Opinions: Electronics or Control/Automation

DAC

Hi,
I've been accepted into 2nd year of BEng & I can choose between Electronics or Automation & Control. My own preference is for A&C as I see it as a broader appeal to the job market & its mix of mechanical & electrical is appealing - Electronics seems to be a little too specific, I'd appreciate any opinions on the 2 options especially first hand. Thanks DAC

DublinDilbert

Hi,

It really depends on where your interests are... Control systems are grand, its what i majored, but typically they do alot of classical control stuff and not much modern control.

If you work in the control system area, you'll be kept busy/interested for the first few years, but that usually wears off quickly... And if you go to pharama company expect to be pushing paper around!

I also find that alot of the "electronic" options in colleges are very specific, eg you specialise in VLSI design etc... Rather than how to design an electronic product (lets face it most products have electronics in them now)....

I now work in the embedded systems area, which I like quite a lot, it takes in a range of disciplines...

x in the city

DublinDilbert wrote: »

Hi,

It really depends on where your interests are... Control systems are grand, its what i majored, but typically they do alot of classical control stuff and not much modern control.

If you work in the control system area, you'll be kept busy/interested for the first few years, but that usually wears off quickly... And if you go to pharama company expect to be pushing paper around!

I also find that alot of the "electronic" options in colleges are very specific, eg you specialise in VLSI design etc... Rather than how to design an electronic product (lets face it most products have electronics in them now)....

I now work in the embedded systems area, which I like quite a lot, it takes in a range of disciplines...

dilbert:

whats your area of study to get you into embedded ?, good area alright.

DublinDilbert

x in the city wrote: »

dilbert:

whats your area of study to get you into embedded ?, good area alright.

I majored in control systems (minor in power electronics) and when i finished college i started writing embedded software for motor controllers. After a few years i went into an electronic company designing both hardware and software for Automotive ECUs. Since that finished up, i've been working on a variaty of projects across a range of fields.

Most embedded projects require a range of skills, knowledge of hardware, communication protocols, security / encryption, control / monitoring, user interface etc.... Embedded is cool as you get to dip into various areas...

Dardania

DublinDilbert wrote: »

Most embedded projects require a range of skills, knowledge of hardware, communication protocols, security / encryption, control / monitoring, user interface etc.... Embedded is cool as you get to dip into various areas...

that does sound interesting - youre tempting me here from BS!

geurrp the yard

DAC wrote: »

Hi,
I've been accepted into 2nd year of BEng & I can choose between Electronics or Automation & Control. My own preference is for A&C as I see it as a broader appeal to the job market & its mix of mechanical & electrical is appealing - Electronics seems to be a little too specific, I'd appreciate any opinions on the 2 options especially first hand. Thanks DAC

Electronics is very broad. You can get into hardware design,networking, telecoms,Rf, programming/software and Cleanroom envoirnment with the electronics. I wouldnt base my choice on the jobs market. Do what you enjoy most.

random.stranger

I know it's a difficult decision to make, but I wouldn't get too stressed about it. In college your basically learning how to learn.

Once you get out & working you'll have to learn a lot along the way. Just because you choose Automation & Control, doesn't mean that's what you'll be doing for life, as DublinDilbert has proven. I suggest when you graduate that you get as broad experience as possible- maybe 2 or 3 years per company in a few companies.

I suggest you do whatever your most interested in, as you'll probably do better in this & find it more enjoyable to study.

shanejunkin

DAC wrote: »

Hi,
I've been accepted into 2nd year of BEng & I can choose between Electronics or Automation & Control. My own preference is for A&C as I see it as a broader appeal to the job market & its mix of mechanical & electrical is appealing - Electronics seems to be a little too specific, I'd appreciate any opinions on the 2 options especially first hand. Thanks DAC

As others have said, don't get too worried about it. You could end up doing something very different from what you specialised in whilst in college. I did Electronic Engineering in college and now could not apply for a job titled "Electronic Engineer". Instead, I've worked in manufacturing industry since college and so am more of a manufacturing or equipment engineer.

However, I'd advise you to Automation and Control. There are not that many electronics engineering jobs anymore, even telecoms is quiet, and if you look at the salaries you'll see that they don't pay very well. Automation Engineers, on the other hand, are becoming very sought after in the Medical Device industry. There's a lot of automation engineering jobs out there. That's my advice anyway, get stuck into Allen Bradley and Pilz PLC set ups and programming while you're at it too. There seems to be a lot of work in Australia for those skill sets too...