Electronics and Communication Engineer

[benzun_1999]

Hi all,

I will be joining Electronics and Communication Engineering at National Institute of Technology Trichy(India) in a few days. My idea was to get involved in high tech industries like satelllite designing or avionics or things like that. I know i am pretty late when i ask you this question but i want help from all of you. First i heard that there is no electronics and communication engineering(ECE) in USA, so to those folks for USA i think ECE is a combination of Electronics and communication... so can anyone begin by telling me what ECE equivalet to in USA education standards. What i am keep in knowing is if it is possible for me to be Space research by doing this bachelor degree. Then i want to know what is the scope of ECE? I am sure there must be atleast one person who has done ECE... so i want to know what all are the current focus in ECE ie field of hot research. Then can i really achieve something high in todays science by doing ECE as my bachelor degree?

Please help me and give me your point of view. Your help will really prepare me for the college.

-Benzun

 

[Maxwell]

The way we do our degrees is a bit different here in the US. We don't start our university education by specializing within a subset of a certain engineering field. By this I mean that electrical engineers don't immediately decide they are going to take a communications approach or a control system approach.

A person who wants to go into electrical engineering would start off by getting a BSEE, or a bachelor's in electrical engineering. There is not real focus on a specific subject during the first three years of this degree... just the main foundational courses required by the ABET accreditation people. During the fourth year, it is possible at some schools to specialize by taking electives within a certain field, such as communications.

If someone really wants to specialize, they will need to go to graduate school for at least a master's degree. So if you wanted to become a communications engineer, you would specialize your master's degree around taking courses in that area.

Of course this is not to say that someone with a BSEE can't go right into industry and work at a specific company that fits their interests, like a communications company. But if I got your question right, I think you're trying to figure out how a person would specialize in the field of electronics and communications in the United States.

 

[benzun_1999]

thanks that was really helpfull... Wat i want to know is how much value the course i do will be in USA. But these ppl who splize in Communication can they do avionics for higher studies?

 

[benzun_1999]

Can i do ECE and become an astronught??

 

[Maxwell]

thanks that was really helpfull... Wat i want to know is how much value the course i do will be in USA. But these ppl who splize in Communication can they do avionics for higher studies?

Hm, how much value your course will have here is hard to say. It's certainly a nice background to have, and you'll probably be able to find work. When you say avionics, do you mean avionic navigation/control systems within the electrical engineering field? Or are you asking about changing fields?

I'm not sure that I'm getting your question 100% right. Your degree seems as if it's equivalent to a BSEE here.

If you have a good background in EE basics, you should be able to get a master's degree in avionic navigation/control systems. I believe at most universities the avionics area in the EE department is part of the control systems subgroup.

So, to sum it up: if you want to specialize in avionic navigation and controls, you can get a master's degree specializing in that area.

If you want to just work on navigation systems, you could most likely just get a job with an aerospace company like Boeing. I'm not sure if you can get a job at defense-based aerospace companies, because they usually require secret clearance.

Can i do ECE and become an astronught??

Sure. I believe that you can be an astronaut with any technical degree.

 

[benzun_1999]

thank you. by avionic i ment navigation/control systems. you cave clarifed me.. thanks a lot.. now i feel i have not totally made the wrong decision. thanks a lot for your help. In India most ppl take a course looking into job oppurtunities and pay role. Ppl joining a course with research oriented mind is very few. What is a secret clearance?

 

[buster]

In India most ppl take a course looking into job oppurtunities and pay role. Ppl joining a course with research oriented mind is very few.

yea that's a big problem..

 

[benzun_1999]

do u think ece will be good for me who is research oriented.. i am not interested in earning money.. but am interested in earning a good name as a brilliant researcher... does ece have a lot to offer in that direction?

 

[buster]

yup.. any field has a lot to offer in the research department. i m a mechy n i feel ece has got more opportunities than mechanical in the field u r interested(ie research)

 

[Maxwell]

thank you. by avionic i ment navigation/control systems. you cave clarifed me.. thanks a lot.. now i feel i have not totally made the wrong decision. thanks a lot for your help. In India most ppl take a course looking into job oppurtunities and pay role. Ppl joining a course with research oriented mind is very few. What is a secret clearance?

Secret clearance is a level of security you obtain to work on classified projects for various defense contractors and companies that do work with the military or any organization that works with the government. I believe there is a clearance level for foreign nationals, but in general, you need to be a US citizen.

The clearance involves background checks, drug tests, etc. depending on the level of clearance you are going for. There are a bunch of levels, each giving you more and more access to different layers of sensitive material.

do u think ece will be good for me who is research oriented.. i am not interested in earning money.. but am interested in earning a good name as a brilliant researcher... does ece have a lot to offer in that direction?

Oh, yes, there is plenty of room for research and making a name for yourself in the communications area (you are asking about ECE, still, right?).

A lot of the big names in electrical engineering come from a communication or control background. Have you ever heard of Claude Shannon?

And electronics has lots and lots of room for making a name in research. It's wide open.

 

[buster]

but am interested in earning a good name as a brilliant researcher...

not intended to discourage u or anything, but i DO NOT want to be an engineer for either money or name. i work because i like it. its the only thing that i don't get bored with. its not bcoz i want to be some great person or i want to have a statue or street or a park after my name, its just that engineering drives me.
anyways best of luck

 

[benzun_1999]

can u give me the name of some famous engineer who has achieved high in the field of electronics and communication so that i can take him/her as an inspiration?? was there any great personality who can out of ECE?

 

[Maxwell]

Claude Shannon! He was huge in both communications and electronics.

 

[buster]

can u give me the name of some famous engineer who has achieved high in the field of electronics and communication so that i can take him/her as an inspiration?? was there any great personality who can out of ECE?

you r now freakin me out!

 

[Maxwell]

you r now freakin me out!

Why? I don't see a problem with using a very intelligent and influential person within the field as an inspiration.

That's like getting freaked out by young kids on a basketball team looking up to Michael Jordan.

 

[buster]

Why? I don't see a problem with using a very intelligent and influential person within the field as an inspiration.

That's like getting freaked out by young kids on a basketball team looking up to Michael Jordan.

nah, i don't mean that, i don't have a problem using someone intelligent and influential as an inspiration(although i get inspired by people who are reachable for me, like my college seniors or proffessors)
i am only telling the dude to go easy about it. it will do him no good if he stays in tension regarding his career like that.
come on now dude, you are probably 17 or 18, have some fun, you will certainly do good in your career

 

[buster]

just to take off some of your tension, the most inspirational person i see is ALBERT einstein, let's face it, he wasn't so good at studies upto the age of 20 or so

 

[benzun_1999]

i will check out Claude Shannon. thanks Maxwell, i don't know abt others... but an inspiration always leads you, if u select the right person for ur inspiration you will at the end be better than the person you selected.

 

[leright]

i will check out Claude Shannon. thanks Maxwell, i don't know abt others... but an inspiration always leads you, if u select the right person for ur inspiration you will at the end be better than the person you selected.

a lot of the guys at Bell labs made a name for themselves in control systems and communication. Claude Shannon, Harry Nyquist, Bode, etc. Check them out.

 

[imkarthika]

I recently arrived in the US and looking for a job. I have electronics and communication engineering degree(ECE) and worked in a electronic manufacturing company in India. I am currently searching for a job and having trouble determining the field i should be applying to. In USA which is the equivalent degree for ECE? Can apply for job position which asking for Electrical engineering degree?

 

[Vanadium 50]

In USA which is the equivalent degree for ECE? /QUOTE]

You really should read this thread; your answers are there.