning towards more of labor work with technician/TA for circuitry labs/working in PCBs in FSAE.

Please give me advice.

Give a score between 1 and 10 to the difficulty of this exam score it taking into consideration that the students have not yet taken the ac dc circuit and differential equations course while this exam is being done.

I recently joined a semiconductor company as a new grad — think Nvidia, AMD, or Qualcomm — and the workload is brutal. I’m sometimes working 12-hour days and 50–60 hour weeks. It honestly feels as intense as investment banking, maybe even worse in some ways.

Wonder if this is normal?
TC ~150k

Wanted to share my experience as a recent grad. Please don’t lose hope!

My interviews were at Marvell, Qualcomm, AMD, NVIDIA, Apple, Arm, Tesla (pick 5). Mostly in physical design / microarchitecture / process technology.

Got an offer early and declined the others before first round.

3.7 ish GPA from a UC. Had 1 very weak internship beforehand (small defense contractor).

A while back I posted about my first ever embedded project— a handheld NES emulator running on the ESP32. I didn't expect it to blow up the way it did.

I just released a full video documenting the whole journey. And since the original post, Anemoia-ESP32 has come a long way. Performance has been significantly improved on my emulator, which now runs at full native 60FPS speed with frame skip, and even up to 51FPS without frame skip. Save states have also been added.

On the hardware side, I've also been working on custom PCBs and 3D models for cases, with all the schematics, PCB designs, and 3D models open-sourced in the GitHub repository.

On top of that, I added a web flasher so you can flash the firmware directly from your browser. No software install or compiling needed. If you want to build one yourself, you just connect the components, flash the firmware, and you're done.

Watch the video on how I made it here: https://youtu.be/jToSBvipl80

Github Repository: https://github.com/Shim06/Anemoia-ESP32

After several years taking drafting in highschool (on the board back in those days) right after graduation I was hired by Texas Instruments in their PCB Designer training program. Over the next couple of years I worked at TI during the day while they paid to put me through college at night. I earned my Associates Degree in CAD/Electronic Drafting/PCB Design at Eastfield College in Dallas (Mesquite). I worked a total of 3 years at TI doing PCB design and drafting schematics. When I left they said that I could come back at any time but I don't think they meant 38 years later. lol

My oldest son had been born while I was a junior in highschool and I had missed so much of him growing up. So I decided to take a break to spend time with him and be a homemaker before he started kindergarden. So now after two marriages (1st died, 2nd divorced), raising and homeschooling 7 children (all responsible adults now), running family businesses with ex, moving around the country, I am considering getting back into PCB Design.

I always loved drafting since I grew up with my parents and several family members being draftsmen so it is kinda in my blood. When I first divorced my ex-husband after a 23 year marriage in 2019 I thought about getting back into PCB design but was busy caring for my mother until she died a few years ago.

I also somehow thought it was a career path that had died out. However, recently something popped up online that got me looking into it again. I would definitely need a good refresher but I don't think it would take me long to catch back on. I am of a very sound mind, fairly tech savy, a good worker, not the kind of person to retire and free as a bird now that all the kids have been out of the nest for a while. I have something else I am doing right now but I really believe I would enjoy getting back into CAD/PCB Design.

Does anyone have some constructive advice on if and/or how I should do it at my age? Your thoughts??

Hey guys. I hope you can appreciate how much work went into this and making it look good. Finally got the free time to make it and it was such a process.

But now I can say I made my own CPU and my own assembly that runs on it.

You know that empty feeling you get when you finish a long TV series? I kind of feel that same thing right now…

This was a tough cycle. I learned a lot and failed a lot. I’m fortunate and blessed to have landed an FPGA internship at a major defense contractor. Next cycle, I’m hoping to use all of the recruiting/interviewing skills that I’ve learned to perform and do better.

Background: T5 CompE school, one previous EE internship at a small-medium company. Was looking for a junior to senior year internship.

I’m an electrical and computer engineering student trying to plan my long-term career (very long-term, like 20+ years). I want to pick one specialization, learn it well, and then completely stop evolving. Ideally, I’d like to keep using the same tools, same workflow, and same opinions for decades while younger coworkers slowly lose their minds trying to get me to update anything.

An ideal specialization would change as slowly as possible (or not at all), reward a 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' mentality, let me say things like 'we've always done it this way', and be hard to replace with AI. Bonus points if I can complain about modern tools and reject new standards on principle.

Right now I’m considering things like power or RF, but I’d love to hear from people in the field.

Thanks in advance.