EEs knowledge
- Thread starter hardworkingstiff
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jcormack
Member
- Location
- Pennsylvania
Depends
Depends
As many on here have stated, it depends on when, where, and what. When & where you went to school & what electives you took. Only trade or Tech schools bother to teach NEC -the NEC is, after all, a safety guide for wiring installations - not theory. Engineering schools are primarily about theory - application comes later. Schools today (in my geo location) primarily focus on computer engineering / chip design / electronics - very little power. Most of the power theory is actually covered in Physics courses now.
When I attended school 1st & second years where all core classes - Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, those are the base on which to build the theory of your engineering elective. I took courses in Chip design, Power system analysis, Rotating apparatus (motors + gen), Electronics I & II, Electromagnetics I +II, Signals+systems, Power semiconductors (SCR + Transistor, VFD's, etc) & electives for advanced Chip, Microprocessor application, Thermodynamics (non-EE) and Micro-level programming (on a PDP-11). In the Microprocessor class we built a computer (using wire-wrap sockets) an 8085 cpu and all the peripheral chips required - flashed the prom and loaded the base code - so yes I have a good base knowledge of how a computer computes. I also know how transformers work, motors turn, generators generate, antenna receive or emit, how to transmit power, how to rectify or synthesize, how light works in a fiber-optic tube, and I have a base knowledge of computers and networking. I use the NEC in my work (industrial application) - In my job I design and build Power systems 69 KV & down, substations 138 KV and down, Use ETAP & SKM power analysis programs, Design Industrial automation and control systems - Motor controls, HMI (Wonderware, RSView, CiTect), PLC programming, large DC and VFD applications 5000 hp and down.
My EE degree is the base of ALL that I do....................
Depends
As many on here have stated, it depends on when, where, and what. When & where you went to school & what electives you took. Only trade or Tech schools bother to teach NEC -the NEC is, after all, a safety guide for wiring installations - not theory. Engineering schools are primarily about theory - application comes later. Schools today (in my geo location) primarily focus on computer engineering / chip design / electronics - very little power. Most of the power theory is actually covered in Physics courses now.
When I attended school 1st & second years where all core classes - Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, those are the base on which to build the theory of your engineering elective. I took courses in Chip design, Power system analysis, Rotating apparatus (motors + gen), Electronics I & II, Electromagnetics I +II, Signals+systems, Power semiconductors (SCR + Transistor, VFD's, etc) & electives for advanced Chip, Microprocessor application, Thermodynamics (non-EE) and Micro-level programming (on a PDP-11). In the Microprocessor class we built a computer (using wire-wrap sockets) an 8085 cpu and all the peripheral chips required - flashed the prom and loaded the base code - so yes I have a good base knowledge of how a computer computes. I also know how transformers work, motors turn, generators generate, antenna receive or emit, how to transmit power, how to rectify or synthesize, how light works in a fiber-optic tube, and I have a base knowledge of computers and networking. I use the NEC in my work (industrial application) - In my job I design and build Power systems 69 KV & down, substations 138 KV and down, Use ETAP & SKM power analysis programs, Design Industrial automation and control systems - Motor controls, HMI (Wonderware, RSView, CiTect), PLC programming, large DC and VFD applications 5000 hp and down.
My EE degree is the base of ALL that I do....................
kingpb
Senior Member
- Location
- SE USA as far as you can go
- Occupation
- Engineer, Registered
Interesting discussion. It does not surprise me that many responses say they did not have the opportunity to take power classes. Back a few years, when utilities were in a huge downturn, and electronic engineering was ramping up, many schools dropped there power programs as funding became tighter and tighter.
Today, there are only a handful of Universities left that still offer a power program. Fortunately, I can say that I was lucky to have had the opportunity to go to one of those, that still remains. Electronics? I only had to take the first year basic stuff, then it was all power courses, machines, and system analysis; including protective relaying.
Today, there are only a handful of Universities left that still offer a power program. Fortunately, I can say that I was lucky to have had the opportunity to go to one of those, that still remains. Electronics? I only had to take the first year basic stuff, then it was all power courses, machines, and system analysis; including protective relaying.
Definitely worth it. Because of scheduling issues, I managed to graduate without a power course (I took the other 10 out of 11 available Electrical electives), but the firm that hired me was wise enough to pay for me to go back the next time my alma mater taught the class. I can't say how valuable it was, at least for the work I ended up doing.
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