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Career or Degree in Electronics

I don't know how off-topic this is, but I'm sure someone will tell me. I'm currently studying an unrelated (with electronics) engineering career, and I wanted to start studying something that includes both electronics and computer science, but doesn't focus on neither. Ia there something like that?
Thanks in advance and sorry if this is not the point of this forum.
 
There are plenty of good engineers out there who do both, but I don't know of any 'colleges' that teach both as a single discipline. You get a choice of one or the other for degrees. You'd probably have to take both courses of study for individual degrees in electrical engineering, and in computer science. Maybe they do things differently
in Europe?
 
Embedded programming is what you're looking for. You program on raw bare-metal hardware and interface with a wide variety of electronics. Mechanical engineering can also be heavily involved if you're making something that moves like a 3D printer, CNC machine, pen plotter, etc;
Systems engineering and control theory can be relevant in a lot of applications as well.

It's a really interdisciplinary field.
 
Embedded programming is what you're looking for.

Yes I´m currently studying G, which is for CNC lathes, but that kind of knowledge is not what I´m looking for. I mean, for example in my country you can study electronic engineering, in which you´d learn basic C, Python, Java and a lot of electronics. But that´s the problem, it focuses on electronics. I´m looking for a more balanced degree.
Maybe my problem is that I´m just looking to learn, not to apply that knowledge.
You mentioned embedded programming but that´s more like learning programming oriented to a certain task. My goal would be to learn a bit about computer science or IT and a bit of electronics. Maybe I´d be better off studying them apart, maybe by doing short courses of each one of them. I´m not looking to be a master programmer or a processor designer of course. Would that be a good idea?

You'd probably have to take both courses of study for individual degrees in electrical engineering, and in computer science.

I think you may be onto something. Since I´m not looking to be a pro on any field, are there any short courses or something online that you know of? Free or paid of course.
 
Maybe my problem is that I´m just looking to learn, not to apply that knowledge.

You mentioned embedded programming but that´s more like learning programming oriented to a certain task. My goal would be to learn a bit about computer science or IT and a bit of electronics. Maybe I´d be better off studying them apart, maybe by doing short courses of each one of them. I´m not looking to be a master programmer or a processor designer of course. Would that be a good idea?

I think you may be onto something. Since I´m not looking to be a pro on any field, are there any short courses or something online that you know of? Free or paid of course.


It's difficult to truly learn embedded programming (or anything for that matter) without applying what you learn as you go along. Especially if you are expected to remember any of it. Luckily, it doesn't have to be expensive, and it is really fun to learn this stuff.

Studying each independently would work as well. It's hard to recommend which to do. You don't know what you don't know, and I don't know what you don't know.

Free resources are EVERYWHERE online. Look up "Arduino" as that's very beginner-friendly.
 
If you don't need a degree, using your knowledge to obtain a job: I'd go with Austin Clark's advice.
Free information resources are all over the place on-line and in print form.
Just start with something that interests you, and see what supporting information you can find.
There are plenty of hobby groups around, if you want to spend some time with those enthusiasts and see what
you can learn from them. Computer groups, amateur radio people, R/C car and airplane clubs., ... lots of places
to expand your knowledge base.
I just don't know of anybody teaching classes that aren't specifically targeting a goal, like a degree or a certification.
 
Yes I'm aware of such resources. A couple of weeks ago I studied this (right up to the multivribrator, thats where i got lost, mostly because of the lack of understanding i have on capacitors)http://www.electronicstheory.com/COURSES/ELECTRONICS/e101-1.htm
And that's the reason I'm here asking. I really liked it and now I'm studying Python, but I wanted a more structured way to study, instead of just looking up things I find interesting and studying them.
I was thinking I could get my hands on some study programs from different careers, grab the first topics and studying them in the order they were intended, like for example, electronic engineering and computer science. Bot appealing degrees. Would that be a good idea?
 
I'll tell ya what I did. I made a list of concepts I didn't know and needed to learn. Every time I came across something new, I'd add it to the list. That's about the most "structure" I had. Honestly, that's about all you really need. Allow yourself to be flexible. Follow your interests as you go along. That'll keep you motivated, and learning more efficiently. So long as you're learning every day, you'll get where you want to be eventually. Don't worry too much about HOW you're learning, and focus on WHAT you're learning.

I didn't use a single source. I learned from all over the internet (and very few books). Youtube is great if you're a visual/audio learner and need a bit of a human element. That's my preferred learning method personally. Don't be afraid to open a dozen or more tabs on a single subject, and just tear through it. Don't sit on a source that isn't getting through to you, just move on. There's always another place with the information you're looking for. The whole process is a lot like flying a glider, looking for thermals to carry you higher.

Python is an excellent first language to learn btw. Keep at that for sure.

You might also be interested in digital logic, and processor architecture/design. A popular project that you'll learn tremendously from is to build your own processor from scratch. I've got a few recommendations there if you're interested.

I have very similar interests to yours. If you have any more specific questions, let me know.
 
I have very similar interests to yours. If you have any more specific questions, let me know.

Thanks, really. If you know somwhere where I can understan how a capacitor works properly it would be a big push forward. I haven't found a proper explanation so far.
Thanks again for the help.
 
Someone might have already answered this (I didn't read every single reply), but you could try to either major in computer engineering or do electrical engineering with your electives focusing on computers, embedded design etc. Another option would be to major in EE with a minor in computer science.
 
Thanks, really. If you know somwhere where I can understan how a capacitor works properly it would be a big push forward. I haven't found a proper explanation so far.
Thanks again for the help.
A capacitor stores energy in an electric field. What exactly did you need to know?
 
Why you just go to Coursera and have a look. You could select courses there for free from prestigious universities like Stanford and many others, of go to MIT from the MIT in Boston. You can study courses from those universities and no cost, or a minimal cost, 71,-Euros per course to get your course certified! Going this path you can have a loof if a certain course does match your interests. Selecting various courses you can even check multiple university specializations. If you combine this getting the information from a University you want to have "presence class", you get the information what courses make up a Bachelor of the study you want to make. Going through those courses that make up the bachelor you can later join a university. You the have had the courses that make up the Bachelor and you finish you Bachelor in record time. As you have known upfront which courses have to be taken for a Bachelor and having had those via MOOC, name for those Internet offers, you will not be too stressed!
 
AMDman I am going to share my 2 years experience in studying engineering. Currently I am following a degree in electrical and electronics engineering. In my course so far I've learnt about electrical machines and the electrical system(the grid), basics of analogue and digital electronics and control theory. However I got really interested in digital electronics, mainly computers their architecture and programming. But what I wasn't satisfied with the material that we covered in school, I wanted a deeper understanding of things, so I decided to learn on my own and so far I am happy with what I achieved.

Progress is small compared to having someone walking you through a course, but learning on your own can be seen as a skill. Perhaps the most important thing was to figure out what is the thing I really wanted to learn and what I wanted to achieve after dedicating an amount of time studying. Once you've figured that out it's only a matter of finding the resources required, which for me were books, some hardware to work with.

Needless to say there were times where I got stuck and couldn't make sense of things, but today there are a lot of experienced people willing to offer their knowledge and advice for free through online websites and forums. Don't view learning on your own as being unprofessional, by following a course in engineering apart from being knowledgeable in a particular area you're also given the tools on how to tackle and solve problems in an efficient manner which is perhaps the best tool you can have.

This is of course my view of things. Hope this helps you out to achieve what you want, Cheers!
 
I don't know how off-topic this is, but I'm sure someone will tell me. I'm currently studying an unrelated (with electronics) engineering career, and I wanted to start studying something that includes both electronics and computer science, but doesn't focus on neither. Ia there something like that?
Thanks in advance and sorry if this is not the point of this forum.

Not too much electronics but not too much computers? Sounds like digital electronics. Gates, latches and stuff.
 
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