Do electrical engineers only work with circuits?

[thegreenlaser]

Scott, in every field we have mediocre people who someone managed to pass the courses without actually understanding anything.

It's also a little unfair to expect all electrical engineers to be proficient at all forms of electrical engineering (isn't that kind of the point of this thread?). That's like how certain relatives of mine think that I should know everything about all fields of science and be able to fix any computer problem because I'm an "engineer," and "engineers know that sort of stuff." People specialize, and they won't necessarily be good at things which aren't relevant to their job. You can't know everything...

 

[tyjae]

I am a Software Engineer who has often assisted with or even soloed on small electrical engineering projects.

My first surprise was how weak many EE's are at analog circuitry. For example, when I suspected a supplier was providing thin 75ohm cable that was not 75ohm, I was able to demonstrate the actual impedance with a pulse generator, an oscilloscope, and a few small parts - with no help available from my EE coworkers.

What I see as the other leg of EE is keeping up with the technology - knowing what components and methods are available and where to find them. Before the advent of the WWW, the EE's I worked with would maintain libraries of hundreds or thousands manufacturers' catalogs.

It can take as long to find the right connector as the right IC.

The problem you described above is something that a technician could handle in all seriousness. I couldn't imagine an Analog Design Engineer would be stumped by Impedance of a cable. At my job we have supply chain employees who are not engineers that would troubleshoot a problem like that. So when you say "no help from my EE coworkers" I'm not surprised. I mean why would they?

This forum seems to becoming "I don't have an Engineering degree but I'm better and more qualified than most".

 

[analogdesign]

The problem you described above is something that a technician could handle in all seriousness. I couldn't imagine an Analog Design Engineer would be stumped by Impedance of a cable. At my job we have supply chain employees who are not engineers that would troubleshoot a problem like that. So when you say "no help from my EE coworkers" I'm not surprised. I mean why would they?

This forum seems to becoming "I don't have an Engineering degree but I'm better and more qualified than most".

This is a good point. Most engineers are so overworked you will need to ask nicely for them to help, and as tyjae said, this isn't challenging.

Also, are the EE coworkers in question Analog or RF engineers? If they are computer or controls engineers they might not have seen anything regarding impedance since undergrad.

 

[mpresic]

Many EE's I know work in the area of optimal estimation, optimal control and communication. Many may work in power generation. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say the majority of them do not work in circuits. However, if you are an EE you need to understand circuits as part of your curriculum.

 

[AlephZero]

I am a Software Engineer who has often assisted with or even soloed on small electrical engineering projects.

The other side to that situation is: if your employer is happy to let somebody with no formal EE training loose on EE projects, maybe all the EE's who want to make a career from their profession are working for a different company.

(That is not meant as a criticism of your personal ability to actually DO the projects - we don't have any objective way to assess that.)

 

[mpresic]

I believe I stated if you are an EE you need to understand circuits as part of your curriculum.

I now feel that I should probably express this more strongly. I think an EE should be proficient in circuit analysis and design even if this means going beyond the curriculum.

As far as the criticism, I have no university degree in EE or AE. My BS,MS,PhD are physics.

Over the last 30 years, I completed (Graduate) Stochastic Signal Processing, Linear Control Theory, Modern Control Theory, Advanced (Nonlinear) controls, Optimal Estimation and Filtering, Robust Estimation, (Undergraduate) Circuit Analysis, and Communications, and perhaps more I lost count.

You need not assess my personal ability, my employer does that.

Finally, the projects I am selected for involve cross-functional teams from many disciplines, including physicists, mathematicians electrical and aerospace engineers, software engineers and managers. In my experience no one worked (I emphasize only) on circuits. (I never solo-ed on any projects except my doctoral dissertation unless you count my thesis advisor as a second person).

 

[mpresic]

I do think .Scott's earlier points regarding analog circuits is well taken.

I have not been involved in circuit analysis since 1988. The main push in schools may be digital rather than analog (I do not know this , but I would not be surprised). In 1988 a EE professor at Virginia suggested to me he felt courses emphasized analysis rather than design and maybe this should (or has) changed.

However this gets away from the main point of the thread regarding exclusivity of studying circuits.

 

[Vite]

I'm a newly graduated EE and I work very little with circuits. I took all of the intro circuits courses in my undergrad but pursued computers, signals, and control systems as my focus. I'm now an automation/control engineer and I don't do much with circuits at all. I can look at simple ones and follow them fairly easily, but my work mostly involves programming devices to function the way I want them to. I am far more competent in analyzing/manipulating signals on a mathematical level than designing the circuitry that is actually implemented in hardware. That is to say I can calculate a system's equation to achieve a desired output given an input, but I don't know how to translate my equation into circuitry very well.

There are many fields included EE, circuits/electronics is just one.