Unfiltered Grad School Advice: Taking Initiative & Building Your Own Future

[@larissacury7714]

Thank you!

[@steverogers2752]

Hi Jan! As an incoming MS student in Electrical Engineering with a focus on Analog Circuit Design, I would like to seek your advice. I've heard that you are an EE graduate, so I believe you can provide some valuable insights. Firstly, I'm undecided about whether to pursue a non-thesis or thesis option for my MS degree. What would you recommend considering my goal of becoming a design engineer? Are there any specific advantages or disadvantages to either option in terms of career prospects or skill development? Additionally, I would like to know how I can effectively brush up on my fundamentals in analog circuit design. Since it's a crucial area for my desired career path, I want to ensure that I have a solid foundation. Do you have any suggestions for resources, books, or study methods that can help me strengthen my understanding and knowledge in this field? Thank you in advance for your guidance!

[@janpancake]

For thesis vs. non-thesis MS, the answer might be different for different areas, but I really don't think it matters, especially if you want to be a design engineer in industry. The main advantage I can think of for doing the thesis for your goal would be if you wanted to join some sort of research lab in industry. If you aren't 100% sure about being a design engineer and still want to explore career options, I might recommend doing a thesis if you want to see how much you like doing research to, perhaps, inform a later decision on whether or not to go for a PhD. It could also help in terms of networking or making career decisions, because you'd form a closer relationship with a thesis advisor (and likely the other grad students in their group) than you would with a professor teaching a class you're taking, so it might help you develop industry connections and narrow down your area of expertise. I can't provide a lot of suggestions for circuit design resources, but I wouldn't hesitate to jump to google/reddit to see what folks around the internet have to say. For instance, here's a reddit thread on books: www.reddit.com/r/chipdesign/comments/saafmf/which_analog_circuit_design_book_you_recommend_it/, and here's a LinkedIn article with tips for success: www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-takes-become-successful-analogrf-ic-design-engineer-abhay-dixit/. From observing my friends in this space, I do think it takes a lot of practice, as the article says, so doing internships would be a great way to strengthen your skills and understanding. I hope this helps!

[@steverogers2752]

@@janpancake Thank you for your valuable advice!!!

[@edwardwav]

THANKS SO MUCH!!!

[@user-wr4yl7tx3w]

How can we reach you to ask questions?

[@janpancake]

Feel free to email me: [e-mail] 🙂