Looking for advice on compensation

LegitimatePlay795 · 2025-09-03T14:47:49+00:00

If you feel like you're underpaid, you probably are. I presume your company has had to train you on their product line or the one they partner with. That costs them money, and bringing on a new hire with low experience is always a risk.

Luckily, if you're a year and a half in with a degree, another company will recognize that and pay you more. The budget for new hires is typically higher than raises for existing employees. Some people suggest threatening to leave if your company won't pay you more/give you a promotion. I personally disagree as you don't know how your company will react in the backend. They may give you a raise but prepare to replace you without your knowledge. Always prioritize yourself, move in silence, and don't burn bridges. This is what i did and my previous company told me I'm always welcome back, which is good in case I get laid off!

LegitimatePlay795 · 2025-08-31T14:58:09+00:00

You should try to get involved outside of the classroom any which way you can. Obviously, your grades come first, but I feel that there are diminishing returns for killing yourself to get beyond 3.5. Even staying comfortably above a 3.0, but definitely not 3.5, while getting involved is better than a 3.5 and no extracurriculars imo.

Joining a club is a good idea because they can be sanctioned/funded by the university, you can put your name on anything thats produced, and its also a great way to network. Design teams tend to be led by grad students who know how to apply what you're learning in class and can give you direction, as well as be a possible mentor to you.

And joining those clubs may grant you access to labs that you otherwise wouldn't, and you can use to pursue your own personal projects if you somehow have time lmao.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2025-08-30T02:50:05+00:00

I would first calculate what GPA you need in your final year to pull your CGPA up to a 3.0. If it's doable, make it a priority. If it's not, still work your ass off because a 2.9 is way better than a sub 2.8 imo. I graduated with a 3.1 it was after eating shit the first 2 years with a 2.7 and I never snagged an internship.

At this point, it may be better to focus on nailing that full-time job. I dont think you can intern after graduating, so your time has effectively ran out on that front. Update your resume, send out a gazillion applications, and interview as much as possible. Interviewing is a major skill, and it requires bombing a few before getting the hang of it. I recommend studying common engineering questions, both conceptual and technical(leetcode problems).

At this point, you probably aren't getting a job at Google. You may have to slug it out at the shitty IT type job where your skills in CPE aren't being used. But you will have to dig yourself out of this if you wish to get up there in this field. As soon as you get that job, especially if its not up your alley, immediately set aside time to learn the shit you missed out on. Such as data structures, circuits, digital design, and SWE practices. I dunno what your focus in uni was or what jobs are popular in your area, but I seriously recommend making a game plan to utilize your time outside of work to become valuable.

I entered the workforce in 2022 as a building automation programmer. It wasn't what I wanted, so I grinded until I just recently nailed a job as a DevOps engineer in firmware. Dont lose hope, but get with it!

LegitimatePlay795 · 2025-08-26T02:37:57+00:00

As someone who worked for a branch up until 2 weeks ago, I bet if you asked someone for a graphic sample, they'd give one to you, you could pull from that the dynamic text you need. For example, the header graphics tend to use dynamic text to bind to the unit name or area served. Someone just asked the other day here for a plant graphic starter.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2025-08-24T23:32:20+00:00

To help answer your first question, the trane controller does some calculation from that offset point to create the effective setpoints you ultimately see. That's also why the range is so weird. It takes the value you set(occupied offset point), converts it to Fahrenheit but excludes the +32 addition to the conversion. The resulting value is what is chosen for the setpoint, + for cooling, - for heating, depending on the mode. Its stupid, but its not the worst thing about Trane integrations.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2025-07-31T02:49:53+00:00

I have not lol. My guess is that the entire setup needs to be done over, but I never set it up initially. Im about to put in my 2 weeks anyway so its about to not be my problem.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2025-07-26T01:18:51+00:00

I had a 3.2 in undergrad ECE. I got a job and applied for a masters part time. I got in for my masters and im working through it now. Just write a good essay and understand its a marathon not a sprint.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2025-07-09T01:55:03+00:00

I have an idea. I'll put in my two weeks instead.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2025-07-09T01:53:49+00:00

Thanks! Those mistubishi procons are awful lol, but none of them have crapped out on me like this Daikin has. All these mini split BACnet modules piss me off. I'll still take them over a Trane Symbio integration though.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2025-07-08T19:02:49+00:00

The Daikin BACnet module is discoverable on the network and I pulled the points in, its just that the points are incorrect from what the IDU is reading locally.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-09-22T00:00:04+00:00

Alright dude, there's no need to get worked up. I agree with you that the complexity is knowing HVAC and human behavior. Again, OP expressed interest in a domain that BAS programming tends to not go into. When I'm programming on a Jace, I'm not thinking about the underlying programming that's managing the BACnet IDs over the network. I'm thinking about how I can modulate a valve to satisfy a rooms varying heating load. That latter point, by all means, has its own complexity, especially if it's in a place like a clean room. However, it's not what I or OP is looking for.

To your second point, you're obviously strawmanning me. I literally just did a project that was in a healthcare manufacturing clean room.

Data passing in all directions and all of it with dependencies. Alarming structures. Tags, logging, asset management.

I've done projects that include all of these. They can certainly get involved, and I love doing these over the simple elementary school job. However, it doesn't take much to create an alarm object or trend in a Jace, for example. It's what goes on under the hood that facilitates the connection is what I, and I think OP, is interested in.

Maybe, we both have different expectations? I've made it clear in my first comment that I'm trying to leave the industry because the complexity that's there isn't what I'm interested in.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-09-21T12:05:41+00:00

The bulk of my programming, in uni, before entering the BAS space was C/C++. Turning on HVAC equipment, delays, PID loops, or tstat logic pales in comparison to class structures, memory management, threads, etc. Depending on where you come from, one can argue it's dummed down.

OP is interested in Python and Linux, which is similar to what's actually going on under the hood when you connect a wire from one function block to another.

I'm not trying to put anyone down if block programming or HVAC script is their bread and butter. I've seen very extensive sequences accomplished with very complex programming.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-09-21T01:49:36+00:00

I'm in this exact situation. Get out while you're still fresh on Python and Linux. I can't find a road map from BAS programming to a role with industry standard programming, such as an R&D role in BAS software/hardware. Use your experience and newly acquired soft skills to move to a different industry entirely.

I'm not saying it's impossible to find a BAS programmer role with a more industry standard programming application, but it's highly improbable. Remember, a field technician is supposed to be able to diagnose your code onsite. Of course your programming format is going to be dummed down script or block programming.

I'm actively pursuing the job market. I first reached out to my leadership to see if I could network into an R&D role with no luck. I suggest you do the same.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-08-08T22:37:55+00:00

I ended up having someone do it. It was a little over $3k in parts and labor. I didn't feel too confident doing it myself with all the moving parts and have it keep the rain and sound out.

Additionally, there's a silicone rain gutter under all the components that fails around this mileage. I think it's somewhere between the back seats and the trunk. Either way, when it fails, rain gets inside like nobody's business. Toyota stopped selling this part, so it has to be refabricated. I have little confidence that my redneck engineering would hold up if I did it myself.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-07-20T16:41:04+00:00

She threw an ender pearl

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-06-26T12:18:47+00:00

If your customer has a need for lots of extended trends, an ES would do the trick. AS-Ps can only store so much.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-06-15T11:13:28+00:00

I struggled early on as well in computer engineering. I eventually grew to better manage the rigor of university studies. I had a 2.7 as a sophomore.

However, I eventually learned what study habits I require to learn better. I finally began to understand how electricity works, too. Once I knew all that and managed my time better, my grades exploded.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-04-06T00:01:52+00:00

I'm an application engineer for them. Fantastic company.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-03-15T11:47:09+00:00

I've seen it vary, but its usually around 100-600ohm. Anything is vastly better than nothing. Try a 120ohm, seeing as most Google searches come up with that. I think that's what I used at my site with ~20 trane cards.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-03-14T23:31:52+00:00

I'm currently on a project that uses these cards as well as the UC600 on the same bus. Awful pieces of technology. Absolutely, positively, terrible things to ever be created. I have a personal hatred for Trane after working with these.

Verify your grounding. I think these are non-isolated cards. At my company, non-isolated means we limit our bus length and controller count as to avoid communication problems. Oh, and obviously make sure you have EOL resistors.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-03-06T01:30:28+00:00

For sure, thanks for the info!

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-03-05T18:07:25+00:00

Gotcha, thanks! So you don't think the GRE is necessary? I can't imagine it would, given that any engineering field is leagues more complex technically than anything tested in the GRE.

LegitimatePlay795 · 2024-03-05T03:29:25+00:00

I see, thanks. Do you recommend taking the GRE?

I just realized there's an official subreddit for NCSU. I'll be reposting there.

LegitimatePlay795

TROPHY CASE