u/mushroom_counsel

Still in school for an EE degree, I feel like I have a particularly strong draw toward FPGA and RTL design. I even thought about switching to a Computer Engineering major to swap out some core EE courses for things like advanced digital design/computer architecture, and a digital VLSI course, but I thought about it some more and didn't want to be a computer engineering unemployment statistic, and figured having a stronger EE core would be a good floor to have. Too bad, because I really do like this stuff more than anything else so far.

Anyway, am I getting my hopes up by thinking I have a chance at an entry level job after graduating? Is this not really a new grad thing? I plan to make FPGA my main focus in terms of projects. I've read enough to know that they kinda want you to hit the ground running. Mostly interested in defense, communications, networking. I mean, anything FPGA would be great.

Just asking to calibrate my expectations and be aware of the opportunity costs I'd be incurring. Leaning hard into FPGA projects and developing C/C++ fluency (among other skills) means less time spent on the more probable job outcomes.

Thanks for reading.

Is it really as bad as the sentiment I see around here? I'm about to start a degree in EE, lately I've been wondering, "damn, is it really not any better than most things out there?" I settled on EE because broadly speaking, engineering is one of the last things out there that seem like they reliably land you a job after graduating (provided you actually try), standing beside things like accounting, actuarial science, and of course nursing.

I'm a career changer, I wanted something more engaging that pays decently, and I wasn't about to hop on the CS train because that's going off a cliff, and I'm not passionate enough about it to live and dream in leetcode for the rest of my life. EE isn't the most enthralling thing to me, but it's more interesting than maybe 95% of things out there, so it's a comfortable compromise.

Yeah yeah, I'm blogposting, sue me, but I just feel a little disheartened that it seems like even engineering, something that has historically been a stable and good living (which it still is), is becoming less of a good deal over time. Stagnation of wages, H1B oversaturation. The pay to effort ratio in the context of a lot of other professional white collar careers catching up in salary at this point. Even with all that considered, I still think EE is a very solid pick in the grand scheme of things, but if some of you are running around with your head on fire after graduating, not being able to find a job, then it starts to sting hard..

Maybe that's just how it is these days, nothing's "guaranteed" anymore, everyone's converged on the same career tracks and life decisions, everything's already priced in.

Anyway, I'm not even aiming for some fancy semiconductor job or anything big tech related, I just want a job in power at any old utility. I'd call that pretty modest as far as ambitions go, so I'll cross my fingers that specific job market will be fine by the time I get there.

If I plan to go into power systems (consulting or utilities), and my school doesn’t offer any power systems courses, is that going to count against me in a transcript screen?

I plan to teach myself to the best of my ability and maybe pass the FE, but I’m not sure if the coursework itself is going to be a big hit.

If I plan to go into power systems (consulting or utilities), and my school doesn’t offer any power systems courses, is that going to count against me in a transcript screen?

I plan to teach myself to the best of my ability and maybe pass the FE, but I’m not sure if the coursework itself is going to be a big hit.