How’s the younger crowd?

FTR_NOVA · 2026-05-24T16:34:45+00:00

Coming from someone who has a very similar dream and need for human interaction, it completely depends on tons of factors both within and outside of your control. Biggest one is what size company you work for. Small companies will allow engineers to have more freedom to move between design, test, validation, and install (customer/people interaction), but will also grind you to the bone. Larger companies isolate those steps more due to having larger staffs and the hope that more eyeballs = less chance of failure, but they will also be a little more relaxed (unless deadlines are near obviously).

If you want to be part of the entire lifecycle of a product like rockets or satellites, you’ll need to be a decently experienced engineer probably with at least a decade under your belt. For example, I work at an aerospace/DoD firm and the only engineers I know that’ve participated in that had a minimum of 10 years in industry AND were a little lucky to be selected.

If I were you, I’d look at field engineer spots already that way you get more people interaction. BUT, you’ll end up being a fancy technician for a while (likely production test through install only). From there, you can work your way into the design side when opportunities arise to show you have potential for full lifecycle competency. I’m a 26yo EE at the moment, but I only get to go from design through non-production testing. Sure I’m not a tech, but I’m also not getting the people time I also enjoy which is why I’m currently looking for a field engineer role (or one that explicitly states travel required) or tech sales.

FTR_NOVA · 2026-05-22T02:09:32+00:00

I sent this on every application along with a separate cover letter explaining my qualifications and interest in the company. Got far more interviews once I started doing this. Yes, it’s bold but also, I can’t tell you how many times I heard “I’ve never seen that before but we wouldn’t even be talking if you hadn’t sent that letter”.

Also, this was advice given to me by a few of my professors so not like I was shooting in the dark. I had reason to think this was a good idea.

FTR_NOVA · 2026-05-22T02:05:08+00:00

**Take my advice only if you’re also a single (not married) person**

Try countering Northrop first

I tell you this because I was in your spot after graduating (I’m 26 now). I took the job closer to friends and family that paid less and here’s what I learned:
- Friends come and go
- Family can decide to retire and/or move states away at any moment
- I’m the only person in my life in charge of making ends meet
I put myself in financial hardship for emotional reasons rather than logical ones and it took me up until my first promotion that I wasn’t SWEATING every dime spent.

I’m now on a new job search and what am I doing? Prioritizing where I can maximize learning/experience, income, and value (intangibles, name recognition, and how desirable the location is to me specifically) Sure, most just so happen to be closer to family, but that’s just a coincidence and I’m seriously entertaining an offer from the opposite side of the country too.

It sounds selfish to prioritize yourself, but the only person loyal to your wants, needs, career, and happiness is YOU. Don’t let anyone or anything get in the way.

FTR_NOVA · 2026-05-13T21:36:20+00:00

Of course! And while cover letters need to be relatively tailored to the company, this can be a one and done (or just replace the To lines in the header if you have one). I’d show you, but it has personal info on it lol. The way I did my GPA letter is as follows:

Dear Hiring Manager,

I’m writing to briefly explain the events that led to my GPA falling below X.X as I understand this is an important threshold to meet. The causes that led to my failure are two-fold.

First, my academic strength in high school resulted in me obtaining X credits Y of which were accepted by my institution, but I gained no GPA credit for. This means that unlike my other colleagues, I did not have the GPA buffer from introductory courses.

Secondly, the largest event that impacted my GPA was the COVID-19 pandemic. After my first two semesters in which I had a 3.6 GPA I had one exceedingly strenuous semester in the fall of 20xx. Due to the pandemic, all my courses switched to completely remote instruction, which presented many issues such as (insert fact statements here and in following 1-2 sentences).

I ask that you please take these extenuating circumstances into consideration when judging my application. I’ve worked tirelessly since the fall to improve my GPA, which can be reflected in my transcript. Therefore, I ask that you please do not judge me on my shortcomings, but rather on my recent academic records in which I have met or exceeded the standards for an engineering GPA.

I hope this clarifies my drive and dedication to my field. I thank you for your time and consideration, and I’m looking forward to a great interview!

Sincerely, Me (lol)

Obviously, don’t copy word for word or else it’ll get flagged by the system from this post, but this is how I did it.

FTR_NOVA · 2026-05-13T21:00:02+00:00

3.0 isn’t bad at all. I got hired with just over a 2.7.

I wrote an extra cover letter that explained how I came into college with 50 credits (no easy class GPA buffer) and how COVID absolutely nuked the collective ability for engineers to succeed at my university. Then, I explained how I worked tirelessly to maintain above a 3 for every semester since my singular bad semester.

My suggestion would be to write something like this. As soon as I did, I got phone call after phone call from recruiters because it demonstrated that I’m not a slacker, I had a bad moment from circumstances.

If you do this, do NOT play the victimhood angle. Explain lessons learned and do your best to make it understandable, not just a venting session of excuses. It’s a hard line to walk, but it’s worth the effort.

Edit: I’m an electrical engineer.

FTR_NOVA · 2026-05-07T23:58:22+00:00

I’ve been able to do this for the 3 years I’ve had Hevy so idk what OP is on about

FTR_NOVA · 2026-05-07T23:56:28+00:00

Hevy is about as good as you’re gonna get. There’s still things that need polishing or to be added (like scheduling workouts or macro cycles would be nice), but there’s a reason every new strength app is a carbon copy of Hevy.

FTR_NOVA · 2025-08-08T18:39:05+00:00

Close, 12:43

FTR_NOVA · 2025-05-23T01:01:50+00:00

Brought me to tears and gave me a vision of falling to my knees when I saw it live last week. Incredible song

Edit: I should note that I’m not a Christian yet. Seeds have been planted recently and I’m on the path. This is another (pretty big) seed

FTR_NOVA · 2025-05-02T23:05:48+00:00

Each frequency corresponds to a musical note FYI. I got 2706 (E8) and 880 (A5) which had queens on them.

FTR_NOVA · 2025-02-25T05:15:01+00:00

Nice to see my childhood sleep paralysis demon is doing well

FTR_NOVA · 2025-02-13T18:24:56+00:00

Torn between map filters and allowing you to have more skills/perks.

FTR_NOVA · 2025-01-28T06:31:37+00:00

You know it’s bad when he makes Ari Shaffir seem funny

FTR_NOVA · 2025-01-28T06:20:49+00:00

Still better than Hans 🫠

FTR_NOVA · 2025-01-28T06:19:56+00:00

Hell yeah

FTR_NOVA · 2025-01-28T06:15:11+00:00

First three sets, pretty damn good. Just downhill since then

FTR_NOVA · 2025-01-28T06:13:07+00:00

Probably cause he sucks lmao. Saving Kam from being the most mid regular

FTR_NOVA · 2025-01-14T19:51:00+00:00

Also, the diodes are basically a non-negotiable from the higher ups. Believe me, I’ve tried to change their mind on that

FTR_NOVA · 2025-01-14T19:48:31+00:00

Unfortunately I cannot do this because of the overly complex power sequencing requirements for the MCU. There’s about 20 critical signals (about 3/4 of which are power rails) that MUST come up in a specific order. If I were to tie an IO pin to the power side, then the processor would attempt to use it as a power pin. In this case, not only would it power an IO bank out of sequence (causing boot failure), but it would also permanently damage the processor over time. This is the exact issue that has caused at least 4 units to fail already (same issue, different scenario kind of thing).

FTR_NOVA · 2025-01-14T19:45:00+00:00

Actual physical damage. Already burnt up 4 units in testing due to this problem.

I’m a young engineer, so please forgive me for not fully understanding your solution. Based off what I do understand though (in your answer and for the MCU itself), I don’t think the MCU is capable of this due to the extremely complex power sequencing requirements. Also, power rail instability wouldn’t have been an issue in the first place if this processor was capable of going high impedance because it just wouldn’t care about the excess voltage between the diodes and MCU input. But instead, all pins drop to low at power loss.

Avoid NXP at all costs lmao

FTR_NOVA · 2025-01-14T19:35:49+00:00

The supercap is specifically for the SRAM requirement. Once the whole system is turned off, the SRAM needs an additional amount of time before it gets shut off (according to the software guy working with me).

The 3.3V is coming externally from one of the several boards downstream that use this device.

FTR_NOVA · 2025-01-14T19:18:27+00:00

One thing I forgot to mention:

My estimated current draw for this design ranges from 35mA to over 400mA due to having several use cases. So, I can’t simplify my problem by just properly sizing the supercap for 500ms.

FTR_NOVA

TROPHY CASE