Becoming an Electronics Design Engineer

[matrixofdynamism]

After seeing Dave in action I am just wondering about this issue. Once a person has made some tiny circuits like RLC and transistor circuits and read books and done a degree in EE as well perhaps e.t.c, how does a person make the transition to being THE Design Engineer. Who is given a problem and works out the solution. I know we need experience for that. But what I mean is, there is so much out there, so much information, datasheets and circuits that we are not taught at the low levels. I feel that an EE Course is not enough. Mostly we shall just be solving textbook problems.

How do we become this person that just knows which components to get how to read all those datasheets and how to pull together a circuit?

[EEVblog]

How do we become this person that just knows which components to get how to read all those datasheets and how to pull together a circuit?

You don't, unless you do the same circuit over and over.
Every new design or project is a learning experience in some way, looking up stuff you've long forgotten or aren't sure about etc.

Dave.

[8086]

I've not been in the game as long as some, or perhaps most of the members of this forum, but I will try to answer regardless.

Don't just think, do. By doing you learn to think like an engineer. You learn things along the way that will help you with other things you do, and by doing them you learn things that will help you with other...etc etc.

You are right about a course not being enough imo. As desireable as a certificate in this and that may be, it is rarely a true indication of someone's ability at electronics. Personally, I have studied EE to HNC level, started a degree but I am leaving it for a while, and in the mean time gaining some real experience.

In time you will learn what to look for in components, and datasheets wont be a mystery, you get a feel for it and things just 'click'. I can't say that this happens every time, but the more you do of your own projects, the more you learn and the better your ability will be overall.

Remember, finding a solution to an electronics problem often requires modular thinking, that is breaking the problem down into parts, and fitting them together. Take Dave's power supply project. You have the voltage regulation element, current limit element, microcontroller/DAC element, and while they feed back to each other, they can be seen as separate circuits. It's much easier to think that way than to try and analyse the whole thing at once.

[Ajahn Lambda]

Every new design or project is a learning experience in some way, looking up stuff you've long forgotten or aren't sure about etc.

QFT.  As my dad said, "you have to learn how to learn."  That's probably one of the keys to engineering, IMO.


Can you imagine surgeons performing their job like this though?   

[matrixofdynamism]

The world being so full of so many results of creative circuit desing: Simple examples being AC-DC converter and later on Amplifiers, Oscillators, DC-DC Converters, Voltage Multipliers and later on circuits involving ICs like MCUs and FPGAs e.t.c there is a very big world out there. Where does a person start from? I have finished a degree but in reality I won't be able to do a design problem if you just gave me one, unless it is something simple like a AC-DC rectifier or a DC-DC converter out of a cookbook. I do not have the "Engineering Intuition" yet. I know about transistors and diodes and other things but don't have the "Thing" when it comes to EE. 

I had very high hopes from the EE Degree, I am not wholly disappointed from what I have learnt, but am not satisfied. I expected a lot more from it. I thought I would become this powerful guy who can just examine a circuit and know what it does. A person who imagines a problem and bingo produces the circuit to solve the problem. You get the Idea. I am not anywhere there yet, this is what makes me sad. 

When I see masters like Dave e.t.c I just wonder how did they become so good. Of course once they were also wondering about simple things like how to read that resistor value from the color code, or what a diode does, e.t.c but now they have become recognized experts in their field. I do not know what Dave is expert at since the circuit design world is so vast, and of course one can't be equally good at all things. But what Dave does he does it well. And I do not know how Dave chose that particular field within the EE.

My confusion: Where do I start from and what path should I take. I am just overwhelmed by so much information, so many good books, so many websites. I want to become expert as well you see.

Thankyou for the responses by the way. 

[EEVblog]

When I see masters like Dave e.t.c I just wonder how did they become so good. Of course once they were also wondering about simple things like how to read that resistor value from the color code, or what a diode does, e.t.c but now they have become recognized experts in their field. I do not know what Dave is expert at since the circuit design world is so vast, and of course one can't be equally good at all things. But what Dave does he does it well. And I do not know how Dave chose that particular field within the EE.

I'm an "expert" at very little, I like to think of myself as an electronics generalist who knows a bit about a lot, and that "lot" comes with time of course.  In some areas it's a "fair bit" and in many other areas it's a "little bit". And in some areas it's just plain "jack!" 
But there are still vast area of electronics engineering I know nothing about and have never touched. I've been doing electronics for more than 30 years, so you just naturally cover a lot of stuff in that time. Also the downside is you can forget a lot of stuff in that time too. For example, I may have once been an expert in some area I worked on solidly for 6 months, but 10 years later you remember very little of the details.

If I'm working on an area I know little about then I simply study it for a bit and you can generally become quite productive in that field quite quickly.
A lot of basic knowledge can be applied over a wide range of fields, so I like to think (and have promoted on my Resume) that I can contribute to any project immediately. Drop me in a meeting for a project I've never worked on or heard about, and I can likely contribute something right away.

My confusion: Where do I start from and what path should I take. I am just overwhelmed by so much information, so many good books, so many websites. I want to become expert as well you see.

You've already started, and there is no path you should take, just work on stuff you find interesting and enjoy. Don't try and "learn" everything, you won't be able too.

Dave.

[A-sic Enginerd]

You've already gained your first lesson: a degree doesn't make you an engineer, it merely gives you the fundamental background to start doing stuff productively.

Yes, you've nailed it - time.
Think of it this way, I've determined that a class in college that takes a full semester to complete is equal to about a single 40 hr work week. That's it. So tally up how many core classes you've taken and you'll find it really doesn't amount to a whole lot compared to once you're on the job.

I'll give you another perspective from my specific nitch of the world (chip design): give me an above average engineering student that just graduated with a BS and it will be a min of another solid 2 yrs of being on the job full time before they are a truly fully contributing engineer that can be given a major task without a lot of hand holding.

[vk6zgo]

The world being so full of so many results of creative circuit desing: Simple examples being AC-DC converter and later on Amplifiers, Oscillators, DC-DC Converters, Voltage Multipliers and later on circuits involving ICs like MCUs and FPGAs e.t.c there is a very big world out there. Where does a person start from? I have finished a degree but in reality I won't be able to do a design problem if you just gave me one, unless it is something simple like a AC-DC rectifier or a DC-DC converter out of a cookbook. I do not have the "Engineering Intuition" yet. I know about transistors and diodes and other things but don't have the "Thing" when it comes to EE. 

I had very high hopes from the EE Degree, I am not wholly disappointed from what I have learnt, but am not satisfied. I expected a lot more from it. I thought I would become this powerful guy who can just examine a circuit and know what it does. A person who imagines a problem and bingo produces the circuit to solve the problem. You get the Idea. I am not anywhere there yet, this is what makes me sad. 

When I see masters like Dave e.t.c I just wonder how did they become so good. Of course once they were also wondering about simple things like how to read that resistor value from the color code, or what a diode does, e.t.c but now they have become recognized experts in their field. I do not know what Dave is expert at since the circuit design world is so vast, and of course one can't be equally good at all things. But what Dave does he does it well. And I do not know how Dave chose that particular field within the EE.

My confusion: Where do I start from and what path should I take. I am just overwhelmed by so much information, so many good books, so many websites. I want to become expert as well you see.

Thankyou for the responses by the way. 

Look at a lot of other people's designs,see how they do things,analyse their thinking,using the tools that your Uni Degree has given you.
After a while,you will be able to look at a problem,& immediately get a feel for a likely way to approach things.
I'm not advocating slavishly copying other's designs,but if you have an idea of common ways of doing things,you may be able to develop an improved method,whereas,if you insist on "re-inventing the wheel",you may repeat any mistakes they have already solved.

I'm only a Tech,but I've had to design stuff from time to time,(although I'd much rather have had an EE to shoulder the blame if things went wrong).
Time spent repairing other people's designs gives a feeling for what is good design,& what is bad!
My designs usually work,but they are clunky as hell.
The greater finesse in an Engineer's designs show the greater depth of theoretical knowledge of the"Ginger Beer".

VK6ZGO