How did you get started .....

[skimask]

If we all thought like that there would be no professionals in the World. No Doctors, no competent engineers, everything all nice and "slap happy". Great World that would be. The scariest part, you seem quite proud about not having a formal qualification, and you're even encouraging it.

I need to clarify a bit...(and keeping it short, things to do, things to break)
Oh yeah, I'm proud...Proud of the fact that I was able to teach myself...that I didn't have to have another person(s) teach me...that I was able to save all that money for something else...
It's just that I've met a lot of people with degrees of one sort or another that don't know their head from a whole in the ground. I'm sure a lot of people have met those people.
School doesn't teach what's needed to be known, it only teaches a person how to learn.
How many parents do you know that have formal qualification to raise children?
How many people do you know that have any sort of formal qualification to have a computer and have access to the Internet?

I guess in the end, I'm just saying there's a lot of dumbasses with degrees that don't learn anything else when they get out of their happy little University study arena...maybe just a plain lack of common sense in general...

That and the family not having a lot of extra $$$ for college back in those days kinda put a damper on it too...
And where did that post from Mel go?

[BobK]

Hello All,

I have been enjoying reading this particular post. But, you know what gets me? All of the university/college students that are taking the engineering courses and are suppose to be learning and yet they come to this forum, the EDAboard.com, and the other electronics forums looking for assistance with "What should I do for a project?" or "How do I do this?" Of course my real favorite one is "I need to get this done in two days, can you help me?" What the hell are they going to and paying for college for? I like the responses that people like Skimask has been providing-"Show us what you have done so far by providing us with a schematic and code listing so we can assist you."

I personally have nothing in my education to talk about. High school graduate, Army, work to support wife and kids. I do attend alot of job related seminars and technical courses. I get an idea for a project and I sit down and work it out. I have been "playing" with electronics since the 6th grade when my dad brought me an Allied Radio catalog home and I bought and built a shortwave radio kit. I'm 60 now! I am proud of my accomplishments being in the alarm business for over 32 years and that I am respected here in Ohio in my profession. I have given back to my industry by teaching classes for 8 years to new people coming into this profession. I still enjoy passing on my knowledge as in Ohio we have very little regulation with educational requirements for this business.

I feel honored that the main people on this forum are willing to take their time to assist us with our problems. I read this forum twice a day. This is my source of learning! I have noticed over the past 6 months that there are more questions being asked that could have been answered by reading the previous posts and responses and then working their problems out. I guess they don't have much patience. (Remember the medical engineer last year?)

I actually collect these various posts and have them in files on my computer that I refer to when I encounter a problem or get ready to do another project. I have offered my knowledge here several times in the past but it seemed like I was talking to a brick wall so I don't contribute that much anymore (too frustrating) but I am here every day as I enjoy learning. My main area of interest is in dealing with real time clocks and using them to control things.

Well I've got to get back to work. Thanks for the great people on this forum and keep up the great work!

BobK

[Acetronics2]

And where did that post from Mel go?

The Forum was upgraded ... no mail kept from previous dates ...

Alain

[Melanie]

I think they meant Saturdays post Alain - I deleted it. It went a bit too far revealing what on reflection should have been kept private.

The basis of it was this... that a good University Degree (coupled with the fact that the holder of such actually deserves it) is pretty much a passport to earnings which will be in the range of 2x to 20x above the average throughout the whole earnings life of the holder. That alone is worth the few years of sacrifice.

I fully agree that experience also counts. There are many first class engineers, architects, lawyers, whatever, walking the planet that haven't got a piece of paper to their name. But they acquired their knowledge through (in many cases a lifetime of) experience. Like I said in my original posting, I'd rather have the goodies in life when I'm young enough to enjoy them than when my pension cheque is dropping on the doormat, and my Uni Degree was my fast-track in achieving that.

I also fully agree that there are hordes of people with various qualifications (including University Degrees) that don't deserve them. They get found out eventually and end up learning to speak the immortal lines "Do you want fries with that?".

But as I also said previously, if you know your stuff, that little bit of paper will guarantee you earnings that even your local Drugs Baron would be envious of.

[precision]

I started when i was 10 year old (1975), with GWBASIC and small timer 555 based project from Electronics For You.
now i manufacturing loadcell, pressure sensors, LVDTs,torque sensors, and peak hold instruments.

.

[keithdoxey]

The basis of it was this... that a good University Degree (coupled with the fact that the holder of such actually deserves it) is pretty much a passport to earnings which will be in the range of 2x to 20x above the average throughout the whole earnings life of the holder. That alone is worth the few years of sacrifice.

Cant disagree with that and IF I was about to leave school this year instead of 31 years ago I would definately be planning on going to University but as I said in one of my previous posts, it simply wasnt an option for someone leaving Secondary School with CSE's in the mid 70s.

It does seem though that many of the newbies posting are on University courses but dont seem to have any real background in electronics or programming so it makes you wonder why they are on the course that they are.

So far, the people who have replied who have had little or no formal education have indicated that one of their hobbies was electronics whilst still at school. I would imagine that anyone undertaking a university degree in a subject that they dont appear to have had any prior interest in is making life even more difficult for themselves

[mackrackit]

This has become a very interesting topic. Education and how one got or gets started in computers and electronics.

I am on both sides of the fence when it comes to a formal education. I do not have one and I am chief designer for the company I work for. My son is using a lot of my money and his time going to school to “learn” what he already knows or can lean from reading the instructions that comes with the part. Computer Science / Information Technologies is the degree he is working on. Now days though he will need that magic paper to find work in this field.

I started playing with electricity when I was about nine. My father (who did not complete high school ) showed me how to take some soup cans, wire, varnish, a few magnets and a piece of dowel rod – say the magic words and presto my first motor!!!

In high school was building car radio amplifiers to make a few bucks. At this same time I was introduced to an Apple. Became discouraged with computers soon after. Why take hours to write a logarithm or inverse square program when I could work the problems out on paper in a few minutes. I will stick with hardware.

About ten years ago, after using relays, transistors, timers and other parts to make things move in sequence I bought my kid a Basic Stamp. Then I bought one for myself and started to study.

Today I am building industrial robots and am able to monitor them from hundreds of miles away!!! All with the dreaded computer.

My advice to the beginner would be to learn the hardware first. Make an LED blink with a transistor, capacitor, and resistor first. Play with a 555 timer, hex inverters, op amps and so on. Read yourself to sleep with a Micro Chip data sheet, read every thing you can find, put on some safety glasses and blow a few parts. Try to find out for yourself what does and does not work. If this is more than a hobby work on getting that “piece of paper”.

By the way Melanie, you have not told us how you got started.

[malc-c]

By the way Melanie, you have not told us how you got started.

Dave mate, your a bit late.. she deleted her post as she felt it gave too much personal info... (Visions of her changiing her Porche for a Farrari every 6 months and a different house for each month of the year )

[keithdoxey]

Dave mate, your a bit late.. she deleted her post as she felt it gave too much personal info... (Visions of her changiing her Porche for a Farrari every 6 months and a different house for each month of the year )

Well yes.... and no.

Mel's post started with her mention of getting a very good degree. It didnt indicate whether she had any interest or experience in Electronics/Programming prior to starting university. I wonder if thats what Dave was getting at.

I am glad I started this thread as it has revealed some interesting info about peoples history.

I also notice that none of the newbies seem to have contributed to this thread so far. Perhaps I ought to post the same thread 3 or 4 times in each forum so that I get an answer from them