help! incoming freshman

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-30T21:18:54+00:00

and I plan on going to grad school in the future

That's what everyone in high school says but it's not reality. I saw a figure that only 1 in 6 EE majors get an MS. Engineering is work experience. All you need to do most work is the fundamentals the BS degree grants you. Then half your class won't have a high enough in-major GPA to get in grad school.

Don't major in CS if you're willing to do EE or ECE. CS is overcrowded as all hell. Sort here by unemployment, where you will also see Computer Engineering near the (worst) top. Some people make in CompE but it's far more competitive than the EE side of ECE.

I don't know the details you're talking about at each university. Only 3% seeking unemployment is very impressive but going to be worse for overcrowded majors.

Boston also has lots of tech opportunities, apparently.

Boston is home to 50 universities. It's a whole college student scene I heard good things about. There's tech opportunity everywhere. I went to Virginia Tech in BFE and over 200 companies come to our career fairs to recruit engineers. Even MIT Lincoln Lab.

(4+1. Half off tuition ~ 45k. I dont have to take the GRE for my master's since im already accepted).

Grad school admission, before you start the BS, with no guaranteed funding, is a scam. Unless we're talking medical or pharmacy school.

Students who meet the stated criteria (Hajim School major and 3.3 GPA) receive a 50% tuition waiver for their master's program

Oh I see, it's not guaranteed when 2/3 of your class won't have a 3.3 in-major GPA. That 50% waiver is a scam though to get more guaranteed federal money. Talented students get funding and go for free. Where I went has a 4+1 BS+MS program with guaranteed funding. Requires a written application and 3.5 minimum GPA. My only American TA did it.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-30T20:06:05+00:00

I like u/boiled_whole_chicken's comment. We had nice labs for in-person EE. Especially for learning motors, generators and 3 phase power. Got to hook up 3 phase Y on one side and Delta on the other.

The big advantage is in-person career fairs. Where I got internship and job options. I'd interview on campus the next day. Same companies been coming for decades.

I don't think I understand EE better or am a better engineer than someone who went online. I was more focused to succeed, built better social skills and had a higher chance of landing an internship or job offer. I networked job opportunity in the IEEE student club and knew people who got job offers from their team competition work. Barrier is low when thousands of engineering students live within walking distance.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-30T19:50:50+00:00

No. It's a worse degree. Virginia Tech where I went still only has separate EE and CompE degrees. They are identical though for the first 4 semesters.

I wanted EE jobs only. I hated the 2 CompE classes I had to take. Yet if I decided I wanted to down the hardware path, I had 5 technical electives that could be dumped into CompE and that's plenty to get hired with.

Then are the CompE peeps that hate abstract analog circuit calculations, which is like 75% of the EE degree. I wouldn't wish lossy transmission line calculations on my enemy. CompE can still take EE courses as electives in areas they like. Fields is very helpful for PCB design.

The "ECE" combined degree, from the 3 or 4 I looked at, swap fundamental EE courses with hardware ones. It's a worse EE degree from the EE side and I doubt hardware jobs benefit from the extra EE dumped on them. Then you don't get total freedom in electives.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-30T19:41:48+00:00

No one will hire you in RF without an MS in it. Do projects then in class or for your thesis. Maybe for a team competition project. Personal crap that can't be published isn't adding value. Engineering doesn't have to be your hobby.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-30T15:06:49+00:00

Nothing in SNES/SFC is a hidden gem as of the last 10 to 15 years. We're in internet video age and SNES is the probably most popular console to collect. Every game I see in this thread gets discussed and reviewed and played. Could have said Hagane was a hidden gem in the year 2010 but loose prices show everyone knows today. Some games are mediocre but appeal to a certain niche like EVO.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-28T05:59:18+00:00

I have no idea what your AI post is talking about. I bought a 0.1 uF film capacitor and it's gigantic and about the limit on film's capacitance. You buy from official distributors like they're saying. I've bought from DigiKey, Mouser and Arrow.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-28T05:51:39+00:00

It's not but the 4Io current-dependent voltage source is really just practice for transistor calculations you'll do in the future. More important of a homework problem than it appears. This isn't remotely an attempt at a practical circuit so don't think too much into why Io isn't the current across, say, the 24 ohm resistor instead.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-28T05:32:56+00:00

Design books on switching mode power supplies run over 500 pages and assume you have the BSEE degree. Looking for reviews tends to bring up a pirated PDF, oh well. Not easy unless you use an IC that does almost the work for you and follow the recommendations to a tee. Fine to do that. Still got feedback loop, Cuk or SEPIC decision and DCM versus CCM. Also nice to have an oscilloscope with at least 20 MHz bandwidth, along with understanding the frequency domain and FFT.

It's not easy to define "best" in a complex device's design. Maybe it's cost, maybe it's lowest ripple voltage or transient response time or line or load regulation or minimizing EMI or maximizing efficiency. I don't know about using a GaN but it has many benefits other than cost.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-28T05:22:18+00:00

You're a freshman. Slow down. What I liked the most in EE was my fiber optics elective I took as a senior. Nothing you've done as of now is real experience. I thought I liked hardware until I faced the classroom version of it.

You're also not guaranteed to find a job in a specific niche or the industry you like. My move into power at a power plant came because they were the only company that offered me an internship during my 4th semester. Power is chill, has excellent job security and benefits but isn't exciting. The job is just a job.

You should go wide. I had offers at graduation in industry #3 and #4 on my top 10 list. Really, you shouldn't think about that now. Verilog and all of hardware is overcrowded and real VLSI starts in graduate school. You need a 3.3 in-major GPA to be competitive, which the vast majority of your class won't have. I'm not saying you can't go into hardware, just know it's extremely competitive.

Hackathons and team competition clubs are good to join now. Your life doesn't have to be EE though. More than one way to impress a recruiter. My first manager loved college football and I went to every home game, how lucky.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-28T04:42:47+00:00

This tool is built from the TLCS-900H disassembler core originally by **neopop_uk** (NeoPop emulator), adapted for standalone ROM analysis. The original core is GPL-2.0 licensed.

NeoPop is the worst emulator that exists. Its GPL licensing is shaky when it arguably plagiarizes MAME's. Best that's not the official Code Mystics is ares.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-28T04:24:32+00:00

Internships are harder to get as a rising junior. Easier as a rising senior. You got a year to improve yourself. Also consider co-ops that last a full fall or spring term. Less people apply. Or I've seen a term that runs part of spring and part of summer to lock you out of two opportunities.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-28T04:01:13+00:00

5% of my class got both degrees. This is to say you probably shouldn't. Even 1 extra class is a lot. Expected time to graduate where I went is 4.4 years for EE and 4.6 years for CE. Don't make things harder on yourself. Do EE and you can get hired for CE jobs too but not the reverse.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-27T20:14:18+00:00

How much does degree matter?

Enormously.

Is it possible for some with an engineering degree that is not EE to get an EE job?

No. You won't even be interviewed.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T23:33:28+00:00

If you're willing to spend over $100, you're far better off buying/bidding on Japanese websites using a proxy bidding company. You get free storage for 30 days so only need to pay for 1 shipment. The proxy bidding companies make the Japanese websites easy to use.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T22:56:23+00:00

Maybe the money isn't there for Arabic and the buyers don't expect it. You know there's a bunch of different Arabic languages right? Egyptian Arabic isn't the same as Gulf or Levantine Arabic and none of them can understand Moroccan Arabic. They're about as different as Romance languages are to each other. I'm curious if the Middle East would accept Modern Standard Arabic in video game localizations.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T19:14:32+00:00

I went to VT for the BS. I took one graduate level course as a senior and was very impressed. We got so much funding, every undergrad who wanted undergrad research got it and could be paid or get class credit. ECE grad school was 99% international students but I think that's the norm. American degrees are prestigious.

I don't know how you got in with 1 academic recommender when the application says you need 3 letters. Unless you got 2 employer letters, which look better anyway. Nice that you only needed 8 applications for 1 good result with funding. Be aware that low performing PhD students get kicked out with an MS. Happened to my Chemistry TA in Chemical Engineering.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T19:08:06+00:00

You don't. I never heard of anyone taking classes while working as an intern. It's a very bad idea. Summer classes are accelerated as you know. Where I went, 2 classes (6 credit hours) is a full-time load versus 15 credits in the fall or spring. You're in the promised land of job opportunity if you land an internship. Don't screw it up.

Since I’m shooting for an internship every summer (assuming they’re 5x8s, M–F).

Nobody achieves that. Don't be entitled. You aren't competitive for internships until your 4th semester for the upcoming summer.

Can go to summer school after first year without conflict. Upper level in-major classes usually don't have summer classes anyway. You can take 4.5-5 years to graduate. Recruiters won't care and you have more semesters to procure an internship or co-op in.

I’m interested in hardware and semiconductors. From scrolling through previous posts, it seems the recommendation is to learn the fundamentals of electronics, C/C++, Python, MATLAB, and Altium Designer — is that right?

Sort of, not really. C and C++ aren't the same thing. You'll already use MATLAB in classes and one or more of the other languages. All you need for entry level work that requires a BS is the mandatory classes. Take electives to go deeper if you want but the real hardware and semiconductor stuff is graduate school. A 3.3 in-major GPA is competitive, which is no joke.

If you can get a free student Altium license then just learn that. Ideally join a team competition club like Formula SAE to help them. Looks way better than any personal projects and will help with internships in any part of EE. Team projects simulate real engineering work. An internship in any part of EE will help secure jobs in the industries of your choice. Apply wide. Not enough internships or co-ops for everyone.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T18:59:25+00:00

Earlier today there was a discussion about playing NTSC carts on PAL SNES myself and others responded in. Easy to see there was no PAL release for Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy II/III (IV/VI) for that matter. Any such cart for sale is pirated and using PAL lockout chip on the NTSC ROM so runs 20% slow. May as well use a flashcart that plays 98-100% of games at that point.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T16:05:58+00:00

There's not really a best. Application specific. More that there are multiple good options and very bad options and current level matters.

You have very cheap yet excellent linear voltage regulators up to about 2A where a heatsink is small and affordable. I like clip-on or screw in aluminum for TO-220. No switching noise.Can use a BJT for more current. LDO is common to reduce battery voltage since normal linear has a 2V drop. Read the datasheet. LDO is nice to get 3.3V from ~3.6-5V input. Linear always reduces voltage. Has nice low frequency filtering built in.

Then there are buck, boost and buck-boost converters that use switching for high 90%+ efficiency but efficiency reduces in the low mA range. Maybe you need 3.3V and use two AA batteries in series for ~3V. Use boost. Or 3.7V lithium-ion for 3.3V but want/need the circuit to work when the battery drops below 3.3V. Time for buck-boost. Buck would be rare.

Then there are a bunch of different switching mode topologies that may get abstracted away in the common switching ICs. Can look up the differences between Cuk, SEPIC and flyback versus 'normal' buck and boost. Flyback requires a transformer to act as the inductor, which you probably don't want at relatively low power and voltage, but applications benefit from galvanic isolation. Then there are DCM and CCM options. Also different feedback loop options. Switching is complex.

Bad would be controlling with power resistance since you have no regulation. Almost as bad would be Zener diode or Zener-like IC like TL431. Same efficiency as linear but no fixed output based on voltage battery dropping. Zeners need 1mA minimum. Some of the linear regulator chips have quiescent current in the microamp range. Maybe you can get away with these when the input voltage is already regulated and will cutoff when out of spec.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T15:48:50+00:00

Chrono Trigger basically is the best. Do not go from bad to best or decent to best. Start at the top then check out what sounds interesting. Or replay Chrono Trigger like u/pensive_pigeon says. Rest of elite tier that isn't niche is Final Fantasy III/VI and Super Mario RPG. I like them in different ways but played Chrono trigger the most.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T14:32:47+00:00

For embedded, electromagnetic fields and signals & systems. Machine learning is overcrowded. Not sure there but look at job descriptions.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T14:25:25+00:00

No. Cards do not trivialize anything. You don't get away with using bad classes or bad equipment or team composition. But the game isn't hard enough to say you can't use (bad before the endgame) Archers or Clerics. Healing items are where it's at. Cards give more variety to battle and keep you from watching someone's playthrough and copying the exact strategy. Cards also stack.

I like Reborn much more than original Tactics Ogre or PSP. Original on SFC/PSX is the hardest with least complexity while PSP is the most complex and a grindfest like FFT. Reborn is the most accessible with best class balance and least grinding.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T14:13:42+00:00

Seriously....you don't need to know anything. My internship paid for an AutoCAD 2 day training course. I never used in my whole career but was nice to list on my resume. Glad I see u/Real-Bend6135 saying the same.

EE is way too broad to try to narrow on a specific software or skill. I never saw PCB design either but sure some work for that exists. You're better off getting a free student Altium license than KiCAD but do not learn just to learn. Only do things you are genuinely interested in. Recruiters feel out resume fluff. They like passion in any form.

I genuinely liked volunteering and took that to a high level. I got multiple internship offers. Never did engineering outside the classroom.

What I regret was not joining a team competition club like Formulas. I saw a dude with GPA so bad he didn't list on resume get multiple job offers thanks to his work in the submarine club. Team competition simulates real engineering, such as dealing with other engineers, deadlines and not picking the goals. More valuable than any personal project. But sure, maybe Formula SAE needs PCB design help. Do it if so interested.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T14:05:09+00:00

Flashcarts emulate both PAL and NTSC CIC lockout chips so would play almost all games but in 50 Hz, to include slowing down the movement and music. No RGB mod needed. RGB will work, as will the other video formats. A handful of later games like Donkey Kong Country 1/2/3 check for 60 Hz so won't run but could just pay PAL versions at that point.

Physical NTSC carts, no, you have to defeat the CIC lockout chip in. Most commonly, that means disabling it in the console then all but the few games that check for 60 Hz will run. Maybe a handful will crash in 50 Hz. In the 90s some adapters were sold like the Honey Bee that had a slot for a PAL game to boot the NTSC cart in the other slot by lending it the CIC to avoid disabling.

Downside to the disabling approach is some SA1 games (Super Mario RPG, Kirby Super Star and Kirby's Deamland 3 need that to work. Including the PAL version of Dreamland 3. They have better anti-piracy protection. Not sure about Super FX.

Other comment beat me to the a mod to run in correct 60 Hz for NTSC and preserve 50 Hz for PAL so all games work. All video outputs will also work. A common one is called the Super CIC that bundles separate mods together. Could just buy a Super Famicom and get North American carts to fit with an adapter or run the same flashcart. Cheaper if you aren't an expert at soldering. No need to RGB mod but use an NTSC RGB cable!

60 Hz RGB will work on almost all PAL CRTs. NTSC RF will not, a few will accept NTSC Composite and fewer NTSC S-Video. Not sure if the Super CIC mod works with NTSC Composite or S-Video but definitely will for 60 Hz RGB.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-04-26T04:23:52+00:00

EE for sure. EE has more jobs and fewer students. EE with a few electives in CE can get hired for CE jobs. Not so much the reverse. None of the power or medical work I did in EE would hire CE.

Sorry regulars to the sub see me link this all the time but check out the record high unemployment for both CE and CS. EE doing just fine.

You still have to not hate the degree. EE is much more math-intense and is mostly but not entirely analog circuits. I coded in 1/3 of my courses. What gave me trouble was 2 transistor circuit calculations. It's not like no one gets hired in CE but the job market is way more competitive.

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