Electronics genius - Career related questions

[krzynochze]

Hi

I was wondering if I could get the opinions of people more familiar with the electronics industry on a few questions I have.

Is a career in electronics worth pursuing anymore? I only know little bits from things I have read, but it seems that a lot of work is moving offshore? Please correct me if I am wrong.

What sort of salaries are achieveable in electronics?

What sort of intelligence/aptitude do you need to study/work in electronics to a high (degree or more) level?

Are there any stars in the electronics world who can command massively high salaries because they are so good at what they do? I read an article in wired, and I wondered if there were anymore I could read about.

Thanks for you help.

 

[rjvh]

Hi

I was wondering if I could get the opinions of people more familiar with the electronics industry on a few questions I have.

Is a career in electronics worth pursuing anymore? I only know little bits from things I have read, but it seems that a lot of work is moving offshore? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Where are you located (what is offshore for you)?????

What sort of salaries are achieveable in electronics?

it depents where you are located and the cost of living of that place

What sort of intelligence/aptitude do you need to study/work in electronics to a high (degree or more) level?

you need to be presize willing to learn (as the electronics still is progressing and intergrading with other fields and trades)

Are there any stars in the electronics world who can command massively high salaries because they are so good at what they do? I read an article in wired, and I wondered if there were anymore I could read about.

You have those people in every trade but they make up just 1% of all persons availible and its often a combination of skills on the right moment

Thanks for you help.

if you consider a job in electronics for the big bucks the chances that you get filthy rich are slim

but it's much more importand that you do something that you enjoy and can make a living from it

that is hard to express in a value of money

Robert-Jan

 

[Brian218]

Here are a few additional comments to RJVH's excellent reply.


Quote:
Originally Posted by krzynochze
Hi

I was wondering if I could get the opinions of people more familiar with the electronics industry on a few questions I have.

Is a career in electronics worth pursuing anymore? I only know little bits from things I have read, but it seems that a lot of work is moving offshore? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Where are you located (what is offshore for you)?????

There are still plenty of good electronics jobs in my area (Pacific NorthWest). If you enjoy electronics then a career in electronics is worthwhile.

What sort of salaries are achieveable in electronics?

it depents where you are located and the cost of living of that place

My employer starts entry level technicians at about $15.00 hour. engineers are paid more and assemblers are paid less. I make a decent livable wage as a technician, I'm not filthy rich, but I don't live paycheck to paycheck either.

Benefits are also important...401k, vacation, insurance etc.

What sort of intelligence/aptitude do you need to study/work in electronics to a high (degree or more) level?

you need to be presize willing to learn (as the electronics still is progressing and intergrading with other fields and trades)

"People" skills are very important, as is a positive attitude; oftentimes a positive attitude is more important than technical skills IMHO.

Are there any stars in the electronics world who can command massively high salaries because they are so good at what they do? I read an article in wired, and I wondered if there were anymore I could read about.

You have those people in every trade but they make up just 1% of all persons availible and its often a combination of skills on the right moment

Generally the "stars" will get larger raises.

Thanks for you help.

if you consider a job in electronics for the big bucks the chances that you get filthy rich are slim

but it's much more importand that you do something that you enjoy and can make a living from it. Yup, I concur 100%

that is hard to express in a value of money

Robert-Jan

 

[gramo]

I'm an avionics technician, and I have got to say from experience that it is one of the most underpaid technical trades you could possibly enter

This said, it offers excellent job satisfaction and training for moving into other fields.

Micro controllers is a hobby on the side for me, something else to think about when I don't have my nose stuck in aircraft wiring pubs

 

[jpanhalt]

How far do you want to go in your education? If you have not started college, there is value in taking a major that interests you. Then, pick the field (i.e., graduate study) in which you eventually will work later. Such cross-disciplinary people often do quite well. John

 

[SPDCHK]

When I started my studies after finishing school I wanted to become an electronics engineer because of my love for the subject. Money constraints unfortunately lead me to follow a completely different (yet not that far divorced) direction. I started as an Instrumentation technician, and have worked my way up to a Control Engineer with a Mining EPCM company.

As with gramo, electronics is now just a hobby, one that I exercise as much as spare time allows, but I still sometimes wondered what I would have become had I followed my passion?

 

[krzynochze]

Hi

I'm located in the UK, so offshoring would be anywhere else in the world really.

I'm not looking to get filthy rich, although if the opportunity came along I wouldn't turn it down. I just wanted to get an idea of the moeny that can be earnt with hard work and years of studying.

I do have other fields that I'm interested in, and potential salary and job market has an influence on what I choose. It has to, as there is no point in doing something that has no jobs or where the jobs are slowly dissapearing.

 

[crutschow]

What sort of intelligence/aptitude do you need to study/work in electronics to a high (degree or more) level?

I believe an innate curiosity about how all things work, and a certain knack and desire for solving problems are great assets, particularly if you want to enjoy your work. Of course all engineering disciplines involve a significant amount of applied math so it helps to be good at higher mathematics (algebra, calculus). (I was never really great at math but was able to do enough to get by.) These days computers can do a lot of the mathematical grunt work that used to be done by hand. But you still have to understand the equations.

 

[quixotron]

Well, first of all, how did you score in your maths and sciences? Second, what do you like, do you like to software or hardrwae? do you like to design or do research?

 

[krzynochze]

Well, first of all, how did you score in your maths and sciences? Second, what do you like, do you like to software or hardrwae? do you like to design or do research?

Well maths is not my strongest subject. In fact it's probably my worst, but I think I can overcome that.

I really dislike programming, and am really interested in the hardware side, which is why I'm thinking of ee. I like research, but I haven't really done design so it's hard for me to say on that.

 

[quixotron]

Well maths is not my strongest subject. In fact it's probably my worst, but I think I can overcome that.

I really dislike programming, and am really interested in the hardware side, which is why I'm thinking of ee. I like research, but I haven't really done design so it's hard for me to say on that.

well, if your math is poor, then you shouldn't try EE. Try EET. EE is more scientific and theoretical in approach. What type of applications would you like to go into?

audio? speech processing? IC design? antenna modeling and analysis? controls? probability? Think about it

 

[3iMaJ]

Well maths is not my strongest subject. In fact it's probably my worst, but I think I can overcome that.

I really dislike programming, and am really interested in the hardware side, which is why I'm thinking of ee. I like research, but I haven't really done design so it's hard for me to say on that.

Weakness in mathematics is ironed out in college, don't let that deter you. EVERYONE comes into college weak in mathematics, its not unusual. Some are better than others for sure, but they wouldn't bother with all that math if everyone was innately good at it.

 

[Salgat]

Weakness in mathematics is ironed out in college, don't let that deter you. EVERYONE comes into college weak in mathematics, its not unusual. Some are better than others for sure, but they wouldn't bother with all that math if everyone was innately good at it.

If you are bad with math in general, then you better be extremely dedicated to make it through an engineering program. This may mean spending up to 4-8 hours daily on homework that may never seem to make sense to you.

 

[crutschow]

If you are bad with math in general, then you better be extremely dedicated to make it through an engineering program. This may mean spending up to 4-8 hours daily on homework that may never seem to make sense to you.

And since you will do a lot of math, you'd better have at least a moderate liking for it, even if you're not the best at it. If you dislike math then steer clear of engineering.

 

[3iMaJ]

If you are bad with math in general, then you better be extremely dedicated to make it through an engineering program. This may mean spending up to 4-8 hours daily on homework that may never seem to make sense to you.

I was bad in math and thats what I did during my first year of college. Now I'm 1 year away from a PhD in electrical engineering. People have an amazing ability to become very good at something they were previously bad at. Having dedication toward math goes a whole lot further than being exceptional at math but lazy. Exceptional only gets you so far (maybe through the first year).

 

[Optikon]

Hi

I was wondering if I could get the opinions of people more familiar with the electronics industry on a few questions I have.

Is a career in electronics worth pursuing anymore? I only know little bits from things I have read, but it seems that a lot of work is moving offshore? Please correct me if I am wrong.

What sort of salaries are achieveable in electronics?

What sort of intelligence/aptitude do you need to study/work in electronics to a high (degree or more) level?

Are there any stars in the electronics world who can command massively high salaries because they are so good at what they do? I read an article in wired, and I wondered if there were anymore I could read about.

Thanks for you help.

I make a decent living as a design engineer doing electronic design / product development. So yes, I think a career in electronics is worth pursuing.

It is true that alot of work is moving offshore but in my experience that is mostly software stuff (MOSTLY) and if you specialize in something, chances are offshore is unattractive to a company.

Besides, I believe that if you are good at what you do and people like you, you will always have a job so no worries on that.

Salary is largely dependent on location and years of experience/education. I can give you some typical numbers if you would be more specific about those areas. I'll go out on a limb though and say BSEE fresh out of college with NO job experience should start at $45k USD to $65k USD depending on location.

Are there any stars in electronics? I would say there are famous people like Bob Pease who no doubt, command a large salary.. starting your own business / company that does well is likely the only way to get rich with a n electronics background.

My best advice is make sure you REALLY like / love electronics before going into that field. Don't worry so much about the money, you'll be able to support a family and not struggle financially.