Photo: An integrated circuit from the outside. I used to think RF/microwave was black magic, then I realized that basic physics prevails, and it is a lot of fun! Highly integrated ICs are certainly beneficial in terms of accelerating and simplifying the design process, but faster and simpler designs may not have the same ability to capture the interest and ignite the creativity of the engineer, especially when these designs sink to the level of “connect the pins” engineering. The NXP CEO, Rick Clemmer, insisted that the planned NXP-Freescale deal is a strategic, not a tactical, acquisition. Highly integrated circuits result in faster/simpler design which can be less interesting? It does allow for not just doing plug-n-play and make-the-connections. 3D Printing3. This stuff couldn’t be more off the mark! There is good money in software engineering. I have recently found satisfaction in becoming a “roboticist” as a hobby (for now). Integrated circuit designers apply electronic engineering principles to the design, planning and production of integrated circuits used in electronic devices. As an electrical engineer, I strongly disagree with what this article is saying. You will have the opportunity to be a mentor as well. ), 7 of the Best Situational Interview Questions. The English term “engineer” finds its origins in the Latin word ingenium, a noun that refers to (among other things) something clever or inventive. It is expected that firmware development would evolve. The most suitable answer I’ve heard is that an engineer derives the best solution to a problem using the tools and materials available within the constraints of time and budget. Industrial engineers find ways to eliminate wastefulness in production processes. This is even more important in software engineering that some other industries. • They do not each PCB design in college but perhaps they should. Design leads to creation, and creation serves as motivation for design. Wonderful analysis! Example: I didn’t want to do what everyone else does: use Google voice-recognition APIs. Otherwise, we’d build all our analog, mixed signal and high speed digital circuits on breadboard. There’s still plenty of opportunities to mess up that hardware using appnotes - they’re not up to the standard of a reference design (not fit for production) and sometimes have glaring errors and newbie-itis. You must enjoy what you are doing. Sponsored by Stansberry Research But for me, there have been constants. Avago has been aggressively acquiring companies since it went public in 2009. As predicted, most of the hardware hype cycles do need the implementation on the embedded system level. (no ADC). That’s why IC manufacturers provide design guides and device models and recommend simulation. Working within the water and wastewater industry, an I&C or SCADA engineer will design and support SCADA and PLC (programmable logic controller) systems, condition monitoring, and project work including the commissioning and integration of new I&C/ SCADA projects. However, if you are still debugging a prototype, you probably need to work with hardware folks. If you’re working in a job where you’re connecting the dots between ICs then anyone can have your job. Subtle electrical concepts are certainly involved but, in many cases, they are a minor or even negligible factor in the process of converting the schematic into a PCB. Become a job provider!6. We see this same etymology in the word “ingenious,” which describes either a thing that exhibits originality and clever thinking or a person who has an aptitude for discovering and inventing (it does not mean “genius” in the sense of “remarkably intelligent”). Even adding TV supression can cause issues, so, yes, ENGINEERING is alive an well in this world of high interation. But we couldn't quickly get these machines together if it wasn't for these ICs. When I was in college, I enjoyed learning about transistors and thinking about how I might design an amplifier around a discrete BJT. Who needs shielding to pass CE testing? One thing I learned from going my own way even is to understand there are some limitations not just with my approach, but also with the standard OTS stuff. When I started we could buy four NAND gates in a DIP package, and we built logic circuits. While not an EE, I am motivated to respond because the situations that you describe are by no means limited to that field. Heads you win, tails you won’t lose muchOnce you start a company which becomes successful, you will get everything you wanted in life.Unfortunately, more than 90% of companies fail and only less than 3% take off. https://www.firstinspires.org This is where engineers are challenged and also get to help inspire the next generation of engineers. Do things you are not qualified forStarting up will give you the opportunity to do all sorts of odd things in which you do not hold any degree and force you to step out of your comfort zone. The increasing complexity and functional diversity of integrated circuits coincides with the extent to which traditional circuit design is confined within the walls of large semiconductor companies. I started tinkering with electricity/electronics as a kid in the 1960s. Some of them are also enterprising, meaning they’re adventurous, ambitious, assertive, extroverted, energetic, enthusiastic, confident, and optimistic. Add discrete components according to the recommendations in the datasheets. The total number of jobs created is 5000. On the other hand, life is really short, and if I want to actually create some autonomous robot that does something useful, then I can’t spend all my precious time down in the resistors, BJTs, caps, opamps, or all the 1’s and 0’s. For example, when observing problems, they may watch workers on a factory floor or staff in a hospital. I do miss the challenges of old-fashioned HW and SW design. They are curious, methodical, rational, analytical, and logical. requires a pretty solid engineering background I think. Wow. You may find your real self after working on something you love.Discover your passions and find one thing that you can work at without looking at the clock. However, when I saw that an inductor had a back emf equal and opposite to the forward emf yet current still flowed, I knew it was beyond my ken. I'd like to add that somehow I never let the smoke out until my later years (I got riskier lol). It’s survival mode, like the challenges of climate change, people will have to adjust their expectations to appreciate what they’ve got. There is still some elegant beauty to a single op amp, with some nice formulas to play with and a lot of ingenuity in play, such as making constant current sources, current amplifiers, various filters, etc. In their statement to the public, Intel said, “The acquisition will couple Intel’s leading-edge products and manufacturing process with Altera’s leading field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology. If design is your passion, then you’ll strive to seek that design job. Smart Wearables7. And whatever I’m creating doesn’t have the same ability to resonate with my theoretical identity as an ingenious engineer. The environment that once rewarded that is gone, and trying to do it these days will result in rent not getting paid and mouths not getting fed.