<p>I just wanted to get it out there that after a few long days of research and meetings I have discovered that Electrical Engineering is my desire. I want to work with all sorts of electronics especially stuff like the Emotiv mind control head set. My goal is to earn a PhD, but one step at a time. I have worked it out so that I will go from the local community college OKCCC to the University of Oklahoma. Since they have a deal worked out I won't be forced to retake any classes and will enter OU as a Junior!</p>
<p>I've been so psyched since I figured all of this out. Now it is time to make it a reality!!!</p>
<p>I congratulate magnetic for choosing EE. I am also a prospective EE major (at another university). It is never too early to decide whether you want to grad or get a doctorate degree. If fact this will help you maintain control of your studies as an undergraduate and will help you stay on course. I have thought about obtaining a PhD in EE, but as of now, I’m still unsure. I know I want to pursue a Masters in EE or Physics.
Well I wish you good luck!</p>
<p>So have I, fatpig. I’ve known all my life that I’ve wanted to figure out new things and be on the edge of science. Even when I was young I’d show these characteristics. Looking back, there’s not too many other paths I’d rather take than to get into research, which is really what I’ve wanted to do.</p>
<p>Sure a lot can change, but it’s good to have goals. It gives you drive to keep working, especially if at a time when you need it your goal is something that you still want to do. I think the only reason people are wary of making solid goals so soon is that people tend to forget why they want to go to graduate school, or get their doctorate, etc. If you keep sight of your goals and why they are your goals, then that’s much better than having no plans and no direction.</p>
<p>Hmm emotiv is quite an intriguing device. Is there antennas that picks up the signal from brain? Considering intrinsic impedence of brain tissue/skull and still be able to pick up weak signal from brain must have been some achievement without ultrasound. Maybe I am just babbling. If you know specification on the device, can you link for me? </p>
<p>Well my friend made the decision to be an electrical engineer because of an ipod so I don’t see why an urge to create an innovative device to be a bad reason for your career choice. But you would have to specialize in one particular sub area in electrical engineer when you pursue PhD. Have you thought about that? For emotiv, you probably wanna get into digital signal processing/electromagnetic + RF antenna design along with computer science to match up the signal received from the antenna attached on emotiv. Hardest portion I think is to find the signal pattern or so call the “signal for my thinking” for various situation. </p>
<p>If someone got injured and lost ability to speak, device like emotiv can really help them communicate with others. I wonder when will be the day when I don’t have to use my mouth for communication. Interesting.</p>
<p>1) Know Calculus 2 on your fingertips
2) Understand electromagnetic physics thoroughly ( or physics II at most colleges)
3) Linear Algebra and Differential E. are your friends
4) Must always remember basic electric circuit analysis techniques. They ask you about them in interviews. Unfortunately, most EE workers dont require them after college.</p>
<p>Essentially you will need good math skills to do well in upper classes or struggle to get a passing grade .Any concentration in EE should be a non-issue once the foundations are strong. The basic concepts will always catch up with you everywhere you go turn. You would be surprised at the number of mistakes people make that have everything to do with sophomore level math.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the support and kind words! And I am currently in a community college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do so I did my basics and dabbled in a few specific classes like zoology, chemistry, some lower level maths, and psychology. </p>
<p>I found out that my greatest love in life is technology, specifically things like cell phones, ipods, notebook PCs, etc. What I would love to work with is eventually constructing fully functional permanent organs for people who lose theirs. I have talked to a few engineering professors about the different specialties and decided that EE would be my best option. After researching a bit on EE I got this happy feeling, like the first time you watched Avatar 3D on an amazingly huge screen. Or when you were a kid and you caught that one elusive pokemon. Or in high school when your friend introduced you to your first death metal band. It’s goosebumps! </p>
<p>I am psyched for my summer semester and should be finished with the tiered (calc 1, 2, 3, ordinary diff equations) by Dec 2011. Then I will go to OU in the Spring of 2012! Deciding to do this at this point in time will drag out the amount of time I will be in college, but it is worth it I think.</p>
<p>I definitely know the feeling, magnetic. I felt the same way when I finally decided on what I wanted to do (even though I still once in a while get drawn to theoretical physics). You make a plan, it looks great, it looks do-able, and it makes you happy. I’m glad other people feel the same way, it’s very exciting to have direction and goals I think.</p>
<p>I just took my physics II test on electromagnetics and bombed it Got flux and B-field all jumbled up. But I have a few days to become knowledgable in it before I take my final.</p>
<p>Even before I started my undergraduate education, I knew I liked the idea of a Phd. It seemed interesting to me. But I would never actually say “my goal is to get a PhD”. Especially if you haven’t taken a single EE class yet. Its just ridiculous. </p>
<p>I recommend keeping sight of your long-term options but remember, a lot can change over the next few years. You might get STD’s, lose a limb, get drafted, become a recreational drug user, etc.</p>
<p>“I recommend keeping sight of your long-term options but remember, a lot can change over the next few years. You might get STD’s, lose a limb, get drafted, become a recreational drug user, etc.”</p>
<p>I can’t be drafted, I can’t say I won’t use drugs because I want to try 3. The other ones… yeah sure, maybe.</p>
<p>What’s the point in dwelling on what might happen? Why not set my goals high? That way when I reach them I will feel that much more fulfilled. And if I find out I don’t like anything about any of the EE classes I take, I can always get a BS in something else and then go for a PhD in that. </p>
<p>I have options, though I highly doubt I will need them.</p>
<p>Oh and why can’t I get a PhD if I’ve lost a limb, got STDs, or became a recreational drug user?</p>
<p>Nothing there would keep anyone from doing something they really want to do.</p>
<p>That isn’t entirely true. For grad school, it is just as important to have good recommendations. A combination of undergraduate research experience and good professor references can make up for a somewhat low GPA (and by somewhat low, I am still talking about no lower than, say, 3.2).</p>
<p>3.2!?!?!?!? Wow. (I’m still in high school, but that is pretty low) Is EE really that hard? Because a 3.2 is a little bit above a B average. I was hoping to obtain a 3.5+ GPA in university. Is it possible?</p>
<p>I hear that gpa for engineers are lower because the material is so hard. I have a 3.8+ in community college which got me top scholarships everywhere I applied…but now I have to maintain a 3.0 to keep it at Drexel. I’m kinda nervous about it because I know it’s going to be so much harder and I can’t afford this 40k school otherwise.</p>
<p>The average GPA nationwide for engineers is roughly 2.8 last time I checked. Given, that varies based on school and other factors. For grad school, you basically need at least a 3.0 to get in most places if you have other strengths, and you need probably a 3.5 to have a realistic shot of getting in if the rest of your application is fairly average. If you want to get into one of top, super-selective schools, you need ~3.8 or so (selectivity is not necessarily the best indicator of program strength, mind you). Of course your mileage my vary; there is not cookie-cutter solution to getting into grad school.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that college is much, much harder than high school, and you shouldn’t go in expecting to get a 4.0, because frankly, few engineers can get near that. However, you can’t set the bar too low either or you will just not work as hard. 3.5 is a pretty good goal to have for most purposes.</p>
Got flux and B-field all jumbled up. But I have a few days to become knowledgable in it before I take my final.</p>