Need advice, want to go back to EE
Hi all, need some advice. I’ve been in IT for ~3 years. Want to go back to EE I have a BS in EE from a good school in the US, and was working in electrical design consulting for a little over a year. Then COVID happened, construction industry was hit pretty bad. I was the newest in the firm and on a visa, was laid off. Only jobs available were IT/remote type roles so I took it and explored Right now, I’m self studying and applying to ee roles Have a few insecurities about my situation— 1. On H1b , with only a BS (most folks I’m competing with even for entry level have MS or PhDs) 2. Past 3 years have been in IT. Weak on technical EE concepts, although studying. 3. Only 1 year relevant EE working experience 4. Job market in general, no one hiring. Especially for folks on visas I’m interested in power systems, electronics related roles. There are just SO many concepts to relearn. I’m studying from books and YouTube. Having fun with it so far My question to you all— Is this transition back to EE even a realistic possibility right now?? I’m giving my 💯 in prep. But it’s getting hard to keep shooting aimlessly since I’m studying and also exploring what kind of role I exactly wanna do.. Thoughts? TC- 80k #h1b #careerchange
I am an EE with BS/MS and 8 years of experience. It would be easiest for you if you can get into a Semiconductor company (Texas Instruments/ADI/Intel/etc). They are relatively slow and will have tons of mentors to learn from. Another industry would be automotive: they are kinda desperate to hire ppl, especially in Mid West. Stay away from FAANG and startups for now.
Got it, thanks for the insight. Competition is super tough for the semi conductor companies right now since most new grad MSEE folks head there. I’m gonna try going through referrals, hopefully will work out🤞
OP check out Architecture/Engineering firms. However you will have limited career and TC growth in this industry. My firm is hiring and I can put you in touch with a few folks. You can DM me. But my opinion would be if you are in IT/SWE that is a better field career wise for TC growth.
Will do. And thanks so much! That would be awesome
I would not recommend EE in this environment. Job stability is worse
Thanks for your honest opinion. Why is it worse in this environment? I’m not aiming for big tech right now. Just mid sized companies, is that a big risk too?
I mean, EE is always unstable. Not just now. But if you are ok with it you will likely have a job. The EE market clams up in recession while in IT you will at least find “something”. Can you have a job through a recession without getting laid off? Absolutely. But the risks are high.