Ranking Electrical Engineering Classes: Hardest to Easiest

Electrical Engineering classes and electrical engineering curriculum are some of the toughest in engineering. In this video I answer the question: which electrical engineering class is hardest? What is the electrical engineering curriculum like?
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#electricalengineering #electronicsengineering

[@Kevin-yj7nd]

Basic powers systems might not be that complicated, but once you dealt with networks equations, and fault balancing it gets pretty hard. To me embedded is easier.

[@fmfarhan]

Hi Ali. Amazing! I am an EE myself. I have worked on optical transmission systems, RF transmissions, embedded control systems, DSP ASICs and last 10 years pure software systems (server and mobile as well as medical devices) and couldn't agree with you more. EE has helped me imagine the unimaginable and be able to solve the toughest INVISIBLE problems. Keep up the fantastic work!! So proud of you!

[@alithedazzling]

Wow, thank you so much for the comment! Are you on LinkedIn By any chance? Let's connect! www.linkedin.com/in/ali-alqaraghuli/

[@patricks8364]

All EE classes are difficult. Believe me.

[@alithedazzling]

If course they are, but depending on what you are interested in some can be more difficult than others :-)

[@patricks8364]

@@alithedazzling looks like you didn’t mention Principle of semiconductors, solid state physics. So they are not considered EE courses? That was my specialization.

[@alithedazzling]

@@patricks8364 You touch upon those a little bit in the microelectronics class -- in my school we didn't go too in depth, but in the sedra smith book I mentioned there is a chapter on semiconductors leading to transistors

[@change5450]

How’s EE going

[@caimccray7]

@@patricks8364 my course for this semester is entirely semiconductors transistors hurt my soul lol. But it’s all fascinating.

[@georgesadler7830]

Thank you for the video. Students have to do many problems in order to understand these courses in Electrical Engineering. Writing proofs is also important in these courses. Advanced Calculus is a course that undergraduate students should consider taking before tackling Signal and Systems Theory and Probability Theory.

[@cholyom2629]

"One man's meat is another man's poison." Always remember this proverb

[@manganiphiri4331]

Diploma in Electrical Engineering, having problems with advancing my studies to persue a EE Beng due to sponsorship but I agree the electronic parts of the course are really tough and confusing. I initially wanted to go the electronic route but power electrical seems much more stimulating because things are easy to visualise.

[@ZavesRave]

Advanced Power Systems was hardest and I also found that in industry to. Can easily experiment with electronic design and signals as costs are low. Where power systems costs are very high with no room for error or over design

[@zDoubleE23]

Learning microelectronic circuits from books by Sedra Smith or Neamen was tough because the basic concepts were drowned out by all the math and design considerations like oxide thickness and other dimensions. I had to go back and look at Boylsted’s microelectronics textbook to get the meat and potatoes.

[@fatimadarling9656]

This is insane. I am a senior studying Electrical Engineering at Qatar University and I agree with you on almost all points. Cuz I studied almost all of what you mentioned such as electric circuits 1,2 , signals and systems, communications engineering, electromagnetics, digital systems design (vhdl), embedded systems (C language using mbed) and digital signal processing. However, I found digital signal processing to be easier to comprehend than embedded systems, signals and systems, and control. The most enjoyable I would say is electric machines which is where we study magnetic circuits, transformers, synchronous, asynchronous, and dc machines.

[@alithedazzling]

Oh wow, that's super cool! I wonder what its like to study EE in Qatar. Would you say your overall university experience is good?

[@fatimadarling9656]

@@alithedazzling I'd say studying EE at Qatar University is much more challenging than EE at the campus we have of Texas A and M. This is mainly because our major is soo hectic and the assignments that we get are much detailed and can require a whole lot of time just to complete. The labs however, are very fun because we got the opportunity to design an FM transmitter and receiver using components such as op-amps, and resistors, in communication engineering. Overall, the learning experience was good too

[@alithedazzling]

@@fatimadarling9656 wow, thank you for sharing that detail. I'm glad you had the more difficult experience, as it will help you out in the long term. In all cases it's an absolute pleasure to have you in this channel, I am glad you found this video. Please feel free to suggest any video ideas that would be helpful to you

[@fatimadarling9656]

​@Ali the Dazzling Thank you brother. I actually wanted to know if you know any good textbooks for RF microelectronics. Because unlike the previous communication courses I took which were mainly digital communication and wireless communication, this course is mainly about working with the analog front end side of the communication system. Do you think the book RF microelectronics by Behzad Razavi is a good one? Also, if you have other resources in which I can study this course, that'd be quite helpful. Jazak Allah Khair

[@yassermou1536]

@@fatimadarling9656 Hello fatima i have so many question about working at Qatar as a Electrical Engineering,about the salary and other stuff can i?because I’m living in Montreal and I want to leave for a Muslim country.

[@charzanboo9940]

Oh man, those textbooks and authors you put up...the flashbacks... they must be world-wide famous, lol 😆

[@chaselewis8473]

Yeah signals and systems was probably the wildest most math intensive course during my time at the university. Most interesting though as well.

[@joostpalucki6560]

signals and systems was a great course imo, first half of the semester nothing made sense, in the end a puzzle began to emerge and after 3 weeks of intense studying right before the exam i got the subject, was a great experience

[@danrich8045]

Im in my first semester of engineering taking stuff like calculus, chemistry, and computer skills for engineers and what not . They say your JR year is the hardest and after reading these comments I’m nervous lol. But I figure during the summers I’ll read up on some of the harder classes so I can have some kind of knowledge going into my later semesters.

[@iam_browdee]

Thanks for the enlightening

[@dekev7503]

Vhdl is more related to digital principles than it is to embedded systems. In practice, they do not necessarily have the same use. Yes you can use FPGAs in place of microcontrollers for most functions. HDLs like Verilog and VHDL ( by extension FPGAs) are mainly used for designing flexible digital circuits.

[@alithedazzling]

Vhdl is based on digital principles, that is true, but Vhdl is similar to embedded systems in that students get their first hands-on exposure in programming a board and building a project (rather than just theoratical knowledge such as in digital principles), thus this adds a new layer of difficulty but also makes it easier since its more hands on.

[@erenjaeger5344]

In my university in the 3rd semester you have to specialize in one of three recesses. And most of the students choose energy systems. And the minority chooses communication/RF.

[@newtonsgrandchild1701]

wow, that means this video is spot on then

[@erenjaeger5344]

@@newtonsgrandchild1701 yep

[@alithedazzling]

that sounds about right

[@thispersonrighthere9024]

i wanted to do EE, but decided against it because my high school classes on electricity were too confusing. they taught that current is the flow of charge per unit time, but then they say the charges don't really flow! one teacher said voltage is energy per charge, then another said that voltage can exist without charge or energy!! they taught us electrons flow from the positive terminal to negative, then say no, it's actually the other way around!!! no thanks. i chose to become a simple baker instead, and i have no regrets. lol

[@alithedazzling]

@@thispersonrighthere9024 Haha yeah because everything is invisible and abstract it can be a bit confusing to teach electrical engineering concepts... unfortunately in university you have to teach yourself anyway so the fact that you didn't have the best teachers isn't all that uncommon -- but being a baker sounds awesome, what kind of pastries do you make? I remember watching a masterclass on french croissants and it looked very intense lol

[@of499]

Funny that I agree with your ranking for most students and for yourself personally as it is also applicable to me. Yet I ended up working in Power Systems. What make courses difficult in my opinion are 1) that students don't establish strong basics from the beginning and 2) teaching staff is not qualified/interested enough to teach these things

[@alithedazzling]

very true for both points, unfortunately point 2 is still a reality despite paying a ton of money for school

[@JohnSmith-sj2dk]

I have been a Tech and later qualified as an EE (Hons), mathematics was the gateway to move from tech to engineer - Control systems , communication systems, motors were the most difficult for me

[@KevlarSammy]

This video made me feel better about how I stressed I am this semester. Thank you for posting. I am in signals and systems, applied electromagnetics, network analysis, and intro to logic design 15credits. I really appreciate being able to take only engineering courses, because I worked so hard to get have the privilege to do that. It was not “difficult” to get here, it just took a lot of effort and time. The applied electrimagnetics course is the most difficult for me, and between all the other classes there is just not enough time in the day to spend endless amount a of time trying to get that intuitive feeling of what is happening, I would burn out. The instructor has the TL quizzes, for transmission line quizzes, where we are assigned the frequency of the generator , magnitude, angle and character impedance and have to derived the wave equation, reflection coefficient…etc. In network analysis we are working on non-ideal transformers which connects to other courses. in signal and systems I finally get to use all the DE I learned almost a year ago. I agree with you it’s a fascinating course and I like the textbook, we use Lathi, carry it everywhere just like you did. Thanks again, this video made me feel like I’m part of the tribe.

[@savat6979]

I would love to see a video with recommendations for beginner projects. I'm going to be doing EE starting this September so I'm super excited.

[@alithedazzling]

Sounds good I think I have a few in mind!

[@savat6979]

@@alithedazzling can't wait!!!

[@savat6979]

@@alithedazzling I'd love to land a first year internship to get myself a head start and I know that project building is super important for it

[@alithedazzling]

@@savat6979 Hey Sava, still have this video planned, I'm in the middle of moving to a new city so it will likely be in a bit, hope that is okay!

[@savat6979]

@@alithedazzling good luck. I'm also moving so we're in the same boat

[@ronakraichandani1592]

I am Currently studying ECE(Electronics and Communication) in India, just came to realize that the 4 out the top 5 subjects that you mentioned in the video are the subjects that were taught to me this semester and I am not the only one who feels that these courses are interesting yet the most difficult.

[@user-do2mx8ob6i]

just started studying the same exact major, it's rare to find sb with this course most of times it's just electrical or computer engineering . nice to meet ya

[@tjfryer2897]

Just finished your book! Left the navy as an Electronic Technician and thinking I’ll go back for a degree, thanks for the inspiration. :)

[@alithedazzling]

Glad to hear!

[@4DRC_]

Once you get comfortable in the frequency domain, you never look back. There's also a lot of beautiful elegance in the math that should be appreciated. The hardest for me was semiconductors. Energy levels is too abstract for me. I only took the mandatory intro class for it.

[@faustianfellaheen]

Yep, to understand semiconductors, you need a solid grasp on quantum mechanics and solid-state physics.

[@friedoysterskins2942]

Honestly the difficulty depends on the professors. Electronics is kicking my ass bro, my exam is in a week and Im about to cry. Linear systems/ Signals and systems is very difficult too but the professor is great

[@alithedazzling]

good point

[@mathematicaleconomist4943]

​@@alithedazzling What sounds hardest to your ears? 1. Masters Degree in Mathematics or 2. Masters Degree in Statistics?

[@trade_design23]

Interesting video. However wish you would leave the photos of the book covers up on the screen a bit longer than one second. Perhaps you could have included a list of the books (or amazon links) in the description? Had to rewatch and try to pause screen on each book to read title and look on amazon.

[@alithedazzling]

should i Make a remake of this video?

[@audioadhd]

Bro, your knowledge is incredible, but your musical taste, epic. Real question: once you finish your maths, how much math is actually is applied, by hand, across the rest of the EE courses? I'm 47, 2nd year in for BEEE, and worried😅

[@rubidiotesla4458]

Vera good, my brother

[@alithedazzling]

Adilson! Good to hear from you!

[@Lets_DoWhatWeWant]

This is my jam (get it from jamming) and I don't even have an engineering degree (Liberal Arts) lol but if you want to start with the basic join the Army a 35S, 17E they deal with the RF spectrum.

[@chibuezendiokwelu63]

Hi Ali I'm a mech eng grad with interests in digital electronics and circuits. Can u recommend any book or course as an intro to embedded systems and vhdl

[@dramese]

thank you for this video, I was able to purchase all those books to prepare myself. I’m an aspiring EE STUDENT

[@alithedazzling]

Glad it was helpful!

[@abrarfahim3516]

1.Signals and systems 2. Engineering electromagnetics 3.Probabilty and statistics 4.Mocroelectronics 5.Embedded System/VHDL 6.Digital Electronics 7.Power Systems

[@AmanGupta-nw7zl]

Electrical Machines and Electric drives Communication Systems Microprocessor and microcontroller Power Electronics Control System Electrical Measurements Electrical Materials Circuit Analysis

[@rubidiotesla4458]

My brother, Ali! Your book suggestions are great. If you can indicate some specifics about satellites, I would be very grateful.

[@alithedazzling]

satellite communications by dennis roddy is a classic

[@rubidiotesla4458]

Eres mi hermano del corazón. Muchas gracias!

[@alithedazzling]

@@rubidiotesla4458 de nada tio

[@rubidiotesla4458]

@@alithedazzling logo vai estar fluente em português!

[@alithedazzling]

@@rubidiotesla4458 e claro!

[@midnightmadness1714]

I am doing electrical engineeirng power and you are right. Even tho I love anything that's related to electricity , electrical power systems are the hardest to master; the distribution system is super complicated and the one tiny mistake can short circuit an entire electrical grid. It's very hard to maintain the certain power factor and distribution loads. Of course this is just the beginning of it. But signals and systems is also very vigorous, I d say it is 2nd after power systems. Easily! I was wondering , as it's my last year , does USA have a good demand of electrical power engineers ? Because we have studied a lot of electronics and embedded systems as well.. Thank you for reading my comment. Awaiting your reply.

[@alithedazzling]

Absolutely, each field has its bottlenecks, its good that you figured out your own. I would say yes, the US has demand for all sorts of electrical engineers, and power is no exception. I'd say especially with rise in demand for cleaner power such as solar and wind. I live in new york and there is demand for power engineers in companies such as national grid. You can do a quick search for "power systems engineer" or "electrical engineer" on indeed.com and see the recent listings.

[@midnightmadness1714]

@@alithedazzling awsome thank you so much.. love the videos. Keep them coming😍

[@alithedazzling]

@@midnightmadness1714 Thank you!! Stay tuned for more :-)

[@osamaelzubair1203]

Can anyone recommend for me a good youtube playlist or an introductory course on communication systems since I am grappling with this subject😮😮?

[@sergiorome48]

My favorite class that I ever took was Signals and Systems

[@TheGameOver100]

I’m having trouble with cal2

[@ahmedalshalchi]

Yeah those as HARDER to EASIER and I can add one more harder thing is ; how to model the reality into mathematical formula and how to process and return back to reality since in reality everything is related to everything and ALL are variables ! ...

[@samanthasantos5731]

Im a BME 3rd year. I’m currently taking ECE211(Fundamentals of Electrical Circuits) and I’m having such a hard time understanding. I’ve been going to this student resources center at my university for tutoring but it doesn’t really help once the weekend comes and I have no one to help me. Might you know what I can be able to do to better understand this course? I need it since it’s part of my specialization in Medical Imaging. I just want to do well so I can go confident into my following ece course.

[@KevlarSammy]

What that? Like a linear circuit analysis class?

[@jithinjoy4806]

My favourite subject was signals and systems ❤❤ Electronics and communication engineering ❤ Network theory was the worst one 😢

[@user2005-m3p]

Sir! Thank you very much for sharing this video with us, however am not yet a student of electrical engineering but am looking forward to studying it on a diploma level. So, am asking if at all you can help me with some tips on how I can be a good student in electrical engineering?🙏🙏🙏

[@alithedazzling]

i made many videos in my mindset playlist, go watch them!

[@SSingh743]

How is the book power system by ashfaq hussain? Which are the good books for Power system in your opinion?

[@alithedazzling]

Not sure to be honest -- I did not specialize in power

[@scifun5451]

Hi Ali. Do you have any tips for first year students in Electrical Engineering? I will be starting my freshman classes this year.

[@alithedazzling]

I will likely post a video like that a bit later, stay tuned!

[@eslamhussein5107]

Hi , When did you get your nasa internship? In undergrad or while you were doing your Phd ? And how what’s solid gpa do you recommend to have by senior year to get internships? Thanks in advance

[@alithedazzling]

I got my first one in undergrad, then my second one between my masters/phd. You can apply online for the undergrad ones through the summer internship program. I'd say GPA is not that important, but at least 3.0. If you can have above 3.5 that would be great, as long as you're not spending all your time on that GPA. More important is experience and skills. Obviously to increase your odds you want both a high gpa and good set of skills. There's another video on my channel called "how I landed 3 electrical engineering internships" I think it will help you a lot!

[@eslamhussein5107]

Appreciate it man , best of luck and thanks for the advice !!!

[@alithedazzling]

@@eslamhussein5107 You got it!

[@soufyan454]

Hi Ali, I am about to start my first year of electrical engineering and I am undecided between power systems (ie distrubution of electrical energy) and embedded systems (ie electronics). I am interested in both fields, I am just not very good at software (and don't enjoy it at all) so I am thinking about doing power systems. However, I am scared about making a mistake because we all know that software will only develop exponentially in the near future, basically I am scared about struggling to find a job if I chose power systems because everything today is about software and coding. Could you help a brother out please lol? Love the content

[@alithedazzling]

do you have to decide right now? I would say first year is very early to decide. It's best to take some classes, talk to some professors/upperclassmen, and decide then if you can. Pick the one you enjoy more once you have acquired a bit more experience

[@soufyan454]

@@alithedazzling yes first year but its a bit different. Basically after h.school i did 2 years of general eng. (im in france) abd I got to study the basics of EE, ME, CS as well as chemistry etc... So I have a pretty good understanding of Power systems and general electronics. Basically I am really tempted by Embd sys pour I am again not very goof at software, but I would be willing to learn don't get me wrong. My problem is that on indeed or whatever when I type "electrical eng." (in any country) I've noticed that's it's mostly to do with power sys and when I type "electronics eng" or "emd. sys. eng" I get one or no results. So now i'm more in a dilemma than when I wrote the first comment lol. Basically what I want to know for sure is the following : which speciality in EE is the most secure job wise and which will permit me to work anywhere around the world (I kinda want to travel). Thanks

[@alithedazzling]

@@soufyan454 so I can definitely see how power systems are more globally in demand, wheres as embedded systems is more prevalent in countries like the US for example where there is more electronics design If you enjoy power systems its definitely a safer option in case you want to live in france, USA, or wherever. However keep in mind now adays there are many remote jobs, so thats another thing to consider!

[@soufyan454]

@@alithedazzling So you don't think power systems will ever die? Because everything seems to be about software lol Yeah because I really want to travel, I especially want to live a while in the middle east, do you think they are in demand there (I am assuming you are arab)

[@alithedazzling]

@@soufyan454 so the way I think about those things is a bit different.. i dont think youre forever married to the major you choose or area you work in. You can always change and adapt and learn new skills. So I am not too concerned myself with things changing in the future becuase im sure I will adapt as well. As far as working in the middle east, I honestly have no idea since I have not worked there before and have not lived there in the past 10 years or so. I live in the United States. I would try to find people who currently work there and ask them. Hope that helps!

[@ganshikasharma8518]

Please share more bookk

[@NativeBox]

Hello I am starting my second year’s second semester and It would be nice to have a video where you discuss a couple of project ideas for people who have knowledge in E&M, Optics/Waves, C/C++, Circuit Analysis/Logic Design. So I guess it would be more of an intermediate level project idea video?

[@alithedazzling]

That's a good idea, I think I have some things in mind; stay tuned!

[@mhsohn6798]

Is field about radar and radio frequency very hard(even in EE standard)?

[@alithedazzling]

yes

[@lemonhscott7667]

Oddly I found signals and systems to be a walk in the park, personally. However, that’s likely because I had done a Music Technology Minor before taking the course, and so I had actually seen a ton of the concepts employed in the course in action before I ever stepped foot into the signals and systems classroom.

[@peterpiper8806]

I dreaded signals and systems. Power Systems is extremely bulky, calculus classes were anything but easy. Electrical machines and drives, protection engineering. Omg, everything sucked. But on the bright side, I can learn anything easy and I'm addicted to caffeine

[@user-kb8tb1pj7h]

Can someone with no experience at all… but has a great work ethic and will study night and day to complete the assignments… do power engineering? Is it worth a shot to try ?

[@alithedazzling]

yes

[@user-kb8tb1pj7h]

@@alithedazzling perfect I am accepted and wait to start in the fall

[@faustianfellaheen]

You missed semiconductor physics and devices. It is easily harder than electromagnetics! In fact, I would say it is objectively the most difficult to get into.

[@alithedazzling]

semiconductors is in microelectronic circuits by sedra smith -- was a tough one for sure

[@almnr81S7]

Put most of these on hold and said math first.😅

[@pham3383]

I hate boolean math and fourier,laplace transform :((

[@alithedazzling]

try finding good videos about it, its not that bad!

[@DavidVonR]

What!?! Laplace and Fourier transforms are frikken awesome!

[@CEA9234]

Eh. Its not too bad. You reallt need intuition and know fundamentals

[@ordinaryperson.__1]

Circuit analysis 2 is not simple

[@user-gv8xb5vr7n]

A stranger advised me to learn programming, but I do not find any relationship between programming and electrical engineering, and how to use C++ in electrical engineering.tnx

[@user-gv8xb5vr7n]

I want your experience

[@alithedazzling]

C++ can be used to program microcontroller such as arduino. watch video tutorials on arduino microcontrollers

[@eliran986]

What actually the difference between analog and digital circuit?

[@alithedazzling]

digital is 1s and 0s represented by two different voltage values, for example 5 volts and 0 volts --- analog can be any value really

[@eliran986]

@@alithedazzling So, is integrated circuit an analog or digital?

[@alithedazzling]

@@eliran986 usually they are digital because they have logic gates which operate on 1s and 0s

[@eliran986]

@@alithedazzling So, if I understand, most of the hardware like cpu, gpu, boards are digital. So what kind of electronic devices made by analog design?

[@alithedazzling]

@@eliran986 radio components like amplifiers, filters, mixers, etc

[@jpmcfrosty]

Has anyone here ever had to solve for an electric charge value involving a Gaussian sphere?

[@alithedazzling]

we're thinking of having a discord community, would you benefit from a channel that is dedicated for homework and assignments?

[@jpmcfrosty]

@@alithedazzling I meant like in a real world scenario lol But that would be cool too!

[@loreoyedele4468]

EE Is hard they don’t hand it out for free haha

[@LiiVe_WiiReD]

It’s shocking really

[@luciensartikilledjohnf.ken1689]

Hi. What are your thoughts on Industrial Engineering?! I switched my major from Civil engineering to Electrical engineering this semester and I regret it now, because I was forced to take Calculus 2 along with one Fundamentals Electrical Engineering class, as well as an "Introduction to Embedded Systems Class" ( which I just recently dropped out ). It was a radical shift, and Im failing Calculus 2 right now. ( Imagine having to switch your major to one of the hardest engineering branches and college majors, and take two of its classes simultaneously when you're a beginner). EE is a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I heard Industrial Engineering is the easiest engineering branch; is that right?!?! What was your cumulative GPA in college when you studied engineering? Btw I love those Led Zeppelin posters. You have a good taste in music if you listen to Led Zeppelin, and they're my favourite band

[@alithedazzling]

think I answered this in another comment -- find jobs within that field and ask questions about it