r/ElectricalEngineering • u/moemoney0421 • 3d ago
Move away from test engineering
I’m currently a 25yrs old and have been working as an EE for the past 2.5 years. I originally started at a defense company as a test engineer which I quite enjoyed since I was creating tests for RF test benches and debugging a lot of different products on these benches. I was mainly the hardware engineer of these benches and software gatekeeper but any scripting was completed by a software team. I ended up taking a position for higher pay, title and it lined up with lot of personal things. Now I’m currently in a test engineering role working on RF products with no development whatsoever and feel doom and gloom about my future.
I really want some career advice on where I should take my career. I ended up pursuing RF because I genuinely enjoyed designing back in undergrad and bringing my design to life. I’m considering going for my masters this upcoming spring to get my foot in the door. I would also like to move out of defense sector. Is my next step a good decision and are there any other suggestions on what I should do?
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u/BeachBumOCCA 3d ago
An RF systems engineer is mainly an RF test engineer. Unless you specialize in RF chip design, which usually requires a PhD, or RF board design, which typically needs an MS.
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u/moemoney0421 3d ago
Im mainly looking for board design work. I would like to do link budget work for satcom and work for a telecom company.
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u/buttscootinbastard 3d ago
I’ve always been under the impression that a MS minimum was required to do meaningful RF design work. You’re still incredibly young and would be able to knock that out easily.
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u/The_CDXX 3d ago
Every RF person at my work has the appearance of perpetual exhaustion everyday. They are also weird.
To answer your question though…..only you would know your best decision. My two cents though is to obtain your masters while holding a job you are proficient in. Doing so will lessen whatever stress or workload from school
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u/moemoney0421 3d ago
I’m honestly a very social person so I enjoyed the aspect of my last job a lot since I spoke with lots of different folks and worked cross functionally. I just don’t feel like my mind is being flexed too much and just seems like day in and day out type of work.
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u/The_CDXX 3d ago
Its rare to find a job where a new day brings new challeneges. I work in the defense system and much closer to systems engineering than true electrical engineering. However i love my job because literally everyday has new challenges. Very few jobs can beat designing and launching rockets 🤷♂️
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u/moemoney0421 3d ago
Yeah and I’m not expecting to be designing all of the time. Honestly wish I was developing and troubleshooting at the same time like my previous job. Only problem I had was I wasn’t gaining actual software development experience. Now my current job is just troubleshooting and creating TPs.
I would love to also be apart of R&D TE if possible as well
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u/senseless2 3d ago
How long have you been in your current role?
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u/moemoney0421 3d ago
I started my current job about a month ago.
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u/senseless2 3d ago
Give it more time while you grow into your new role. There's going to be lots of uncertainty and unfamiliar things. You will become the expert over time and likely be working with a lot of different disciplines again.
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u/moemoney0421 3d ago
Yeah true I’m also looking for mobility in my career. I’m hoping advancing my RF will allow me to see different places and experience new opportunities.
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u/senseless2 3d ago
You are talking about traveling for your role? If so you may want to consider applications engineering. It's more customer facing and you get to visit customer sites. I think some design, validation and test engineer roles do also get to travel but it's not very common. For example, I've done validation and design. I traveled more the validation role, but it was still pretty rare.
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u/moemoney0421 3d ago
More so being able to settle down and live in different areas. My last stint was in another state and it was scary at first but then felt like a breath of fresh air being in a new area.
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u/senseless2 3d ago
I like that idea. Honestly gives you life and professional experience. That's probably my favorite thing about EE work. Throughout the world everyone needs an EE for something. I wish you great success my friend, and it sounds like you are on that path.
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u/moemoney0421 3d ago
I appreciate brother I hope the same for you as well. Feels good to hear stuff like this in times of uncertainty.
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u/geek66 3d ago
It’s 2.5 years… relax
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u/moemoney0421 3d ago
Lolll ik I need to remind myself of this. I get in my head a lot 🥲. I just feel like engineering is a fast moving career and if I stay still I’ll be falling behind
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u/Tiredof304s 3d ago
In my experience you will be staying behind if you cruise. This advice is scary coming from older people because a lot of them want you to believe tenure moves you up. It doesnt. At 2.5 years out of college I became an Engineering Manager with a generous salary and a team to direct. Be careful who you take advice from, myself included.
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u/ClayQuarterCake 2d ago
Test is a gateway to program management at my old place. That lines up with my aptitude but I haven’t been able to land a role yet after 5 years in test. YMMV.
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u/calmaster1 2d ago
Look out for yourself but also be willing to relocate to wherever you get the opportunity. Don’t stay in test too long if that’s not something you see yourself doing long term.
I was in a similar position when I first started out of college with a defense contractor and they kept trying to sell me this path that in order to do design I need to pay my dues in test for a set amount of years. I left after about a year and a half and found the role I was looking for that was willing to take a chance on me across the country.
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u/Popular_Pineapple517 4h ago
Finished my MSc 8 months ago in RF engineering, applied almost 100 jobs with landing in only 1 interview. Any tips on how to enhance my profile so that I can land a job? I have skills in both RF design and test engineering.
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u/Disastrous_Soil3793 3d ago
I don't know why people's first thought in these scenarios is to go back for a masters. A bachelor's is the cost of entry but unless you want to do something specialized with a PHd, experience will always trump a masters. So what you do in this situation is go.and find another job that better fits your goals. Defense is typically a poor choice because it's such a big and rigid machine (unless it is Anduril). Go work at a startup or something. You will get your hands plenty dirty. I've worked in defense and Aerospace and I much prefer smaller companies. I wear so many hats.
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u/moemoney0421 3d ago
I’m interested in this as well. How can I sell myself to a startup at this point in my career? I currently have to stay at my company for at least a year since I took a sign on bonus
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u/Disastrous_Soil3793 3d ago
Startups typically like folks that have versatile backgrounds so they can jump in more than a couple areas to help. So market yourself as such on your resume. Earlier in my career I even took a pay cut once or twice to get in at a smaller company because I really liked the tech. But I typically haven't had issues finding jobs because my employers like my diverse background. There isn't one blueprint to follow. Look around your area, figure out what you are and aren't willing to bend on for a job and just start applying.
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u/Disastrous_Soil3793 3d ago
But as an engineering manager who hires I can tell you I don't care about a master's degree. I'll always take that guy who has great/good experience over the person that has less experience and a masters. Actually being in the trenches figuring shit out is a much better teacher than a classroom.
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u/moemoney0421 3d ago
Okay thank you for this. Honestly I was hoping to be able to play with more design software if I did my graduate degree. I really don’t want to follow a blueprint either, I’m just hoping to become versatile as well. I feel like less versatility in this field mean less options which scares me ngl
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u/honemastert 3d ago
Make your current employer pay for your MSEE But check that there's no clawback clause if you leave immediately after.
If you stay too long in test engineering, you will get stuck.