I have had experiences within the Electrical Engineering Profession with several companies. These companies have provided short-term relationships that provided me with an opportunity to solve real world problems. These were opportunities to operate as an actual engineer.
My work experience begins with Honeywell. Honeywell is a well-known corporation whose operations span a great deal of products. My particular site designed and manufactured radio communication equipment for private, lightweight aircraft. My job was to sort test data. Within the aircraft industry, test data accumulates more so than other industries. This is due to the regulations concerning safety. My solution was to write a program that could sort this data for the engineers. This provides a final solution to their problem, rather than temporary one. I proposed the idea to the engineers that work directly with the test data and gathered the information needed to do so. I implemented the program in C++. It was necessary for me to spend many weeks with the engineers using my program to understand what necessary revisions to make. This provided me with software development skills that are sometimes less used for Electrical Engineers.
After providing this solution, a multitude of different projects consumed my time. This ranged from testing circuits to fabricating circuits. This exposure to multiple tasks has given me insight into how the EE field works together.
This work program was an eight-month relationship and tied closer to my desire to design circuits. I worked in the Signal Integrity Division. More companies are developing this unique division as we enter an age of ever-increasing frequencies. The object of this division was to analyze all card level designs, identify possible errors with the signal transmission, and correct them.
I ran simulations on several designs in order to inspect the differences between the signal and the expected signal from circuit designs. It was also my responsibility to run the actual test on high-speed circuitry. This meant that I had to design and use methods of inspection, such as soldering a handmade probe to a board and capturing waveforms on an oscilloscope. This was a challenge considering the parasitic elements involved at such high frequencies.
This experience taught me a lot about how engineering business operates today. One of the most notable tests I performed was a part of a business deal between IBM and another company. This had me carrying information between the two companies. This allowed me to see how complex engineering business can be.
This experience has left me with an incredible feeling of accomplishment and understanding.
The third experience listed has not occurred yet but will in the near future. It is my hope that I shall give you an understanding of my future with a description of a company that I will be working for in a three-month engagement. I will gain even closer experience to VLSI design by working with Micron. I will be performing tasks as a product engineer. The product engineer is involved much as I was in IBM, verifying existing products. I feel that this is an excellent way to learn about designs and see where designs will fail. The failures of previous designs can only show the correct way to design circuits.
The product division I will be working with is the NAND Flash Memory Division. Taking a position in this different area will also provide me with a wider experience base when my period as a student is finished. This position will draw upon my elective majors of VLSI design and Semiconductor Fabrication/Physics. This will only strengthen my aspirations.