<p>Well I'm a complete newb. I don't have any experience under my belt and I know how important it is to have experience/projects on a resume also just to learn. Funny story, the career center at my school was offering a workshop with employers where they would critique your resume. The employer I got was the CIA. They basically scolded me about not having any experience in my career field (electrical engineering). All I had on there was my education and places I've worked (sports authority, costco, etc). So I believe I should start working on some type of projects over the summer to get some type of experience and application done. I was wondering if any electrical engineers can suggest beginner projects so I can learn and build my skills as an electrical engineer. </p>
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<p>I’m in the same situation as you lol. </p>
<p>If you want to work on projects, I have few suggestions.</p>
<p>As far as hobbyist projects go, you could order an Arduino microcontroller online for about $30 (if I recall correctly). Along with the Arduino, go to radioshack or whatever to get a breadboard, some wires, and some components like resistors, capacitors, LEDs, etc. These projects require both programming skills and circuit-building skills. The Arduino interfaces with the physical world. You can google “Arduino projects” to get some ideas. There are simple projects (making LEDs flash) and complicated projects (making a color-coded keypad to control an electronic door lock). I haven’t tried any yet, but I want to start this summer because I’m an EECS major and I want to strengthen both areas. Since you’re studying EE, you probably don’t need multiple semesters worth of programming experience, but it will help.</p>
<p>Also, apply for as many engineering / science internships as you can. Even if you don’t get one specifically in your field, you usually get a nice stipend, and working on a science project is good to put on your resume (although an EE one would be better). I had a physics research internship but it didn’t relate to EECS at all. However, I still talked about in my college app personal statement and I have it on my resume.</p>
<p>Join your school’s IEEE since the group often gives chances at getting some kind of engineering experience.</p>
<p>lol wow I’ve been searching up arduino projects and this is a great start for a newb like me. Thanks for directing me in the right direction, I didn’t even know where to start hah. I will be joining my IEEE club at my school this upcoming fall quarter. Any other helpful suggestions?</p>
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<p>I would not recommend relying on individual projects to advance your standing - employers will like the enthusiasm, but there will be little real accomplishment or benchmark to measure it by.</p>
<p>Start off by looking at student groups at your school - IEEE is good, HKN might be (if you qualify), there are often others. Find something that allows you to really work on a significant project that will take a year or longer to complete (you might inherit someone else’s work and then hand it off to someone else when you graduate). My department had groups working on microsats, electric cars, etc.</p>
<p>Then, find some work relevant to your aspirations. If you want grad school, find a summer research program and/or (better) a part-time research program under a professor at your school. If you want to go into industry, find a summer internship or a part-time technical position at a local company - they might be advertised through your school or you might have to look yourself.</p>
<p>I think building stuff is fun. I’ve been working on one of these, [MIDIbox</a> FM](<a href=“http://ucapps.de/midibox_fm.html]MIDIbox”>MIDIbox FM)</p>
<p>Its almost done…</p>