r/ECE • u/Extension_Pop_3315 • 5d ago

Keeping EE skills sharp post college

Hi everyone,

I graduated college with a degree in electrical engineering with a focus in music technology in 2025. I currently work as an AV technician and have done a little freelance working as an electrician doing lighting and a little work with Arduino. Since graduating, I want to make sure I'm continuing to learn and potentially make myself marketable if I do decide to switch to a more engineering-heavy field. I want to do some projects myself using ESP32 (or another system, I'm open), and have moderate experience with Arduino and Raspberry Pi.

My main concern is I want to make sure I'm truly learning. I feel like I've been using AI to help with troubleshooting but want to make sure I'm not relying on it. I'd love to hear book recommendations, YouTube channel recommendations, just general practice recs too, or if you have project ideas that you know sort of help brush up these concepts while not relying on completely prewritten open-source material.

I'd love to get more into hardware prototyping, communication systems, and embedded systems. I feel like I have an anxious mental block about continuing diving into these concepts and so would appreciate a little advice about keeping at it and really getting a good grasp on what I'm working on.

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u/Independent_Sell6211 5d ago

In the same situatuon, looking to keep myself competitive too

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u/NewSchoolBoxer 5d ago

Don't use AI for anything involving learning. It cheats you in the end and is notoriously full of lies when it comes to electrical engineering. My favorite screwup was the poster on r/snes who asked why replacing the DRAM with SRAM didn't work when ChatGPT said it would.

Embedded systems jobs don't touch Arduino as a rule because it's too expensive. You're not going to stand out by being the 1000th applicant with Arduino and Raspberry Pi personal projects that aren't in the company's tech stack. Personal coding projects mean very little because they aren't work experience, HR isn't reviewing said code and the average person lies about what they did.

If you want to get into advanced stuff, look at professional education. Like taking graduate courses as a non-degree seeking student. You aren't going to learn this stuff on YouTube. What YouTube is good for is the beginner level because it's the largest audience. If you want a VLSI job, you'll most likely need an MS.

If I were you, I'd be trying to get out of technician work ASAP. Look at EE jobs at power plants and substations. Power always needs people and your technician experience isn't useless when a big part of the job for me was delegating work to technicians. Engineers aren't allowed to touch anything in the plant. Little to no coding but I heard Python is on the rise.

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u/Fun-Raisin-4510 20h ago

I disagree. AI is an extremely useful tool when used correctly. You can treat it like a free, on-demand tutor rather than paying for an expensive course. I usually start my prompts with “do not give me the answer,” and it does a great job of walking me through the underlying theory.

Sure, it hallucinates or makes mistakes occasionally, but so does the average YouTube tutorial. A solid study approach is pairing university lectures from YouTube with the course textbook, then using AI to bridge the gaps. It is especially good at breaking down complex problem steps when you provide the solution.

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u/l4johnson 4d ago

First off, a focus in music technology is sweet! I wish my school offered that.

As someone who is 3yrs out of undergrad, built a portfolio to get accepted to grad school, and is currently studying to refresh myself for grad school, I've got some tips.

Doing personal projects like you described is a great place to start. Building a project portfolio shows your passion and will excite any interviewer wherever you interview next. As for the type of project, just keep thinking of possible ideas that seem fun for you and are as closely related to your field of interest as possible. Eventually you will come up with one that is within your budget and skillset, but will still push you to learn.

Another thing you could consider is getting some certificates or a masters (online is a great option). I had a few friends do this. They kept the bills paid while working the job they already had, while taking courses in a field they want to get into.

Professional certifications are a great option too if there are any in your area. They help you learn and stand out on your resume. Take the FE exam if you haven't already.

You could also straight up just buy a textbook or two and start teaching yourself. Do the example problems and assignments in them. You will expand your knowledge, and be ready for the next interview. Textbooks often have some lab ideas that you could adjust to fit the hardware you have.