How hard is 3rd year in Electrical & Electronic Engineering?

[meyra31]

sup guys

im currently year 2 studying electrical & electronic engineering. Next year we had to choose modules where it was split equally between magnetics(mainly covered with waves, optoelectronıcs, nano technology and like magnetic materials etc), power(renewable, machine power, a bit of transistors ac dc converters, grid integration etc), communication systems, PICs, c++ and fpgas all separate headings.. I chose to do power and communication systems since I am really bad in programming, I am not taking it but i admit i think programming is a lot more essential but bah..
i was wondering how hard year 3 is.. i mean year 2 was supposed to be hard as well but to be frank i didnt find it that hard, i think its just too much to do really..
also for next year we have to do individual projects (year project) where we are given random topic (i know its not fair but we have to accept the fact) i mean I am just hoping i won't get a topic where i have to use assembly language or c# ... what are your thoughts for the guys who experienced this issue before?

 

[micromass]

i mean I am just hoping i won't get a topic where i have to use assembly language or c#

And I hope you are given such a topic. That way you are forced to learn it well. Programming is important.

 

[meyra31]

i would love to but i just don't get it. everyones good at different things .. even some professors in our university say they didnt get programming and that's why they specialized in different areas

 

[jim hardy]

i would love to but i just don't get it. everyones good at different things ..

Not everybody is cut out for higher math.
For me , third year was hard. The math in semiconductor circuit analysis and fields seemed distant from physical effects i could visualize. I accused one professor of "Mathematical Tap Dancing" at the expense of practical problem solving.

But i'd loved computing both analog and Fortran(II back then), electric machinery, and automatic control theory.
And my school had a little research reactor.
My advisor let me apply some hours in Nuclear toward my EE degree. I took 3 credit hours of Reactor Physics , 2 of Reactor Operation actually running the reactor , and a 1 credit special project mapping the neutron flux in it.
That turned out a really lucky choice on two counts.
First it made senior year extremely interesting. I found reactor physics fascinating. At last - a field that's made of real particles i could visualize!
Second I had a great career working around machinery in the maintenance organization of a Nuclear power plant. Familiarity with both EE and Nuclear let me do considerable service as "interpreter" between engineers from those two groups, sort of like a catalyst it facilitated co-operative problem solving.

You'll doubtless encounter computers on the job and learn to program them.
It is unnatural for our mind to proceed with the absolute rigor that programming requires so they're pure frustration at first.
But once you wet your feet , which you will have to do, you'll appreciate the self discipline it forces on you.
There's only a few basic instructions - fetch, store, manipulate, test and branch, ...
each language has its own jargon to organize them into bigger blocks of logic.

Have some fun - try the "Hour of Code" here: http://code.org/learn

I love Basic. From my initial foray into C the logic isn't any different, just they've changed the jargon.

 

[nsaspook]

I love Basic. From my initial foray into C the logic isn't any different, just they've changed the jargon.

and took away the training wheels while giving you a 1000cc engine.

 

[jim hardy]

You can still get a beginner-friendly ride with training wheels at
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=22961

Microsoft Small Basic 1.0
A simplified programming language and environment to help teach programming to beginners.