<p>Last time I posted here I was fretting over getting into a top grad school - my inclinations have shifted somewhat, and I want to keep my options open and figure out what opportunities are available to me.</p>
<p>I like circuit design quite a bit. I was interested in electromagnetics initially (did some research at UCSD) then took a couple of classes that sparked my interest in circuit design.</p>
<p>So onto the question, what should I do to land a good job in RF circuit design out of college? Is grad school (PhD or masters) preferred initially or should I try to land a company that pays for grad school? </p>
<p>I graduate in a year and a half, and so far I have the following experience...</p>
<p>*Work in an RF circuit company (peregrine semiconductor, for 1 year so far), where I test and do characterizations and have been exposed to some design.</p>
<p>*Micromouse projcect - I plan on designing the power supply, as well as getting all the controls and coding experience that comes with micromouse.</p>
<p>*Electromagnetics research on novel circuit elements and systems</p>
<p>*3.5 GPA</p>
<p>Where should I improve, and what else should I do while in school? Should I shoot for graduating with honors? Should I take certain classes?</p>
<p>I am going to try to land a hardware design internship at QUALCOMM over the summer, but of course this is not guaranteed in the slightest.</p>
<p>I started off in RF design, and the best I can tell you is that there is no magic formula but they definitely prefer advanced degrees. They generally don’t care about honors, because every school has different standards and not all of them are that rigorous. They mostly seem to want to see a solid skill set, decent experience, and a lot of interest in the field.</p>
<p>I figured an advanced degree would be preferred. Masters or Phd? </p>
<p>Also, If I work in a company that does RF design, but in a different division (testing, production, quality, etc…) will I be able to do design eventually if I get a company to pay for my masters program? I think it might be a little iffy to find immediate RF design work without a higher degree, but if I don’t get the degree immediately, I don’t want to be stuck in the other divisions.</p>
<p>I.E. I go to work as a tester, and am a tester for life, this is my fear. (I don’t mind doing the more tedious work if I can go to school to learn the about the more interesting work)</p>
<p>I will focus my attention on landing a pt job where I can do design. I have heard about other companies that do pay for grad school, but I don’t know about the RF sector. </p>
<p>So would your suggestion be to head to grad school immediately if I cannot find an opportunity in design?</p>
<p>And yes, I’ve taken a few analog/RF courses, and I have a lot more to take - by the time I graduate I’ll have relevant course work in AC DC Converters, Oscillators, Systems, Analog Design, Digital Design, and Microwave circuit design. I’ll also have relevant course work in filter design.</p>
<p>The main question - is it lofty to think I can land a design job without grad school?</p>
<p>I landed a job with a BSEE in a non-RF department. The company paid for my masters (which I started immediately), and I transferred into one of their RF design departments after only a few months with the company - I did very well in my undergrad and they had confidence that between my previous work and ongoing studies that I would be up to speed quickly. </p>
<p>It should be noted that my company encourages a certain amount of inter-departmental transfers, but not all companies do - one place I interviewed with pretty much told me what I would be doing the next twenty years (I said no). Others allow transferring between departments, but only for a few years so you can find a niche, after which they expect you to stay.</p>
<p>Just FYI - many companies will pay for a coursework-only masters, or any masters that you do off-hours. Getting funding for a during-work-time masters or a PhD is very difficult. </p>
<p>MS or PhD? PhD is not required for design work pretty much anywhere, but this is a question that has been addressed in many threads. For what its worth, in my department a couple of the managers had PhD’s, but none of the engineers did.</p>
<p>I was wondering about the masters funding, thank you for clearing that up!</p>
<p>Also I would want to go the route you went ideally - what kind of experience did you have in the field before graduation? (I have all A’s in all of my circuits classes, so I’m learning the material, just having trouble finding hands on work)</p>
<p>I had been a technician for several years before I got my degree, but none of it recent and none of it in RF. Other than that my experience had been strictly academic. Although I should note that my job at the time of hiring was in security - I chose it because it re-activated my security clearance (I work for a defense contractor) and gave me time to study.</p>