Welcome to /r/ElectricalEngineering!

I'm about to graduate in May with an electrical engineering degree and I'm facing a tough career decision. I have two offers on the table and I'm wondering if I should rescind my acceptance with a big energy company. Here are the details:

1. Energy Comp:- Role: Interconnection Planning Engineer- Salary: $87k- Bonus: (Total comp around $94k-$97k)
2. IBM:- Role: Annuity and Subscription Sales Representative- Salary: $73k- Commission: $60k (100% target)- Total comp (as told by IBM): $133k

The Energy Comp role aligns with my degree and my original long-term plan to work on Smart Grids, but the IBM offer has a significantly higher total compensation. I'm planning to pursue a masters in Machine Learning with emphasis on Smart Grids, but I believe this could also be relevant at IBM, just in a different way. I'm torn between staying in my field of study with a role directly related to my electrical engineering background and potentially earning more in a sales role that could provide exposure to AI. Everything else (location, sign-in bonus, pto) is similar. I still haven't gotten details about retirement at IBM, but the other company has a 6% 401 match + 6% pension (automatically given, no need to match).

Another issue is that staying at the energy comp offers a clear path to getting my PE license. I'm curious about the long-term value of a PE in the electrical engineering field, especially in areas like smart grids and renewable energy integration.

-Is it worth pivoting to sales with an engineering background? Will my engineering education be useful in this role at all?

-How valuable is staying in an engineering role for career growth?

-Is it feasible to transition back to engineering after a sales role? How important is it to work towards a PE license early in your career?

-Thoughts on the long-term prospects of interconnection planning in the energy sector?

My setup consists of 3 Splitcore CTs class 0.5 connected to a 100x10mm Busbar as shown in the image.

The secondary is connected to class 0.5 panel mounted energy meters.

The meters don’t detect in secondary current.

We tried changing the CTs position, further down to another panel, with the same busbars. No luck.

When we tested this setup in our lab, with primary currents of 10-20 amps, the meters could detect the current.

It would be nice to know how to resolve this.

I really need advice on this because i feel lost. I recently graduated with a Bachelor's of Applied sciences in electrical and computer engineering in Europe and i'm not quite satisfied with it. Should i go through school again to get a Bachelor's of Science in EE?

I have to start all over from 1st year and can't transfer subjects because that's the law on education where i live...

Thank you all for the advice!

I have to take 4 classes from the lecture electives section, and 2 classes from the lab elective section. The thing is I’m clueless on what any of these are or even mean and I’m not sure yet what I even wanna specialize in EE. Is that bad? Need some advice on this

We designed colpitt oscillator of 1mhz and 10V supply. Now I need to amplify the current. What should be my approach. Mosfets generally have switching frequency of 200khz so its not possible. How should I progress from here. I need a current of somewhat 3-4A

https://preview.redd.it/gjvii9o04dge1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=f42a40085abb79af3b3a2952027450334ea4f77c

Hi everyone,  

First-time poster here!  

I’m working on a project where I need to control a small 3V DC motor to run at a very low speed. The motor I’m using is this one 

My initial approach was simple: I used a 1.5V AAA battery and a Zener diode to drop the voltage, which gave me the desired speed. However, I’d like to take this a step further and power the motor using a LiPo or Li-ion battery (rated at 3.7V).  

To achieve this, I tried using an adjustable buck converter this one, hoping to drop the voltage further with a diode. Unfortunately, I discovered that the converter requires a minimum input voltage of 4.5V to function, so that approach didn’t work.  

Now, I’m considering designing a small PCB with PWM (pulse-width modulation) to control the motor speed. Does anyone have recommendations for beginner-friendly tutorials or resources that cover PWM implementation for motor control? Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated!  

Thanks in advance!

I graduate tech school this year to become an electrician. However, I’m not really interested in the construction side of it. I’ve been doing some research and electrical engineering seems like the best fit for me.

However, is it worth it? For reference I live in Minnesota and plan on staying here.

I’m 20 years old so I’m still young enough to switch my major lol.

I hope this is the correct subreddit, please delete if it is not. I am not an electrical engineer, just an Automation Engineer.

We recently purchases a robotic grinding machine from a company that makes quite a few of them. They seem to have their copy and paste design, and then modify it to fit the customers parts. This cell consists of two robots, and two grinding heads that run abrasive belts. Their logic to run the VFD's is also copy and paste, and I think the thought process was to try and be energy efficient, but even when I asked them why they did it this way they just said that is how they always did it.

I will try and explain this as best as I can. Cell starts and both grinding heads ramp up to their idle speed which is 50 HZ. Robot 1 picks a part, takes a measurement, and then moves into position to to start grinding material away. The grinding head now ramps up to 100 HZ and stays there for approximately 50 seconds until the part is down to size, and then decelerates back down to the Idle speed of 50 HZ. Robot 1 now hands the part to Robot 2 to grind the other side of the part. Robot 1 goes back to its perch position,, picks another part, takes a measurement, and then goes to start grinding.

Long story short, the head runs at 50 HZ for 15 seconds, ramps up to 100 HZ for 50 seconds, and then decelerates down to 50 HZ for 15 seconds and repeat.

Amp draw looks like the following:

3 amps at idle

Spikes briefly to 17 amps during the ramp up to 100 HZ

While running at 100 HZ amp draw is 3.5 amps.

While decelerating back down to 50 HZ the motor has a brief spike up to 6 amps but then idles at 3 amps.

My question is, with all of the inrush amp spikes are we really saving any energy? Would it be better just to continuously run at 100 HZ since the "idle" period is only around 15 seconds? Before I get some data loggers I figured I would ask here to see what your guys's thoughts are.

Thanks.

I've been working on this 4-input buffered summing amplifier. I plan on implementing it into a guitar pedal. I have a tl074 to use for the buffer and a op07 for the summing amp. Would someone be able to give me feedback on my design and let me know if it will work/what I can do to make it function to its best ability?

https://preview.redd.it/5fsge184xcge1.jpg?width=1124&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bedb121ea4c37485f0941f569fc255dbaa38a24a

I'm thinking about buying a UPS to provide backup and protection for my desktop pc and peripherals. I've found what I think is a decent UPS (Eaton) that will provide enough battery backup, but I'm not sure how much surge protection it provides.

In the technical data for the UPS it gives the following information about surge protection.

Power surge protection T3 Uoc = 6 kV; Up < 1.5 kV; In = 3 kA

I understand the T3 designation but, not being a technical type I'm not sure what the rest means. I'm used to seeing plug boards rated with Joules for surge protection.

Can anyone tell me what level of surge protection I will get from this UPS. I'm UK based.

Thanks in advance.

https://preview.redd.it/9igttd0zgcge1.png?width=912&format=png&auto=webp&s=5e08a7c9ab179ee4e12ddddac92da76511d684cf

Hey guys. this is my first time in this sub reddit. So I needed some support in carrying out this experiment regarding the effect of temperature on the resistance of copper wire wrapped around the plastic tube. But in this image here, the picture shows that the oven is being used to control the temperature of the copper wire. But I would like to use a water bath instead of an oven to control the temperature of the copper wire. So I would want to know that if it would be possible to do that and if there wouldn't be any harm in doing so. Thank you for reading this so far, and I'll really appreciate a response. :)

Hi all,

I am trying to find a circuit breaker for an application, I have found below one which may suit to the application, this is a 2-pole, circuit breaker, the operating voltage for DC has two values. 60V DC and 120V DC (in series), can anybody explain to me what this 120V DC (in series)?

https://preview.redd.it/byydeix3gcge1.png?width=722&format=png&auto=webp&s=64c652332b0ab6606ca8d5ec667c7e5df5b1e18f

Like the title says I am planning to do a BS+PhD in EE as a full time student at a top university. By education & profession I am a MechE and will be 38/39 by the time I enter EE program. That means I will be spending atleast 8 years full time at uni to complete a BS + PhD, say by age 46/47 or more. My EE research area interests include VLSI, Advanced semiconductors & chip design and Quantum computing.

Calling on all EE experts here.

Do you think is this worth spending 8 years full time at uni taking into consideration lost income of that time? Is there any way to speed up BS at all?

The potential employer or hiring agency is asking me. How much should it be fellas?

Hello everyone. Is it possible to sombedy with job related to RF and electronics engineering do the job in the sphere of power electronics - embeded engineer (R&D)? The job descriptions was:

• Understanding of Electrical standards, Power Quality standards and analysis of the required algorithms and math End-to-end developing and implementation of RT systems;

The main job requirments are familiar to me which include signal processing, working with matlab, and programming microcontrollers. But I am worried that they are looking for electrical engineer and not electronics engineer. As example of their field of work they sent me an IEEE 519 standard, which is all about distortions in the power supply systems.

I am worried that it is the field of power electronics (R&D power supplies, R&D measurment instruments for power systems) and my field was low current electroncis (radio communication, filters, transmitters, amplifiers, recievers, and even antennas. My latest projects were communication system using Labview language and NI equipment, programming Arduino with ESP32). I've never worked with transformers in circuits schemes or with R&D of power sources closely, for example. I'm worried that there will be many such blank spots in my knowledge.

I want to explain the situation, I am searching for work for 1 month already by myself (140 requests, 0 interviews and no feedback) and only invitation I got - through a random independent HR agent. The interview was very weak on my part and theirs too. They are ready to give me a chance but I do not want to disappoint people (both independent HR agent and company engineers). At the same time I am ready to learn something new, but I have a doubt that I'm trying to bite off more than I can handle.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Currently I'm at that stage where I'm trying to figure out what direction I want to go in after I'm done with college. One of the companies at my college's career fair is looking for ECE patent engineers. What are the pros and cons of being an ECE patent engineer? For reference, the things that matter to me are salary, job security, and work life balance (don't want to be working 80 hours each week, want to have enough time to relax).

So I recently got to information about a Zimbabwean inventor who designed a Radio Frequency powered vehicle.

This would likely involve a significant paradigm shift in how vehicles are powered and operated. Here's a hypothetical breakdown of what this might mean:

1. Wireless Power Transfer: Vehicles could potentially be powered wirelessly, eliminating the need for traditional fossil fuels, batteries, or charging infrastructure.

2. Increased Efficiency: RF energy could be converted directly into mechanical energy, reducing energy losses associated with traditional powertrains.

3. Reduced Emissions: Zero tailpipe emissions, as RF energy is a clean and green source of power.

4. New Design Possibilities: With wireless power transfer, vehicle design could be reimagined, potentially leading to more aerodynamic, lightweight, and spacious vehicles.

Of course these are just the few possibilities I could think of this revolutionary technology. But the biggest question is if this technology has really been archived, why is it so underplayed or rather under appreciated?

First saw it on the news but you can take a look here https://www.chronicle.co.zw/zimbabwean-inventor-unveils-worlds-first-self-powering-vehicles/

picture of the circuit. numbers and indices are all 1 (in persian)

It seems this circuit consists of two separated circuits that are connected together using a wire.

I know that the current of the wire is zero, because based on KCL, no current comes back so it's 0.

how should i interpret this circuit? should i say it contains two band reject filters?

or how can i calculate its natural frequencies?

I have an interview for an internship at a company that designs electrical systems for buildings, like fire alarms, lighting, etc. I have no experience with any of this, I’ve only taken a basic circuits class and core engineering curriculum.

Is there anything I can do to prepare for my interview? Increase my overall knowledge? Is there anything I should know?

I appreciate the help!

What voltage will the multimeter show if we have a 9 V battery which has an internal resistance of 1 ohm, a 10Megaohm resistor is connected in series with it and then the probe of the multimeter is connected to it. The second probe is connected to the second terminal of the battery. The resistance of the multimeter is 20megohms. What voltage will the multimeter read and on what will the voltage drop what will be shown on the multimeter screen?

What do you think you would need for building cheap toy car controlled from my computer? It could for an example buy items from a shop. Like 1 cup of noodles and bring it back to my house.

A weird question yes
But I need some assistance.

I am doing a capstone project this year and its about detecting if a person has had a fall (Especially old people for who it can be fatal) Now I am planning to start this project after I finish 9th Grade, but I have hit a roadblock after doing a bit of research with my teachers in my school's IT Lab. My problem is that when I want to use a battery that can run for a year, I can only utilize LoRaWAN or LoRa only. However, I want to utilize both LoRaWAN and GSM. (Or LoRa in my prototype for now, I will see.) However, the problem is that GSM takes insane amount of battery and the max optimization can only extend it till a week at max. I want the device which I am making to run 24/7.

Now how can I do this? Can someone assist me?

How do I change the duty cycle of Vpwm wave?

So guys I'm preparing a project on Amplitude Modulation and Demodulation (Software Circuit only). So I'm doing this project On TINA software can someone help me in designing my Circuit?? I'm still not getting desired outputs for the project.