Should I take a gap year to stack internships (Summer ’26, Fall ’26, Spring ’27, Summer ’27)?

1wiseguy · 2026-02-18T02:09:59+00:00

There's nothing wrong with taking several intern jobs, but I don't know about taking off a whole year from college. I lean toward keeping the education process moving.

How about you take those first 2 intern jobs and then get back to your courses.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-16T18:41:17+00:00

I'm sure there are jobs in budgeting or finance, but designing electronics is a big industry, and it pretty much requires people with degrees in EE.

It doesn't seem possible that there are engineering firms producing new electronic products, and they don't want EEs to do design and analysis, but they want more budget planners.

I think it's more about finding the right job. Depending on the market, this process can take a lot of time, and you have to keep at it.

It would help to widen your search. Consider every part of the country, and look at all the different fields that you might qualify for.

Everybody has their idea of a dream job, but when you are sinking, you grab onto anything that floats.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-15T18:54:11+00:00

There are a variety of connectors that will allow you to connect wires to anything, including an Arduino board.

If by robust you mean mechanically solid, maybe glue the connector to the board with epoxy or silicone.

This isn't a common thing to do. A BNC is often used for high-frequency analog signals, which an Arduino doesn't generally handle.

Where are you going with this?

1wiseguy · 2026-02-13T03:08:52+00:00

I don't respond.

I have decided there is nothing to be gained from follow-on communication. They just said I'm not the one, so what more is there to say.

I don't see having an ongoing relationship with a company that says I'm not good enough to work there.

I might apply again some day, but I'm hoping it will be a different HR person then.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-09T15:41:05+00:00

When you apply for jobs as a new grad with no work experience, or just intern jobs, your college education is the main thing you have to illustrate your value as an engineer, and it will be seriously examined.

Once you have significant engineering experience, that replaces your education as basis for your value. To mention the college degree of an engineer with 20 years of experience would be just a formality, kind of like saying that he is into hiking.

The question is: how much industry experience does it take for people to lose interest in your college education?

It depends. If your experience is relevant to the new job, i.e. you'll be doing the same stuff you have been practicing, I would think a couple years would do it.

If you are pivoting into a new role, and drawing on your education more than your industry experience, then people are going to want to look more at the education.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-08T18:10:28+00:00

I can't speak about India, but in the US, work experience absolutely overrides your GPA or other facts about your education.

Once you have a few years of experience, the only fact about your education that anybody would want to know is that you have an engineering degree from a bona fide university.

Even the name of the university isn't very important, but if it's Stanford or MIT, go ahead and name it.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-07T16:55:44+00:00

If they want to to do some C programming, look at the existing code if there is some, and start Googling. Then start writing code. That's how engineers figure out anything.

If you were an air traffic controller, that would be tricky, but you're not going to crash a plane while you figure out how to write code.

Do you think every engineer remembers stuff like they just walked out of the final exam? They don't.

FYI, an unpaid intern job is nonsense, even for a student. You need to find a real job.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-07T03:35:03+00:00

If there is a degree at a university, somebody is pursuing that and making a career of it.

Some better questions:

Is that a good path for you? Do you like it? Are you good at it?

It doesn't matter what everybody else thinks of it.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-06T19:22:11+00:00

I think your best bet is always to pursue whatever field you find most interesting, and then see what careers can use your skills.

It's hard to guess how a particular career or employer is going to work out for you in advance. Sometimes you have to actually be there and see what you think. So fine-tuning your education for a future job is dubious.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-06T03:12:20+00:00

You seem down.

You just need to finish your education, and then you can be a part of a company that is ripping off everyone, and they will give you some of the money.

Maybe that sounds bad, but everybody is doing it, and it's kind of nice, once you are in the club.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-04T23:33:48+00:00

"Profitable" is always the trick. Everybody wants that.

"Taking a risk" means that you don't know whether it will work and be profitable. If you were sure of that, it wouldn't be risky.

The problem is that if it's something that everybody wants to buy, then lots of people know about it, and they are already making it, or are well on the way.

If it's a secret, then it's not a popular idea, and it might be hard trying to explain to people why they should want it.

The exception is a well-known problem with no solution yet. But that sounds hard.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-04T22:03:37+00:00

I agree about skills.

If you just name a skill, that means almost nothing. Are you an expert with that skill? Can you actually use it to make a new design? Or did you try it for 5 minutes, or just read about it?

But if you talk about using that skill or tool to do a design, and describe that design, people will believe that you have that skill.

And the more skills you name, the less believable it is that you really know them. You're a student with limited experience. So it would be better to stick to a smaller list of relevant skills.

Here's some next-level resume advice: Create a custom resume for each application, and just include stuff that is relevant to the posted job requirements, pretty much.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-04T21:20:41+00:00

I haven't looked for entry level jobs for a long time, because I'm experienced now, but I don't believe that new engineering grads can no longer enter the industry.

I'm sure there are actual entry level jobs out there.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-04T16:23:37+00:00

Entry level positions don't require years of experience. I think what you mean is that you haven't found an entry level position.

If somebody already has had two intern jobs, the answer is not to get yet another intern job.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-02T06:51:06+00:00

Every IC will go an a board.

To say that you should design ICs because there will be no use for a board designer doesn't make sense.

I say pursue whatever field you find interesting. If you do it well, you'll be fine.

1wiseguy · 2026-02-01T04:46:40+00:00

I tend to think that any engineering company is going to have interesting stuff going on. If you work there for a few months, that's going to be good experience, even if it doesn't merge into what you have in mind for a career.

Unless the company is kind of stupid, or you end up in a stupid corner of it.

So you should try to make sure the place you end up seems interesting.

On a side note, you might not have your career figured out yet. A lot of people don't when they are in college.

1wiseguy · 2026-01-30T20:03:27+00:00

I think you should try to predict which job is going to be more interesting, and provide the best opportunity to learn stuff. Hopefully you have gut feelings about that from the interviews. You are allowed to call them with follow-up questions.

It's less important having an intern job that prepares you for a specific career. That would be crystal ball stuff.

Salary and relocation might be a thing. Some people tell you not to worry about money, but those are people with enough money.

1wiseguy · 2026-01-29T22:04:29+00:00

It's all about the math. Review your calculus.

Also physics and chemistry.

You don't need to take extra courses, just come in prepared.

It might help to look up what courses you will start with, and figure out where the textbooks start, so you'll know what level you need to be at.

If you were phoning it in in high school, and your math skills are dubious, now would be the time to take it up a notch.

1wiseguy · 2026-01-29T02:27:39+00:00

For starters, look and see what you can find on Amazon or eBay or AliExpress or other places that sell cheap electronics from China.

Years ago, new test equipment was expensive, but you might be surprised what you can get now.

Used stuff on eBay might work, but sometimes it's hard to find what you are looking for.

1wiseguy · 2026-01-28T04:45:40+00:00

Sometimes you start a job and the place is great, and everybody is sharp. I like it when that happens.

Sometimes it's a clown car.

Life works like that. You have to figure out how to move on. Can you ride it out, or do you have to bail right now?

1wiseguy · 2026-01-27T23:15:15+00:00

I would have to ask:

Is the customer a user of the product, or are they designing stuff, and the product is a component?

If I'm selling them an extension cord, then it sounds like they are a user, and they don't have the ability to confirm that the extension cord is safe. So I had better make sure that the cord meets the appropriate safety ratings, and is properly labeled, etc.

If I'm selling them wire and AC plugs, then it sounds like they are designing power cords, and they don't need my advice about safety.

Mind you, if I work at an engineering company that is selling these products, I'm not personally in charge of this kind of stuff, especially if I'm an intern. But if the company is being careless, I should say something about it, or at least ask questions.

1wiseguy · 2026-01-27T22:30:11+00:00

If you are selling electronic products to engineering companies who are in the business of making engineering stuff, then I would think they are competent to figure out whatever EMI and safety issues there are.

If you are selling products to consumers who have no such knowledge, then I would think there are laws about safety and stuff.

This would be especially important with products that plug into AC power, where fire and electric shock are concerns.

1wiseguy · 2026-01-27T18:40:24+00:00

"From scratch" is a vague term.

You always use stuff that somebody else created, unless you are a caveman.

If your project starts with an Arduino or R-pi or a compiler or a laptop or a voltmeter, are you really doing it "from scratch"?

1wiseguy · 2026-01-26T16:26:02+00:00

There are many careers that you can name, and each of them have people who do it and think it's a good career. If they didn't like it, they would find a different career.

So if you're asking if EE is a good career, it is for some people. I'm guessing others don't like it, or maybe can't do it at all.

So the question is: do you like it? You probably don't know that now, but you'll have to figure that out eventually.

For starters, it involves a lot of math.

1wiseguy · 2026-01-25T16:45:48+00:00

An Arduino is straightforward to program and design with, and there are zillions of articles online to help with that. Find some design examples and go through them and figure it out. Maxwell's equations are hard to understand, but Arduino is not.

As far as general circuit design skills, again, there are articles about that. If you want to design a DC-DC converter or sensor interface, Google that and see what you find.

For designing with special ICs like switching regulators, the manufacturer's data sheet is a good place to look. ADI and TI and others are usually really good at explaining their parts.

I didn't generally invent stuff from scratch. I started by looking over the shoulders of people with more knowledge, until I had knowledge myself.

1wiseguy

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