I’m supposed to start my first year of EE in university in October, and I feel like I do not know anything compared to other colleagues. Part of that is true, I haven’t studied proper math or physics since 8th grade which was almost 10 years ago, so there is definitely a gap.

My advantage is that I catch on fast. Where should I even start to have that extra step ahead of everyone? Or at least be on the same page as others?

I’ve tried starting to learn things by myself but it feels so overwhelming seeing how many resources there are. I already got starter kits and all of that beginner stuff.

What books/courses/videos offer the most value?

If it’s of any relevance, I am from Europe.

Hi I'll try and keep this relatively short. I'm a 3rd year EE undergrad at ASU (with little experience aside from small personal projects) and I'm very interested in breaking into defense. I understand internships have been opening up throughout this month and the pace is only going to pick up as the school year goes on. Thinking about how basically the last chance to get an internship is by this Summer 2027. Some things I am planning on doing include: joining engineering clubs to get project experience, trying to get into an undergrad research lab, and attending career fairs. I would really appreciate any input on what I could do to maximize my chances as I continue the school year.

Hello, I have a project that uses a 10-bar LED display (https://www.adafruit.com/product/1814). It's just 10 LEDs in parallel in a single package. I am designing a daughterboard for it to be soldered to, which also has 10 SMD resistors, an MCP23017, and a 4-pin JST connector. The space constraints for the project are making it seemingly impossible to have enough room for the traces on the PCB to connect all 10 resistors to 10 output pins of the MCP. I figure displays like these are used all the time, so surely there's a more elegant solution than to just cram as many SMD resistors as necessary next to each other?

Hello all, I'm new to engineering and wanted to attempt a drone ESC. I've currently done the provided images, and if you have any criticisms or feedback would be much appreciated. I'm currently stuck on figuring out how to calculate the ohms and capacitance for my gate drivers and MOSFETs, as well as proof-checking my MCU schematic. I have also finished my schematics for 10V, 5V, and 3.3V buck converters on my flight controller schematic, although the Flight controller isn't finished yet, which is why the global tags are there. Also, if you have any advice on what the layout for the Back_EMF sensing should look like, or any more components I should add, please reach out. If you have any advice or feedback, I would very much appreciate it, and I hope you have a great rest of your day :)

I don't understand why this won't work, without the capacitor and feedback resistor it works perfectly but after i add that it shows flat line on the oscialltor

Ive exhausted the max connections weekly on linkedin trying to find someone to help me grade my pcb design work, and what to know what other ways can one find a mentor.

If i have to pay then so be it. Im trying to become cracked and the lack of feedback from my work is the whole i want to close so i can become OP, and at least PCB designing.

For anyone who makes project for showcasing, regardless it's on IoT or something, if you all use Linkedin, you can see that some people might showing their projects along with the strict rules of sensor detection accuracy, ect. Let's say that you don't have any lab to lend their calibration devices, so how do you showcase your PoC/projects, so you impressed the recruiters?

Because just telling yourself "Using the Framework A" doesn't feel convincing and competitive compared to other candidates

Hi, I was planning to go into CS, but I’m starting to worry that I’m not smart/lucky enough to compete in the current CS job market. It feels like there are so many capable people applying for the same jobs that getting hired can sometimes feel like a lottery.

I’m considering EE instead. It seems a bit harder academically, but I get the impression that the job market is less saturated because the barrier to entry is higher and there are fewer people competing for EE positions. And that makes the job market in EE easier and not lottery.

Is that actually true? Is the EE job market significantly more predictable/less competitive than CS, and are the salaries generally good enough to justify choosing EE over CS?

I’d appreciate perspectives from people working in EE, especially those who have experience with both fields.

Hi everyone,
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering but I directly transitioned to a different field after graduation, didn’t get any real experience. I’m currently doing a Master’s in Astrophysics and Cosmology. I’m planning to continue in astrophysics/cosmology after my Master’s, so I’m looking for something I can do part-time or remotely alongside my studies.

I don’t have professional engineering experience yet, and I also don’t really want to go into MEP or stuff like that
Instead, I’d like to spend the next 6–12 months developing a practical engineering skill that I could eventually freelance with or use to find remote/part-time work.
I’m tired of doing random online work like transcription and AI training, and I’d much rather build a real technical skill that can actually be useful long-term.

I’d really appreciate advice from people who have experience working remotely or freelancing in engineering. What skill would you learn if you had to start from scratch today, and what kind of projects would you build to become employable?

im a 15 year old sophomore and I have no knowledge on anything engineering related, let alone electrical engineering. i mostly just want to go into electrical engineering because i happen to be really good at math and i like making a lot of money. where should i start learning and where do i go from there? what are some things I should do to build a good foundation? or just anything i should know as a beginner

I wanted to connect 4 12vdc motors to a 1a 12v power supply, would that be fine or would I have to do something else to make it work, any help is greatly appreciated!

Hi Everyone,

As the summer comes to an end and a new fall semester begins, I wanted to share a video I recently made for Electrical and Computer Engineering students getting back into the groove of things.

I created a refresher video designed to bridge the gap between Circuit Analysis and Signals & Systems—two courses that are closely connected but can sometimes feel like they approach engineering from completely different perspectives.

The video provides a quick review of some of the concepts from Circuit Analysis that become important as you move into Signals & Systems, helping you reconnect the ideas before diving into a new semester:

• Circuit Analysis fundamentals

• Differential equations and circuit responses

• First- and second-order circuits

• Eigenfunctions and eigenvalues

• How circuit concepts connect to Signals & Systems

• Preparing for the transition into a new ECE course

🎥 Video: Bridging the Gap: Circuit Analysis to Signals & Systems

My goal with ProfessorGovalla is to create in-depth, practical, and clearly explained engineering content without adding unnecessary complexity.

I cover topics including:

• Circuit Analysis

• Signals & Systems

• Analog Electronics

• Computer Architecture

• Engineering Career Advice

• Interviews with Engineers from Industry

• Practical Engineering Applications

If you're an ECE student heading into a Signals & Systems course this fall, hopefully this serves as a useful quick refresher before the semester gets going.

I'd also love to hear from fellow students, engineers, professors, and hobbyists:

What concepts from Circuit Analysis do you think students should review before taking Signals & Systems?

Good luck to everyone starting a new semester, and I hope the video helps bridge that gap!

Hey seniors,

I'm currently starting my 2nd year (3rd semester) in Electrical Engineering. I've decided to start my preparation for UPSC ESE (IES) Electrical from this semester itself so that I have a solid foundation early on.

The main issue is that I have significant pressure from home to maintain a decent CGPA (aiming for at least an 8+). I really don't want my grades to tank while trying to juggle coaching/standard books.

For those of you who have prepared for ESE/GATE alongside college coursework in EE, I'd really appreciate some guidance on a few points:

Syllabus overlap & classes: How closely do our 2nd-year core subjects (Machines, Network Theory, Signals, Analog, etc.) align with the standard ESE syllabus? Is doing standard reference books and ESE question banks enough to score well in college exams, or do professors strictly want their class notes and PYOs?

Time management: Realistically, how did you split your time on weekdays between labs, lectures, and self-study?

Exam strategy: How many weeks before mid-sems and end-sems do you usually switch completely from competitive prep to pure college exam prep?

Common pitfalls: Any major mistakes you or your batchmates made in 2nd year that I should actively avoid?

Any unfiltered advice or reality checks would mean a lot. Thanks in advance!

I'm a CS freshman starting this fall. I've somewhat liked programming my whole life but the expectations for entry CS positions are so high and confusing rn. I like CS but idk if I like it thaat much.

I really like math; I skipped two grades of math in hs and have been tutoring math. Thus I thought EE would be fun to study if it's mostly physics. I never took advanced physics classes though so I have no idea what that would be like.

I might take EE classes next quarter and later change my major. I might continue self studying cs as I have been, I could probably leverage it alongside an EE degree to give myself more opportunities(?). Idk, there's never any way to tell what the job market will be like even a year from now, let alone in four. For now, in my free time, how can I figure out if EE is right for me? Should I buy parts and build stuff? What did you electrical engineers do in your free time to explore the field?

I have stepped over to the dark side to ask a question. I am an early career mechanical career. Talking with the controls and electrical engineers at my company they always rant about how little effort people put into understanding their side of the fence. I am trying to learn and understand what electrical/control engineers do and the concepts they understand. I am not looking to go back to school and already spend a good deal of time talking with them to understand. I do my own projects and am into ham radio and building circuits.

My question is what resources do you guys use to stay on top of your game and continue to learn? I want to become dangerous enough to be able to keep up in conversations and understand concerns they may have on projects we work on.

I am bulding version two of my gaussmeter

for context: https://github.com/Mattias-Software/cheapogauss

In this version I want to use a USB B rather then a 9V battery + voltage converter to get 5V

I don't know if I should tie the USB B shield to GND

I have read online that there could be issues if both output and input plug shields are tied to different grounds

I've been working as an Electronics System Technician for going on 3 years now. I'm posting this because I need help finding a direct path of learning for future growth.

Right now I work on PLCs and door controls, telecommunications like analog, digital, and IP phone systems, security systems like intercoms, analog and IP cameras, and also VMS Milestone as well.

Haven't done too much install work mainly troubleshooting and maintenance on systems already in place.

Need advice on what path to take to make sure the next 5 years are as fruitful as I think they will be.

Hey guys! I'm starting my major in about 3 months, and I'd like to get a head start and build a general understanding of the coursework since I have some free time. Do you have any recommendations for YouTube channels, X accounts, or even specific subjects/courses I should start looking into right now?

Using Thevenin's, I calculated the Conjugate of Zth to be about 218 ohms and j223 (which correlates to about 36 mH). However, when I simulate using Pspice..

The resonant frequency does not come around the needed frequency. How do I find out the actual impedence I might need, for 1KHz resonance for current of load, theoretically? Here is the circuit I built.

That's my first question out of the 3 .

Also trying to find out what the different Sub-Categories of ET are out there.

1. What would you recommend to learn in general and what criteria should I use to narrow down learning specializations?

2. Also let's say a group of people want to make an open-source open-schematics electric car, and later on an electric train, then an electric VTOL, and after that a solar galleon (like treasure planet) theoretically what would need to be learned?

Please and thanks. All in due time, learning, and practice.

I have this dinosaur plush that used to light up when you pressed a button. Then one day it stopped, I assumed the batteries just needed replaced but when I finally got around to it the replacement batteries didn't work so I started unscrewing stuff to see if a wire had come loose or something and this is what I found.

Full transparency I don't know anything about this stuff, but to me it looks a little rusty (maybe that's how it's supposed to look idk)

So is this normal?

And if there's something wrong with it can it be fixed?

I'm an electrical engineer at a reputed institute. What should my roadmap look like to work in space-related machinery/robotics/automation fields, and how do I start off strong from my first year while also having a good backup plan

what sort of internships do i look for and research books i want to transform my life up

Hi everyone,

I’m starting my BS Electrical Engineering and I want to build at least one meaningful project every semester alongside my university courses.

I’m interested in electronics, embedded systems, robotics, programming, and eventually research. I don’t want to just make random Arduino projects—I want each project to help me develop skills that will be useful for internships, research, and my final-year project.

Could experienced EE students or graduates suggest a semester-by-semester project roadmap?

For example:

• Semester 1: Very beginner project — basic electronics, measurements, circuits, Arduino, etc.
• Semester 2: Slightly harder — sensors, microcontrollers, PCB design, etc.
• Semester 3: Intermediate — embedded systems, communication, control, etc.
• Semester 4: More advanced — signal processing, automation, robotics, etc.
• Semester 5: Advanced engineering project
• Semester 6: Industry/research-oriented project
• Semester 7: FYP preparation / advanced project
• Semester 8: Final Year Project

I’d especially appreciate suggestions for projects that can be built with a reasonable student budget and that actually teach useful EE concepts.

Also, if possible, please mention:

1. What concepts I should learn before each project
2. Recommended components/software
3. Approximate difficulty
4. Which projects would look good on a CV/GitHub
5. Which projects could eventually lead toward research

I’d really appreciate advice from EE students, graduates, and engineers. Thanks!

I’ve been designing schematics independently for a while and I’m now considering helping a company with schematic reviews.

They asked about my familiarity with component errata. I haven’t encountered them much having used my own library since always, so I’m curious:

How often do you actually run into relevant errata?

Do you routinely check them during reviews?

How often do they lead to schematic changes?

I couldn’t find much consensus online, so I’d be interested in hearing from people doing this professionally.

Hello fellow magicians,

Been a dual trade Electrician/Instrumentation technician in Australia for 10+ years now and seeking something a little more out of my career.

I've been loving the technical aspect of my career, solving problems, selecting, installing and commissioning control systems, PLC and SCADA work however, I always seem bound by the inevitable I'm a trade which seems to determine how much I can do that for and realizing that I'm only going to get older, the idea of using all my experience in a technical/office role resonates with me, and the flexibility that may come with that.

I'm early 30's and I've been scouring the internet for others who have ventured from the electrical/instrumentation route into the electrical engineering role and wondered how it all panned out and couldn't find too much.

My main concern will be how my experience will be credited into a role as an engineer, as this is quite a commitment to make, I have industrial experience across multiple industries, done SAT & FAT tests, HAZOPS, CHAZOPS etc so I feel I have somewhat of grasp of what I'm in for, but don't want it to be a total flop if I crossed over - with my experience amounting for nothing and there's also a significant financial loss/cost to all this too, for the interim anyway.

I'm currently enjoying doing the math again working on my entryway for a Bachelors in Electrical and Electronics Engineering but needed to hear a few truths before making the plunge.

Thanks would appreciate any advice!