Switched to EE, now intimidated.

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Alright so my petition to change from ET to EE was finally approved. I met with my new advisor and we looked at my current classes. I only have calc 1, 2 and finishing up the second half of 3 this summer. Finished physics one, and now taking physics 2 with lab over summer also. Finished gen chem 1 back in cc along with all my GEs. Planning to finish physics this fall, finish up my math by taking DE and start my first EE course. I have not taken any EE classes so I have zero knowledge in the area. My advisor warned me that the program is very difficult (hes nice guy so he was being "real" with it hah) I'm scared ****less now and feel intimidated. I don't think I can handle more than 12.units of technical classes with.lab. Anybody have advice for my long hard journey towards EE? </p>

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2

<p>If money isn’t a problem, maybe just take as few units as possible per semester and graduate a year late. At least start off taking less units to see what you can handle.</p>

3

<p>Yeah that’s exactly what I was thinking. The military pays my tuition so I can definitely take less classes if I need. Is taking 3 or 4 technical EE course (12-16 units) with lab too much to handle? How difficult is the material for EE? I guess that’s what I’m really scared of. Hah </p>

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4

<p>You can try to spread the lab courses around so that you are not taking all of them at the same time. Or take fewer courses when you have labs and more courses when you do not have labs.</p>

<p>How do you like math and electricity and magnetism in physics? That may be an indicator of how well you will like EE courses.</p>

5

<p>You will start with as basic as digital (switching) system, and electrical circuit analysis.
I don’t think you can take linear system until you have completed Differential Equations.</p>

<p>What classes are you planning to take anyway? List them out.</p>

<p>12-16 units are not bad, but I think you might want to take a break for certain classes. </p>

<p>Link us to your EE department webpage.</p>

6

<p>I have not taken electricity and magnetism yet. I will be taking it this upcoming fall though.
So for this upcoming fall I plan to take

  1. Linear Algebra & Differential Equations MAT 224 = 4units</p>

<p>2.General Physics PHY 133/133L 3/1 = 4 units</p>

<p>3.Introduction to Electrical Engineering ECE 109/109L 3/1 = 4 units</p>

<p>Required Support Courses</p>

<p>General Chemistry CHM 121 3 - DONE
General Chemistry Lab (B3) CHM 121L 1 - DONE
Analytic Geometry/Calculus I (B4) MAT 114 4 - DONE
Analytic Geometry/Calculus II MAT 115 4 - DONE
Analytic Geometry/Calculus III MAT 116 4 - DONE
Calculus Several Variables I MAT 214 3 - DONE
Calculus Several Variables II MAT 215 3 - FINISHING THIS SUMMER
Linear Algebra & Differential Equations MAT 224 4 - TAKING THIS FALL
Materials Science & Engineering MTE 208 3 - TBD
General Physics (B1, B3) PHY 131/131L 3/1 - DONE
General Physics PHY 132/132L 3/1 - TAKING THIS SUMMER
General Physics PHY 133/133L 3/1 - TAKING THIS FALL
Project Design and Applications (B5) EGR 481, 482 4 - TBD</p>

<p>Required Core Courses
Students in this major are expected to maintain a GPA of at least
2.00 in all core courses.</p>

<p>Introduction to Electrical Engineering ECE 109/109L 3/1 - TAKING THIS FALL
C for Engineers ECE 114/114L 3/1
Introduction to Combinational Logic ECE 204/204L 3/1
Introduction to Sequential Logic ECE 205/205L 3/1
Network Analysis I ECE 207/207L 3/1
Network Analysis II ECE 209/209L 3/1
Electronic Devices & Circuits ECE 220/220L 4/1
Object-Oriented Programming ECE 256 4
or Programming for Engineering Application ECE 257 (4)
Elecromagnetic Fields ECE 302 4
Introduction Discrete Time Signals & Systems ECE 306 4
Computer Simulation of Dynamic Systems Lab ECE 306L 1
Network Analysis III ECE 307 3
Control Systems Engineering ECE 309/309L 4/1
Introduction to Power Engineering ECE 310/310L 4/1
Prob, Stats, & Random Processes for ECE ECE 315 4
Linear Active Circular Design ECE 320/320L 3/1
Introduction to Semiconductor Devices ECE 330 3
Introduction to Microcontrollers ECE 341/341L 3/1
Communications Systems ECE 405/405L 4/1
Professional Topics for Engineers ECE 464 1
Team Project ECE 467 1
then the rest is still incomplete… my god i still have a long ways to go. it’s basically like im a freshmen! how horrible =( but i guess it’s what i got to do. All the GE’s on the right have been completed in CC. </p>

<p>A list of all the classes I need to take.
<a href=“http://www.csupomona.edu/~engineering/current/currsheets/ee-11-12.pdf[/url]”>http://www.csupomona.edu/~engineering/current/currsheets/ee-11-12.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>I’m entering my senior year as an Electrical Engineering major. It’s going to be long and tough but you can do it. My best advice is to find a group of classmates that you get along with and do your homework together. This will help you learn from them as well as the professor. You can also talk to your group about how they felt about this exam and that one, and get a grasp for where you stand and if you need to do some side studying. Your classmates will be your best friend in labs. Labs can be extremely difficult because electricity is so complex and random. Also, usually once one person figures it out, if you are on a first name basis and know them, they may come to your mercy. You may spend 4 hours working on a lab intended to take you 30 min. Why? Maybe one of your integrated circuits was fried. Maybe the grounding in that top right corner of your breadboard is shot. You may need to add that random capacitor out of nowhere to clear your signal. Also, try to become a TA or lab aid. I am both and, believe me, you learn the most by explaining your knowledge to others. You pick up on principles that you never noticed and gain a deep understanding of what is going on. </p>

<p>GET AN INTERNSHIP or CO-OP. This is crucial to set you above your classmates. I am on my second term co-op with a manufacturing company. You don’t really know electricity until you take on the real world.</p>

<p>The toughest part about EE is the amount of work. It is ridiculous. You will find yourself up till 12am finishing hw and moving on to that lab you didn’t get a chance to finish. By this time you are tired and worn out. Wait a sec, you also have a quiz tomorrow you completely forgot about and so you struggle to stay up till 3am and finally call it quits. Here was my schedule this past semester. I took 18 credits (normal for EEs if you want to finish in four years)</p>

<p>Monday, Wednesday, Friday:</p>

<p>7:00am - wake up to shower, eat a quick breakfast (trust me, you need it to stay awake)
8:00am- First class
9:05am- second class
10:10am- third class
11:00am- break for lunch
11:50am- fourth class
12:55pm- fifth class
2:05pm - sixth class
3:15pm - Lab Aid or Grading hw for a prof
5:00pm- Dinner
5:30pm- back to the lab to work on assignments and hw
11:30pm- rush back to the appartment to make a strong drink and relax </p>

<p>Tuesday and Thursday:</p>

<p>7:00am- wake up to shower etc.
8:05am- First Lab
11:00am- lunch
11:50am- second lab
3:30pm- marvel that the universe has a sun
3:31pm- scramble to start hw due the next day
5:00pm- break for dinner
5:30pm- head back to the lab to finish assignments and hw
11:30pm- make a strong drink at the appartment and catch an episode of Entourage on HBO</p>

<p>You won’t always get back so late, but you can guarantee not getting back to relax before 8pm every night. You will LIVE for the weekends and sometimes do work on saturdays. sundays you will be in the lab after lunch and sometimes, if you did work on friday, you can put off your work till after dinner and enjoy watching the NFL.</p>

<p>Freshman year is all about gen eds and into to EE. The second year is the hardest, because you are introduced to the immense workload and harsh grading. Junior year is actually twice as less stressful because you are used to the grind and you become part of the pack that “survived” the weedout classes. Professors are less harsh on grading and start to realize you aren’t throwing in the towel. </p>

<p>Now, this is at my university. I go to Valparaiso University in Indiana. We had a 60% drop out rate for EE from freshman to junior year. Your schedule and rigor may be different if you go somewhere else and will be different if you take the 5 year program. It’s all up to you.</p>

<p>If you want more info on how to survive or need some moral support, or even if you are struggling to design that operational amplifier using only bipolar junction transistors and no resistors, you can message me and I’ll give you my email address.</p>

<p>You’ll make it. If I did it, you can. I’m not a brainiac (which is why it takes so much of my day to do hw and labs) I just work hard.</p>

8

<p>For hard classes like Calc or Physics… Maybe you can take them at a community college over summer and transfer the credit back to your institution. That way it won’t hurt your GPA?</p>

9

<p>advisor used intimidate. Its extremely effective!</p>

<p>just take it easy. id say take only 3-4 classes so you can concentrate on them. Motivate yourself, and work hard</p>

10

<p>Damn steuer. Thanks a bunch. </p>

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11

<p>That may seem like an intimidatingly large number of courses, but since Cal Poly Pomona is on the quarter system, each course is “smaller” than each course at a semester system school.</p>

<p>When scheduling, try not to put too many lab courses in the same quarter, or take fewer credits when you have more labs and more credits when you have fewer or no labs. Labs usually tend to consume more time than their credit value indicates.</p>

12

<p>lol sounds good thanks. You guys are really helping me out. Now I guess I know what to expect. Example. Be patient with my labs. Work hard. Be ready for long days/hours. </p>

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13

<p>Any other suggestions? :)</p>

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14

<p>In my experience, I found that the computer-y classes (in your list, these are the programming classes, the logic classes, and the microcontrollers class) tend to be easier conceptually but require more work than the electrical engineering classes.</p>

15

<p>Oh, and I was pretty intimidated, especially by my classmates, when I first started EE too. It took me a while to realize that they mostly were just posturing about how much they knew and how smart they were.</p>

16

<p>wow that’s for the insight. Helps out a lot</p>

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17

<p>Alright this might be my final schedule.but it almost seems like too much. Is it?
I’ll be taking
MAT 224 linear algebra and differential eq.
PHY 133 with lab phy 3 magnetism
ECE 109 with lab Intro to EE
ECE 114 with lab C programming for EE.
16 quarter units. Will this be too much to handle?</p>

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18

<p>That seems like a fairly typical schedule for a sophomore.</p>

19

<p>How are you handling electricity and magnetism in your physics classes?</p>

20

<p>That’s phy 133 which I will be taking it with ECE109 intro to EE. </p>

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