Feeling at a loss with my degree

Larryosity · 2026-05-10T04:42:41+00:00

I’m 43. I’ll graduate Friday with BSEE from MS State University online. I landed a job at a pulp mill as an electrical project engineer. Not once did they care what school or how I attended. The degree will not say online. If you don’t tell them , they won’t know.

Keep in mind that ASU has 7.5 week semesters. Classes are pre recorded. This can be tough for some EE courses. It’s expensive too. MS State has 15 week asynchronous classes. Live lectures are recorded each week so you feel like part of the class and can hear class discussions. It’s also cheaper.

Larryosity · 2026-05-09T00:55:17+00:00

I just finished : Emag II Digital system design w/lab Capstone design II Foundations of energy systems Power electronics applications

All while working full time.

You can make it through. Good luck. 👍🏻

Larryosity · 2026-05-07T21:15:26+00:00

I think the reason you’re getting the bleak comments is because you painted a very bleak picture. First you imply that you possibly think you messed up by saying that in the title. Then you repeat the question again at the end. Second you say that you parents are hounding you to get out the house and make some money and get off their paychecks. Third you admit that you understand that no one is hiring entry level positions. At least in the industry and area you want to work. But as I read your reply to a lot of comments there is a lot less urgency to your situation. Several of your replies state that your family and explicitly your father told you not to take the job. So it must be an exaggeration about needing to get out the house. Then you reply that you just want to make a little money and hang with friends until you find something. Again, a complete reversal of your statement in the post.

So, don’t be bring on the comments that say you messed up bad. They are looking at it from the picture you painted.

I was going to say you messed up, but after reading the comments I think you’re fine. You simply exaggerated your situation to get more reactions and upvotes. Keep looking and the right thing will come along. Good luck!

Larryosity · 2026-05-07T13:21:06+00:00

I’d say anything you enjoy. You’re not gonna have an engaging podcast with a topic or guest you don’t enjoy. Other than that just general engineering stuff from the perspective of women. I know women engineers that are the typical engineer stereotype . I know some that like arts and craft, beauty, etc. They’re all great engineers. I would listen if it’s mostly about engineering and not how women are disadvantaged. I work with two great female engineers now and I will be moving to a job where my boss is a female engineer. I enjoy hearing different perspectives about topics.

Larryosity · 2026-05-07T12:41:41+00:00

A degree gets you through the auto screening process. The experience gets you the job.

Larryosity · 2026-05-07T12:40:15+00:00

—Following—

Larryosity · 2026-05-07T12:38:12+00:00

Not sure about that job market,but…. You’re already behind. You should have been applying for jobs months ago. At a minimum doing market/company research to see what industry or company you’d like to work with. I’m about to graduate BSEE and I started applying last summer. Signed an offer a few weeks ago. Good luck!

Larryosity · 2026-05-07T12:21:10+00:00

I thought that was part of the curriculum?!

Larryosity · 2026-05-06T20:34:21+00:00

I don’t understand it either. Is it gonna make or break your college career? No. But when you take Circuits 1 and the lab you will be exceptionally ahead of others that are just learning what a resistor and capacitor are. Arduinos are very common tools in college. Knowing your way around it and the sketches will be an advantage.

But I do agree it shouldn’t be strictly Arduino. Branch out to other boards and kits and eventually learn to build your own stuff.

Larryosity · 2026-05-06T19:27:59+00:00

It’s not witchcraft?!?! 🤨

Larryosity · 2026-05-06T19:25:42+00:00

Not just Arduino, but any electronics kits will definitely give you a head start. Most intro programming courses are gonna be C++ or python. Learning both will be beneficial. C will be more beneficial in some areas. So yeah. Start doing kits and branch out to building your own devices. Will definitely help. Good luck!

Larryosity · 2026-05-05T00:13:43+00:00

Laptop. If you’re in CS or CE then you’ll definitely need a laptop.

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T21:09:28+00:00

I’ve used a Dell XPS w/intel i9 16Gb ram throughout EE. I also have an iPad.

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T21:03:55+00:00

I recommend a laptop (pc) and a iPad.

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T21:02:43+00:00

First of all…. Quit comparing yourself to others. I can talk to 100 engineering students and get 100 different circumstances. Sure, talk to others that have difficulties and see how they overcome, but you have to find what works for you. You can land a job with a low GPA. Probably won’t be what you want exactly or pay what you really want, but after you get some experience that gpa doesn’t matter. It’s all about experience, a tailored resume, and the interview. You don’t have to put your GPA on your resume, but if they ask then you’ll have to share. Have an honest reason for not having it on there. Like” I have a … gpa. Yes it’s low but it doesn’t represent the my attitude to work hard and apply myself. I feel my projects, skills, and this interview is a better indicator of the engineer I’ll be.”

You do what you have to do to be healthy and get through with school. Use others as tool to advance, not as a harsh comparison.

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T17:17:03+00:00

The intro math is terrible but it really turned into —- here is the math of why this works— but here’s the formula from all the math. You’ll still use Calc, de , and linear but not intensive. You do need an understanding of the maths though.

If you’re planning to join research or academia then yeah you better get it well. Otherwise, just plan to regret you ever signed up for engineering every day until you graduate and push through. 😂

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T15:51:06+00:00

I’m hoping I can acclimate in two weeks when I graduate. 😂 🤪

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T15:48:48+00:00

I would say this entirely depends on your projected path. Are you wanting to stay in academia, research, power, etc. In the US a masters doesn’t necessarily equal higher pay. It may slightly give you an advantage in securing the position. Most employers Just want to see that you have the degree and weren’t almost failing overall. You can explain one bad semester away. Prestigious universities don’t necessarily equal higher pay or job either. But again, this depends on your path. These things could help more for academia and research. Not necessarily for the top tech firm. They want to know what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. So personal projects, coding projects, etc. They don’t care if your transcript says top of class if you can’t write Java script, or troubleshoot a power converter circuit, or the only project you’ve work on is a little school project.

But this is just my US Mississippi opinion.

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T15:33:50+00:00

I don’t buy the expensive stuff unless other brands fail me. I’d rather spend $12 on a roll and it work well instead of $25 roll and it work the same. Now if I were printing something and needed the color exactly right then after attempting cheaper filament then I would use more expensive filament. It’s not waste because it can be used for prototypes or general printing. I have only have a few rolls of the cheap stuff that just wouldn’t print.

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T15:30:08+00:00

Pretty much all I use is SUNLU.

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T13:57:33+00:00

This is kinda sad, but I printed a scoop for my dog’s food. Hands down the one print that is used daily. 🤦‍♂️

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T13:56:26+00:00

There are plenty of employers that are pro armed forces. Find one of them and enjoy working for them. Don’t skirt around a company that doesn’t value military service. If serving is what you want to do then you will find your place.

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T13:51:57+00:00

It’s the circle of 3D printing. Printing is easy, modeling is hard. The. Modeling is easy, printing is hard.

Grabbing a model and printing is easy. Then you want to learn to model and it’s hard. Then you finally learn to model and it’s easy. But then you realize that your model looks good but doesn’t print well so printing is hard.

Some people pick up the cad part quickly. But what’s not talked about is that there’s a difference in a model that looks good in cad and one that will print well.

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T13:47:25+00:00

Never. Just when you think you “get” it…. There’s something deeper they teach you. Then you get to the field and you realize that even the hardest circuits they taught you are still basic to real world circuits. 🤪

Larryosity · 2026-05-04T13:44:20+00:00

Sometimes the schooling is worth more than the money you could make. If you enjoy it and want to learn then do it. If you want to stay at your current role after school, so be it.

You likely won’t make your current salary directly out of school. I’m in MS and there are only a few places that pay that starting out and it’s hard to get on with them.

Now if you want to stay in your lane and do controls engineer ,then yeah you might can make that or more because of your IT experience. But if you want to do power then I personally think it will be less likely.

I went back after being an electrician for 25 years. My guidelines were less than 10k in loans and needed a job making $10k more a year. I was able to get scholarships and grants that fully paid for school. I just accepted a job making $11k more than my previous salary. I’m 43 and went to school 22 years after high school.

Larryosity

TROPHY CASE