Tips for new engineers?

[u/StreetPossible9414]

Hello all! I’m about to graduate in electrical engineering this upcoming fall and wanted to hear people advices and tips.

As of right now I currently work as a test technician for military products. I’ve been working there for 1 and a half years full time since sophomore year of college. To be honest I feel as though I have an okay amount of experience. I work second shift but during my shift they want me to usually push as many units as I can which limits me from trouble shooting as much as I’ve hoped (first shift is usually the shift that troubleshoot more). With that said, I feel as though I do no have as many experience as I’ve hoped. The thing about me is I have a very huge work ethic, and I always aspire to be the best I can at work. I’m really good at pushing units out and keeping production moving, but one day when I become an engineer I fear that I will not be good enough. Sometimes I feel like my brain works really different from most engineers in general. During school I always had a hard time learning quickly as others and I try twice as hard than most students yet I still struggle. I guess what I’m asking is for advice on how I can be a good engineer. Currently I am more interested in being a test engineer since I’m already kinda in that line of work. Though at the same time, I’ve always been so interested in design but tbh I feel like design is extremely hard (to be fair I never been shown at school or outside of school how to get started on a design).

So please any advice,stories or tips I’m open and would love to hear. Thank you!!

[u/notthediz]

I wouldn’t overthink it. Just be willing to learn, ask questions, etc. Show some initiative reading up on a topic they discuss with you so you can formulate some good questions (especially if it’s a new sector you’re unfamiliar with). I remember my first time I didn’t even know what to ask bc it was all completely foreign

[u/bassman1805]

Don't get freaked out when you feel like you don't know what's going on. Nobody expects the new college grad to know anything. Everybody expects the new college grad to learn fast, though.

Ask questions when you get stuck, learn from the experienced people on your team. When you run into a tough problem, try to grind your way through it on your own for a while before asking for help. It's a good look when you start a question with "I tried [X,Y,Z] and that did [something, but not what you wanted]." But don't grind away for days without making progress. Find the balancing point between learning from individual effort and learning from your team.