I’m seriously into engineering, I’d like some feedback please?
Hi there. From 3 years old, I always had a thing for building things and technology. I liked computers and building structures or ‘machines’ when playing with my toys. I still have the same passion now I’m 17-18. After some serious thought, my first school of choice in University is Electrical & Computer Engineering, and second Mechanical Engineering. I really love both subjects, I just have a talent in electronics, tech and computers so that’s why I’m going for EE first choice.
Now to the real topic. I really like playing video games, but it’s not constructive, is it? So I decided to occupy myself with making stuff like inventions, or fixing things, I hope you understand what I mean. I was astonished by circuit building so I invested on a mainstream soldering iron and solder wire. In general, part of my money are used on tools like screwdrivers, wire strippers etc. (when I visit a hardware store, I feel like I’m in Paradise!)
I really like doing this because it is my passion to tinker with things mentioned. I like learning from the Internet, watching tutorials on how to create this or fix this or how this works. So what I would like is some feedback. First of all, is it good to do this in my age? Also, I always want to learn stuff, I just don’t know how to organize the succession at which I should learn (for example, in electronics, should I start from core theory of electronic physics, how components work, or what?)
And last but not least: Could you suggest some resources about building simple machines at home?
If in anything you suggest there is math or physics it’s still welcome, so far it’s possible for a high school student to understand.
Thank you!
Tagged with: 3 years • amp • building structures • computer engineering • core theory • electronic physics • electronics tech • first choice • hardware store • inventions • math • mechanical engineering • money • passion • playing video games • simple machines • soldering iron • succession • toys • wire strippers
Filed under: Simple Electronic Circuits
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Question 1:
There’s no ‘best’ thing to be doing at any age really. However, if you’re interested in electrical/computer engineering, then of course, learning about electronics in your spare time will save you the effort of learning it later.
Question 2:
That’s a good question, but it’s hard to answer. To get a good understanding on electronics requires that you know some calculus and are familiar with complex numbers. That being said, you can learn a lot of the basics with just algebra. I’d recommend looking through:
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/
The subjects are presented in a logical order, so you won’t have to worry about what to learn first (just go through each chapter in order). Don’t worry if it all seems a little overwhelming though. If you do end up going into ECE, you’ll take plenty of courses that will cover this sort of stuff
Question 3:
You could look up microcontrollers (for example: http://www.arduino.cc), they are very easy to use and you can make tons of cool things with them. There’s also lots of tutorials around (for example: http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/).
You might want to look for a magazine called ‘Make’ (or ‘Make magazine’), they have lots of projects that you can try at home.
What your doing is all good and well. It will serve you in pursuit of a EE or ME. You would be far better off using some of that circuit building time in a study math and physics. Universities that offer engineering degrees have a math class that falls between college algebra and calculus. It goes by a number of names. You can check the curriculum of your intended school.
It would help your college studies if you have a very solid handle on the math. Physics is the ‘goodbye’ course in engineering studies. It is not uncommon for one-third the class to drop out or fail. Getting a good handle on physics is even more critical than pushing too far in math.