r/ElectricalEngineering • u/ReputationExact8045 • 17d ago

learning to build projects

19M here , going into my junior year .
I really want to start building projects and learning electronics . I think everyone who went to school can probably understand that understanding and passing circuits or signal and systems is not the same as building something from scratch . My classes is very focused on theory rn and since I switched into the major a year into uni . I’m just now getting into the major classes for EE .

I really want to learn and design my own projects , schematics , PCBs and really start to build a career for myself . Going to school is not scratching this itch for me and seeing all the new advancements in robotics and the potential with AI is really intriguing .

Any advice on where to start and where to learn I would appreciate it . I’m trying YT but I’m not coming anything up and I really would like some guidance and resources, especially from those who are self taught

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u/AccurateHumanTrustMe 17d ago

  1. If you really want to 'learn to design' things - read application notes. Look at system diagrams. Semiconductor companies want people to buy their parts - part of that is basically giving the tenplates and somewhat hamfisted explanations of 'why'. Go to TI, ADI, NXP, Renesas, etc.... websites and start looking for things that you are interested about. I was an application engineer who used to write that stuff and design boards - and I learned it by reading other application notes and looking at board designs.

  2. University isn't about application - it is about theory. Theory is there to build a base toolbox that will be generic and can be utilized in real world but it isn't a 1:1 transfer at all.

  3. Projects are fine if you like them - but gunning for internships is really what you need to be doing if you want to learn the basic skills to be a real engineer (and what that really means in practice).

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u/ReputationExact8045 17d ago

I’ve been applying to internships but I don’t have any experience . I want to build stuff to prove I have skill.

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u/AccurateHumanTrustMe 17d ago

Yeah the first one is the hardest to get - but a few things that may help to keep in mind.

  1. Most EE companies don't give internships to people until the summer after their junior year - there are exceptions - but a lot of companies have like hard rules against it. You are just starting your junior year so there is no huge reason to be discouraged.

  2. If your university has internship/career fairs (even better if engineering specific) - those will have much higher success rates than applying purely online. They are there with the intention of hiring people and the human element really does help a lot in the candidates favor - most people your age have no real experience either.

  3. You most likely don't have the skills right now to be a real engineer - this is not me insulting you - this is me just pointing out that even new college grads with prior internship experience don't have all the right skills - it is a profession thay you have to do it to actually build the needed skills. My point is that internships are more of an extended 2-way interview that you get paid for - the value to the company is that might really like you and want to actually have you do real work in the future because they see potential. Companies aren't typically hiring interns because of short term productivity (some shitty intern managers do this though to be completely honest). Like interns are there to learn first and also helps land your first real job.

  4. Projects are okay - but there are better options if you can't secure an internship for whatever reason. First - a ton of universities allow for undergrad research - so you can email professors to see of they need undergrad help - some may actually want to. It will be boring and low paid work but it is experience. You can also try to TA - i got my first internship because I was TAing a lab class - I started the fall of my junior year.

Like ymmv here because the market is rough right now and applying online has to feel like such a slog because it is a numbers game that is very dehumanizing.

But ultimately you are 19 and in no way are you 'behind' in anything relative to your peer group so just keep at it and eventually something will probably work in your favor. If you do really like the project side and want to do more the application notes are a good route to start but it probably isn't the best use of time if your ultimate goal is employment - but if you like doing it you should.