EEVblog #138 - Top 5 Tips for Graduate Engineers

Dave runs through his top 5 career and life tips for electronics engineering graduates.

[EEVblog]

Well said. Yes, debt and fear of losing your job is to be avoided at all costs.

[ghffrsfygdhfjkjiysdz]

As a nuclear engineer and a physicist, working as an electrical engineer for a helicopter company, i can say that Dave is 100% right about these 5 tips.

[BrunoTaglietti]

I'm revisiting this video 5 years later. This is definitely the best youtube video ever.

[ronjones]

everyone should watch this video. it applies to everything in life. well done.

[vintagesynthlab]

Dave, you are absolutely correct! After 25 years as an Electronics (Eng) Tech, I have seen it all. This is why I am starting up my business again: fun; compassion; extra money; control; a feeling of accomplishment, etc. Otherwise, you waste your talent just giving it all away to a corporation that can flush you right down the toilet at any moment.

[chriskazaglis]

"And remember a really crap job almost never gets better, there's an intrinsic reason why it's crap." That is the best advice I've ever heard about crap jobs. There's some fatal flaw that perhaps can't be fixed due to internal or external reasons. This is exactly how an engineer would approach workplace relations/psychology.

[knucklehead-zw]

Wow...I was only half listening and just happened to "tune in" and start paying attention at 3:47. He said, "Don't fall into the common misconception that everything you do at work is going to be interesting" and..."so you have to have your own projects to fulfill that". That is a fact!!! I learned it the hard way. The best job I ever had was one where I started out doing interesting work. I chose to work 85 hours a week and did so for YEARS. Everyone came to expect that from me and I rose in the ranks quickly. However, I found that I RESENTED times when the boss needed me to do boring tasks. It ended up costing me the job (I quit...foolishly). The boss had EVERY RIGHT to assign boring tasks. It wasn't his fault I chose to have nothing else in my life beside that job.

[ReactanceIsFutile]

If you're bored at work, doing reports.... enjoy it. Allows you to save your mental capital for doing all kinds of amazing and cool projects on your own time, rather than sapping you so that all you can do is drool and watch TV off of work hours.

[NXaiUL]

7 years on YouTube and only 7 dislikes. gr8 job dave

[azdinator]

I really like this Dave Jones.
Thank you for that. Love what you're doing. Regards from Zürich.

[patrickBaiterMan]

as EE major, I aged 30 years watching this video, contemplating grim future ahead of me.

[jp_engineer]

Thanks, Jones.... great advices. Well, I'm a fresh electrical engineer and I already think you are right...

"Never be afraid of losing your job."

[fasulia]

I'm now in my final year of EEE. This video gets me excited and scared at the same time.

[elecnut]

A crap job almost never gets better. Absolutely right !!

[JordanEdmundsEECS]

The one man-band jobs are also very common outside of vanilla "engineering", I'm currently an electronics engineer in a biology lab and I get to do the whole schebang.

[CampKohler]

Tip 2: Make sure any agreements with your employer do not allow them ownership of any work you do at home or during traditional non-work hours. In other words, do they "own" you? So, read all the fine print of any thing you sign,

[Maslacak]

i work on high end R&D EU funded projects, and 80% of my time is power point :)

[jonnection]

I'm living on my Screw You money at the moment, and intend to do it for a good while. What Dave is saying here is so, so true. Many of my colleagues during my career have had nice cars and houses ... and so much debt that they live in constant fear of getting the boot. I've walked out a couple of times and I have to say that each time it has been worth it - you get your self respect and motivation back. Leaving is a form of being proud of what you do, its not about being a quitter.

[Nadrealis]

@EEVblog I can say that I'm the type of person who once finds and understands their passion, they will do everything that they can do to become the best they can be. I love the ability to create something useful with my mind that can be seen as beautiful. After reading everything that it took up until this point to create what we have around us, it really humbles a person and makes them understand and respect engineers for what they do for society. I hope I can be half the engineer you are Dave.

[oscararturovaldiviaalvarez]

Thanks to God that you're here....thanks a lot for the advice...there are a lot of young engineneers like me that doesn't have someone to help them like you do....they'll know about this....thanks ;, -)