On Fri, Sep 20, 2024 at 06:52 AM, Harvey White wrote:
I always encouraged my students to learn both hardware and software, even if they were not going to use it immediately (either!).
I concur.? The more engineering skills you have, the more valuable you will be.? Overspecialization could be a problem in the sense that if you are laid off it might be harder to find a new job.?
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Personally, all my FPGA work was in Verilog, not VHDL.? But if you know one of them, I'm sure you'd be able to pick up the other.
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I'd add Python and perhaps MATLAB to Harvey's list.? The former to write programs to drive GPIB instruments, the latter for analysis, although you can also control instruments using MATLAB.? And don't worry too much about learning software -- you'll be surprised at how easy it is.? Dip your toe into it by taking one of the MOOC (massive open on-line course).? ?I did this years ago, pre-Covid, with a course on Python taught by a prof at Vanderbilt University, via Coursera.? In fact I talked my wife into taking the course, too.? (She is a retired high-school math teacher who had zero programming knowledge).
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Your experience debugging boards is invaluable -- I've always thought engineers fresh out of school should spend their first six months helping the manufacturing line, fixing 'dog' boards, etc.? One quickly learns the value of clear documentation as well as the types of issues that arise in manufacturing from a poor design.
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The advantage of a college education is that you learn various topics in a logical progression -- that is, you create a foundation of knowledge and build upon it, layer by layer.? Whereas learning topics piece-meal, unstructured, can leave voids that, if you had had that knowledge, it might have made things easier or clearer.
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- Jeff, k6jca
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