28 y/o lost and confused guy from Iran :( Need your advice please!

[WarlikePuberty]

I feel lost and confused, and I don't know where to begin  . There's a wall of text ahead, sorry for that.. I'm going to try to make this post as concise as I can, but English is not my first language, so please bear with me.

Recently, I turned 28 and sadly, up until this point in my life, I have accomplished virtually nothing I have ever longed for. To me, this is the direct results of not being well-matched with the education system and the general way of "life" in this doomed country. You may have already heard about the ongoing uprising in Iran and all the unbelievably horrible things about life in this hell country (and this region in general). 

The Iranian education system has never been a good fit with my learning style, although I almost aced at school each year (even though I also hate the Iranian school system which is inspired by third-world barracks' style of living... terrible), but there's a terrible university entrance exam here on par with a rigorous and meaningless spelling bee, only taking place once a year. I've wasted almost 3 years of my life for this bullshit.

Anyway, this "spelling bee" exam resulted in my placement at the country's largest system of universities, which is a private, yet affordable "university". I graduated from there with a B.Sc. of Electrical Engineering. This "university" is what I call a diploma mill, though many people would get offended by this, but basically, it's even worse than a high school. You can't believe how primitive and stupid it is. Almost no student there is eager and keen to learn and to develop themselves or some skills. They are mostly only interested in the degree at the end, and they do almost everything to cut corners, and the instructors or professors also help them with this. There's no appropriate lab at all, just a bunch of cheap, shitty, and faulty instruments that any poor hobbyist would have better ones at home. Yet, they don't allow you in the lab to experiment on your own, as if they had a million dollars equipment  . I hated every second of it.

During my time there, I got extremely depressed and unmotivated and couldn't really learn much, and I was trying to buy me time by being a student there so it took me so long to finish it, but I was able to finally "graduate", though being "illiterate". 

Now, I want to start over, but I don't know how  . I don't even know where to begin from. As I said earlier, I haven't really experienced electrical engineering and the industry, not even the academia or the different sub-fields of EE. I like hacking things and electronics projects, also reading and researching science like physics, chemistry, biology, etc. and their applications. Computer science and engineering is another interesting field that I'm thinking about, especially because I like organizing data (data science?) and AI/ML, and also because I already have a computer which is all I'd need for learning CS (I hope), as opposed to EE which I'd need to have access to lab equipment which I can't afford or get access to.

I'd like to do different and innovative things and not some ordinary, repetitive things. And now there's the emerging AI "God" that can even code as good as an average programmer. I don't know what will be left for us humans to do. Nobody can compete with an intelligent machine. It all sounds like humans becoming obsolete in the near future.

So here I am, totally lost and confused. I don't even know what path to take. EE? What sub-field of EE? The computer science/engineering stuff? What will have a better job market and pay worldwide and won't get automated any soon? Where should I learn the essential things on my own? I already know about OCW, but I have a feeling that it's not well-suited for people like me as it's often too extensive and time-consuming and there's no help with the material when you get stuck.

Please let me know what you think. Your advice's and comments mean much to me.

[jonpaul]

Bonjour, disturbing storey.
First I Suggest you edit way down  this long complaining post, and focus on your EE job objectif.

Our industry is thriving, Huge need for EE s  in power, nuclear, energy,  quantum computing, robot/ AI hardware, cinéma, mobiles,, etc.

Find a way for migration.
Beware of security and infosec risk of any webpossting, socialmedia.
Suggest secure VPN, Proton email

Finally  Please  drop the emoticon!

Just the ramblings of an old retired EE

Jon

[jpanhalt]

I read yesterday about the execution of an Iranian soccer/football player for his anti-government demonstration.  It was an American news outlet, so it may not be accurate.  If even close to being true, my advice is to keep quiet on public media, like EEVBlog.

[WarlikePuberty]

@jonpaul & @jpanhalt : Thank you for your concern. I tried shortening my post without leaving the essential parts out, and I'm already using a VPN service, so I hope this suffices.

It was an American news outlet, so it may not be accurate.

No, it was accurate.

[tom66]

A very unfortunate story.  Do you have better options, have you ruled everything out?  There is need for engineers all over Asia, Europe, even USA ... You could look at migration, initially going over on a tourism visa to see if you like it, then applying for a student visa once you are there.   I don't know what countries allow that though you shouldn't need the approval of your embassy to apply for a student visa to another country.
 
Some countries may be more accepting than others, especially given the political situation in Iran right now.  Your written English is good which will help you in your applications, though as the other poster has noted, you probably should tone down the emojis ...

In terms of AI, for a programmer, I don't think they are a big risk.  The algorithms are good at writing what is already created, but it's rare that a programmer would be exclusively asked to do that.  Human programmers will be needed until AI solves general intelligence, which would be terrifying for all of humanity I think.

[HuronKing]

Industrial control systems engineering and packaging is a very strong field with lots of demand. AI can't, yet, replace a field engineer who knows how to design panels and specify and program VFDs.
Learn about UL508A for example:
https://control.com/technical-articles/industrial-control-panel-design-standards-and-best-practices/

If you also feel there are gaps in your university knowledge, you can review through MIT OpenCourseware:
https://ocw.mit.edu/search/?d=Electrical%20Engineering%20and%20Computer%20Science&s=department_course_numbers.sort_coursenum

[WarlikePuberty]

A very unfortunate story.  Do you have better options, have you ruled everything out?

You could look at migration, initially going over on a tourism visa to see if you like it, then applying for a student visa once you are there.   I don't know what countries allow that though you shouldn't need the approval of your embassy to apply for a student visa to another country.

You probably read my post after I had edited some parts of it out. In them, I explained why it's so difficult to emigrate. I must also say that with the Iranian passport, you're not allowed anywhere decent, except for Turkey. For everywhere else, you'd need a visa, and it's always a strict process to obtain one because many people wouldn't return upon arrival. So they always ask for some evidence (mostly financial) to prove that you'll return. There's also a nightmarish compulsory military service that I talked about in one of the paragraphs that I finally cut out to make my post shorter, but put it simply, it's another barrier, making the "initially going over on a tourism visa" option very difficult, and not to mention the skyrocketing inflation and currency exchange rates.
And the real problem is with the embassies... Sometimes people get admissions from universities abroad, but the embassies make some excuses and reject the application. 
Those emoticons were only used to make my post probably more readable, but turns out I was wrong!

[tom66]

Could you go to Turkey?  I have heard that some of their engineering universities are decent, especially around Istanbul and Ankara.  Once you have a degree from a university there, if it is a Masters, you will be able to emigrate and settle in many other countries.  The biggest problem you would have is finding some way to fund your education if you have to pay tuition.  Perhaps a scholarship is available, but it could be tough, you might need to get a job and share an apartment to make ends meet.  The internet tells me Turkey offers scholarships to promising international students, but if not, tuition might cost only 4,000 EUR per year, which is something that could probably be paid with if you worked a second job and lived in a cheap place.  It could take a lot of effort but it could completely turn your life around, I don't regret for one moment going to university.  The other thing to consider is self-tuition and remote learning.  MIT CourseWare for instance, as you mention I think (OCW?), but there are also correspondence courses in computer science for instance.  I would say a CS degree is less valuable than an EE degree, as most software engineers I have met don't have a CS degree, whereas I only know a couple of EE's who do not have a degree and work in a professional field, so consider where you want to work and what you want to do.  And don't forget to work on personal projects when you can.  Employers LOVE seeing that.

[WarlikePuberty]

@tom66 (how can I properly mention you here without using quotes?) Turkey is also an option, but sounds like Italy is a better one. I'm looking at it and doing some online researches.
Besides OCW, what other resources or online courses would you recommend to "self-learn" EE as a compensation for what I didn't learn at uni?

[tom66]

I have found some of the best material is on Wikipedia, surprisingly enough.  (I only know about the English version.)  Also, it's worth looking at All About Circuits.  Everyone learns differently, but for me getting hands-on with a development kit or project is a pretty good way to learn.  Think about a problem in your life that annoys you. For instance my bathroom in my house was getting too damp after a shower because I forgot to put the fan on sometimes, so I built a humidity controlled fan circuit for it.  It's a cheap humidity sensor off the internet and a small microcontroller board that drives an opto-coupler circuit and relay switching mains voltage. (If you are less experienced, perhaps stick to lower voltages first, though.)

[rstofer]

If it were me...

I might try to capitalize on the linear algebra I have taken and learn everything I could about Machine Learning.  This field is exploding.

NVIDIA has some terrific tutorials and development systems.  At the lowest level in terms of performance, this work involves Python and a series of excellent libraries with a fancy video card in a PC.  Further up the line, Fortran and C++ are coupled with NVIDIAs CUDA units to gain higher performance.  Then there are the racks and racks of specialized processors in a datacenter configuration.

But that's just me...

I wouldn't overlook the possibility of getting an MBA (Master of Business Administration) or something similar for Data Analysis.

[eti]

Bonjour, disturbing storey.
First I Suggest you edit way down  this long complaining post, and focus on your EE job objectif.

Our industry is thriving, Huge need for EE s  in power, nuclear, energy,  quantum computing, robot/ AI hardware, cinéma, mobiles,, etc.

Find a way for migration.
Beware of security and infosec risk of any webpossting, socialmedia.
Suggest secure VPN, Proton email

Finally  Please  drop the emoticon!

Just the ramblings of an old retired EE

Jon

They’re his feelings. To edit would be dishonest. Allow him to express, it’s good for the soul.

[CatalinaWOW]

If your goal is to avoid military service you can't worry about legal emigration.  You are unlikely to achieve it, and if you go through legal channels they can always come after you.

The US, and I believe several other countries have political asylum rules that allow entry under special circumstances.  With Iran's standing in the world today it is likely that you will be able to show the need for political asylum fairly easily in several countries.

BUT, before you make such a move, make very sure that it is what you want to do.  In addition to the risks leaving your country, think through very thoroughly what it means to leave behind everything.  As bad as your country might be, it is the country and culture you were born into and grew up with.  Even if you find an expatriate community to live in you will be far from family, far from friends, far from the stores, far from the climate and everything you have now.  It may be the right step for you, but many find they regret it.  Two years of hell in the military must be compared with the rest of your life grafted into a totally different and possibly not totally satisfactory culture.

[WarlikePuberty]

[...]with a fancy video card in a PC.

I can't afford one due to the hyperinflation and cheap local currency, unfortunately, and AFAIK, even free cloud computing services need credit card info which I do not and cannot have (due to sanctions). 

If your goal is to avoid military service you can't worry about legal emigration.  You are unlikely to achieve it, and if you go through legal channels they can always come after you.

Well, that's not such a big deal as you may think. If you leave on bail and don't return, only the money (which isn't a big fortune anyway) would be gone, and they will ban you from leaving again should you ever return. I know many people who've done this.

The US, and I believe several other countries have political asylum rules that allow entry under special circumstances.  With Iran's standing in the world today it is likely that you will be able to show the need for political asylum fairly easily in several countries.

That would be great, but from what I've heard so far, it's not possible unless you physically go to one of the American territories, which would be quite dangerous and expensive. I wish there existed a way. 

BUT, before you make such a move, make very sure that it is what you want to do.  In addition to the risks leaving your country, think through very thoroughly what it means to leave behind everything.  As bad as your country might be, it is the country and culture you were born into and grew up with.  Even if you find an expatriate community to live in you will be far from family, far from friends, far from the stores, far from the climate and everything you have now.  It may be the right step for you, but many find they regret it.  Two years of hell in the military must be compared with the rest of your life grafted into a totally different and possibly not totally satisfactory culture.

That's really not the case here. Many people who have successfully emigrated tell of their recurring nightmares of being stuck in Iran and unable to leave, or being pulled off the plane at the last minute . And thanks to globalization, the borders between cultures are disappearing. Most zoomers here are already Americanized.

[Scrapcollector]

How much money would you have to leave as a "return security"? Just aproximately. Is it all you have, or would you be able to take some with you to pay for your journey after you've taken the first step out?

Will they confiscate everything valuable when you leave which you carry on person? Normally, wearing a gold necklace or arm ring is said to be a good option to take small amounts of cash with you, but it shure would catch the border guys eyes if you look like a rapper (wearing more than one piece).

"That would be great, but from what I've heard so far, it's not possible unless you physically go to one of the American territories"
Thats true, but you mentioned Italy - it maybe easier to reach, and they should also give asylum like the US? Once you got a job, you should be able to move on to the US some day.
Unfortunately, it is not so easy to be allowed to work if you are in asylum status if I remember correct. At least in Germany this is a big issue, people wait for years and are not allowed to work. You should write to some refugee help centers in different countrys and ask them how easy you can get a work permit with your education

Or ask how to apply for a job visa without your home country knowing. Probably harder to get, because I suppose you have to apply for a job abroad first and show a work contract? Thats a question for immigration experts in those countrys, so maybe we should focus on the technical education question again.

I can agree on wikipedia as a source of endless knowledge, but has its limitations. For example, it does not show you those free university lecures that where mentioned here, but through the links to other articles and the sources given you can get a broad understanding of technical history for example and find out your interests. The most interesting wikipedia journeys for me where always those when I was late doing other more important things.

How good is your algebra/methematics? If you know your maths and its fun to you, you can choose a wide range of university studies. If you hate it, you should go for something more practical, maybe not even a second degree, but more a "on the job training" (how is this called in english when you go to a job school after work to get a "craftsmans diploma" instead of a university?) and be a service technician or installation chief to bring things into service or roll out new software in companys. If you like to develop completely new things, forget the last few lines.
Being a really good programmer starts early, you can still learn it, but you have to be good at learning new programming languages (there are a ton of text and youtube tutourials, but I can not recommend one). I am a bad programmer although I played around with GWBASIC as a kid. But there are many programmers, and less analog electronics freaks, so I don't feel bad for it.
If you want both, programming and develop newest analog electronics, you should go for Physics and then experimental Physics. In Europe, there are many facilities to graduate/make your Doctor title after the uni and then work there.

By the way, if you still have the full version of your text saved, you can send it to me as a direct message, because detailed reports like this from people who "think like us" (technical people) are quite rare from your country and I think it is interesting to read (also if some think it may be offtopic in this forum - a short text is always better because people don't have time these days, but can have appendixes for further reading).