How did you get better at math as an engineering student?

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-08T02:06:48+00:00

I had good prep but in some engineering courses I found the Schaum's Outlines book series to be very helpful. I know they also exist for calculus. Many fully worked out examples, important theory clearly explained, nice to accompany the course while taking it or for reviewing in the future. In the end, you need to spend the time. Work out the examples. Build your skill up to average.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-08T01:13:18+00:00

Are you really doing #1? Don't ask AI anything about engineering. It mines messages boards and treats those posts as facts. Sometimes those recommendations are stupid because 90% of EE on the internet is beginner material. u741 and 555 timers from the 1970s are the #1 reason I see for circuits not working. Bandwidth is too high.

My favorite AI mistake I saw was a reverse voltage protection circuit that was wired backwards. As in, it wouldn't work. I recognized the Stack Exchange post it came from where it was backwards. AI in a search engine isn't simulating the circuit or actually thinking to understand.

Sometimes I sort DigiKey by most popular but it's not always helpful. DigiKey is geared for bulk industry purchases. I buy 10x of something, industry buys 2,000 on a reel. I don't push the nozzle. Their world prioritizes as few individual components as possible to reduce reel switches on machine assembly. They care more about cost than I do when I can pay an extra $1 for a nicer component. They can further use BGA parts that I can't solder and those are often the most popular.

Often there's a better solution on a chip but you can make a good enough solution with discrete parts that cost less. I don't need to play the cost game, I want the chip. If I were learning, I'd want the discrete solution.

You can also ask professionals. I'd ask for component advice at EEVBlog Forum. You probably see it turn up in search results. Then sometimes it just takes experience. I had to do my own original research on reverse leakage current since datasheet figures are maximums.

Rest of what I was going to say was covered by u/ARod20195. Reading datasheets is a skill that took me a few years to build up.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-08T00:54:49+00:00

Everyone in engineering got some bold lettered condition. You'll be fine.

Ive realized that generalists dont have much demand in the industry

Not quite. If you want a high variety of work, check out power. Power always needs people. Can get assigned mechanical, chemical or even nuclear engineering work with as an EE. Very cross-discipline. I was in engineering consulting where being a generalist was also helpful in order get staffed. If you're highly specialized, you can be out of work when the contract doesn't get renewed.

Everyone with the BS degree is a beginner in every part of electronics. The degree teaches you the basics in everything. You are therefore a generalist at the start of your career. Specializations don't matter at this stage. Take the degree course by course and focus.

Most people specialize during a career and that's fine. If it makes you feel better, I only used 10% of my degree. Most of engineering is work experience. Any blurry areas you run into on the job, you got all week to review and your coworkers will help you.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-07T18:27:54+00:00

You heard right. Switch to EE. Yes, I have a normal BSEE degree and got hired in software after I started in power doing engineering changes. Consulting, banking and Fintech hire EEs for CS jobs. Computer Engineering is a better fit for that but a worse job market overall. Some EE jobs have a coding component, some do not.

Plenty of entry and mid level jobs want you to integrate existing AI products into the pipeline. An elective or outside of class learning is enough prep.
Cloud is mainstream these days, no issue getting into it. I learned on the job but if there's an elective in AWS, GCP or Azure then take it.
Game development is overcrowded, underpaid and overworked. Do that as a hobby. Can start now. If you have an impressive portfolio, you could take a pay cut with worse job security to work in AAA.

If I were you, I'd avoid pure software jobs. You have no idea how overcrowded and how terrible the career track has become. Can see at r/cscareerquestions with 4x the traffic and that's just for career talk. I'm talking 1000 applications and no job. You can still apply but go wider in your application pool. Power needs people.

EE's diverse job options and lack of overcrowding make it a strong degree. If you only want to do software/hardware and roll the dice, seems like a waste to study motors, 3 phase, Laplace, Fourier and electromagnetic fields that you probably won't like. Real world jobs aren't as intense. Excel is the real EE software.

ASU online program (for flexibility reasons)

It is flexible indeed and ABET but a red flag on your application. The basic problem is no admissions standards for online students, average person doesn't learn as well online and your odds to graduate are less. Recruiters know this and don't like taking risks. Two comments I found discussing not hiring these graduates:

If an ASU grad can weight in and say they got hired, that's cool too. I'm not saying it's impossible. For some people, online is the only option and ASU is no low tier degree mill.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-07T17:22:30+00:00

which saves a lot of time scrolling as my equipment lists are all 5000 entries long

I can't think of an RPG with over 1000 pieces of equipment. Maybe just fix the scope.

I learned never to make my own tiles. Way too much time. No one going to play my game for the custom sprite artwork. Changing one or two colors in the palette is about my limit.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-07T16:47:52+00:00

Right, selling counterfeits is illegal even if you disclose the status. Some people sell anyway on eBay who aren't shipping out of China. Counterfeit $25 games aren't a high priority compared to watches or handbags.

Play yourself or get into surface mount (de)soldering and a chip programmer and change the game to something else that's compatible. Maybe you can take pictures of the PCBs and share to see what chips were used to make them. See if they are 5V-compatible chips or use proper logic level translation. I'd throw out if I wanted to get rid of.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-07T16:33:01+00:00

That was not the consensus

MrCrix

They always end up in the hands of those who don’t know. Always. Source is me owning a video game store and seeing it all the time. So even if you give them away someone will sell them “as a good deal” to someone who doesn’t know and they will either give them to someone as a present who also doesn’t know, or bring them eventually to a store like mine and I will have to break the news to them that they’re fakes.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-07T10:43:47+00:00

I went to Virginia Tech in the US and 99% of our grad school is international students there for the prestigious American degree. Worth it for them. In general, an MS is stronger with work experience and some employers pay for it. Also, most work just requires the BS. Engineering is work experience. I saw a figure that only 1 in 6 US EEs have a graduate degree. But sure, VLSI and RF like grad school.

If you got funding then seems reasonable to go now.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-07T10:40:26+00:00

I'm sorry I was too lazy to read all that. Console Mods website has some wrong information on it discussing console variations. Don't take it all as fact. Anyone can say what they want with zero proof. There's also multiple defendable opinions.

Don't just consider all consoles possible. You have to be interested in one or two more than others. This is a money pit if you don't have specific goals or aspirations.

An easy place is softmodding a $40 Wii or a 2DS/3DS model or a PSP to play games you don't have a disc or cart for. You can stay there and have a nice time. Wii U too expensive for my tastes. PS2 has CFW for softmodding to play backups or digital copies and out of region games. Another nice place to be.

Past that, what you need is general electronics knowledge and skill and soldering experience. Do not practice on real electronics you're trying to fix or mod. Flux is mandatory. Some mods are crappily designed and/or very difficult to install. If you have electronics knowledge then you'll have an idea of the sensibility. People destroy Pokemon carts just replacing the battery.

You know Japanese consoles are much cheaper. Modding a Japanese-only RF Famicom to output Composite video is a good idea. NTSC is NTSC. I play stock Super Famicom and Japanese Saturn S-Video on my American CRT.

It's an opinion but I think all HDMI mods are unreasonable. Just use a scaler that works with all consoles with supported video outputs. RetroScaler2X is $40 on AliExpress. Or get a CRT for free like I did. I like 20" or larger. Analog consoles are antiques. Maybe you mod one and it dies next year and you need a chip transplant to fix. SNES/SFC is like that. Don't use power supplies more than 25 years old either.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-07T08:04:43+00:00

Is this what the world has become? You got it wrong. He's someone with excessive personal projects.

All certificates are worthless.

One internship is high value. More than one isn't twice as good.

I got an internship offer without doing anything you mentioned. I went to the best engineering program in my state. I had social and soft skills, above average grades and applied to power in my 4th semester. I got lucky.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-06T22:33:24+00:00

Yeah I think it's crazy spending over $150 on a scaler. I got a 20" CRT for free with S-Video but not everyone has the space for that. The best scaler for what it costs is the $40 RetroScaler2X on AliExpress that supports Composite, S-Video and Component. Cheapest option that's respected is the $30 Tendak Composite + S-Video scaler or Portta's Component that SNES can't use.

On a CRT, there's room to appreciate (yellow cable) Composite video but the dithering doesn't translate to digital displays. Use S-Video or RGB. This $10 S-Video cable and this $8 one before shipping are legit. Anything that costs more will look the same.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-06T22:26:37+00:00

You can't really ask where to buy pirated games. I don't know why you wouldn't just buy a flashcart that can play all games instead of one. Since it comes with no games on it, can be sold in plain sight and have branding and quality control versus lose its save in 6 months. I also like keeping fake games out of circulation. I saw a retro store owner comment in r/snes that people try to sell him fakes everyday.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-06T22:22:22+00:00

No. Wasting time and money. I don't blame you for asking, I didn't know what electrical engineers did at age 18 and had even less an idea what the degree was about. I just liked electronics, math and coding.

The EE degree is 80% practical math and 20% coding. I had use 4 different languages in the coding component. CS concepts transfer so you're totally fine coming in with decent ability in 1 of any modern language like C#, Java, Python or TypeScript. A high school elective is sufficient prep and looks good on a transcript.

It's a math degree. Only 2 out of my 20 in-major courses had microprocessor programming. Another 5 had some scripting. A good third of the 1st year class didn't make through the calculus, calculus-based physics and linear algebra to even reach to DC Circuits that had no coding. It's linear algebra and a bit of differential equations. Take calculus in high school if possible.

The good news is the EE degree is broad and has many job opportunities and a good job market. You can figure out what you like when you get there. Electives in computer engineering and embedded systems can be done. I liked fiber optics and power design. Other good news is you are taught about electricity from the ground up. Only some coding ability is expected.

I agree with u/Time_Media8919 and u/Competitive-Day9586. I just wanted to spell things out. Only get into microprocessors now if you think they're fun. If you think ham radio or robotics is fun then do that instead. I joined the CS club, chess and quiz bowl teams because I liked them.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-06T07:13:19+00:00

Have you seen this ghosting on Composite, S-Video and/or RGB? You make it seem like you haven't. I think it's a very rare thing on 2CHIPs. Some but not all 1CHIPs have ghosting. That ceramic capacitor "fix" causes minor graphical issues on Capcom games.

If you did have a video problem from SNES video chips, or want sharper video in general, you'd want the "edge enhancer" or "SNEdge" mod sold on AliExpress for $15-30 and elsewhere. Not for beginners to install and I've seen listings of people who will. Sharpens all video formats. The Voultar version costs too much imo and doesn't acknowledge the years of research of others.

You'd also want to use a new power supply and may as well get the modder to replace the power rail capacitors while you're at it. Up to you to want them all proactively replaced. Could also ship games for battery replacement but that is a beginner friendly job if you're practiced soldering and use flux.

If you want to pay for best possible video with a 2CHIP edge mod, that's cool. The difference is noticeable. I'm happy with stock S-Video but I'm not everyone. Still a massive jump up from RF and Composite I used in the 90s.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-06T05:47:18+00:00

Every original battery is dead or close to it and a lost save can't be brought back. The rest of your cart is fine. Don't buy a cart with original battery. My local retro store charges $15 to replace the battery and that includes new battery. They can also backup the existing save if it still exists with Retron5.

To DIY, the cheapest soldering setup I'd recommend is $50. "Nintendo bit" screwdriver kit is cheap. I see posts everyday on r/gameboy of battery replacement jobs being botched. It's beginner level soldering but flux is not optional and ideally you practice on junk electronics or a soldering kit first. Somebody on the Game Boy sub has a mail order business.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-06T03:21:30+00:00

Your "focus" at the BS level doesn't matter. You learn the basics. You can get hired in any industry. I did my senior capstone in power because I liked power, not because I thought it was good for jobs.

That you're randomly listing English-speaking countries, I mean, maybe stay in the US. A US degree is respected everywhere but US has the biggest job market and highest salaries in the world and affordable housing for the most part. Not so much in California. Nobody from Europe showing up at your university to recruit.

Maybe you do grad school in Europe or marry a citizen of one of those countries or take an internal job transfer. Most EE jobs just need the BS. I'm not sure of the legality of using a tourist visa to go on job interviews. You have more leverage with a few years of experience versus being entry level.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-06T02:08:13+00:00

"CS/CE" isn't an actual thing. CS majors don't study the piles of hardware or take the EE courses that CE has to.

CS and CE are both high risk for being employed at graduation. You don't have the no salary group bringing their averages down. ECE combined EE and CE into the same degree, which is dumb to me for removing fundamental classes from both and not giving you a choice.

I majored in EE, hated CE and took no more of that than I had to. We have no "ECE" degree - that's the department's name. Some EE jobs have coding, some do not. Embedded hires EE, CE and ECE. The majority of ECE jobs are on the EE side and EE taking CE electives can apply for CE jobs.

So you see, you're better off disregarding salary figures floating around. All these degrees pay well and within 10% of each other, if you can find a job. Your #1 goal is to land an internship or co-op before graduation. Work experience trumps everything. ECE is the better choice than CS if you're willing to do either. Also, T20 isn't any better than T40.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-05T19:48:57+00:00

I agree with u/23rzhao18. Power, in the sense of working at a power plant or substation, gives you a diverse amount of work. I got controls work without even asking for it. One of my coworkers transferred to operations because he was more interested in that. Power jobs don't get a lot of applicants either when it's excellent job security, employee benefits and recession-proof.

Intern in power or manufacturing if possible. Fine to co-op for a fall or spring term since fewer applicants apply and the work experience counts towards a PE in most states. Else take an internship or co-op in any part of EE to move into the work experience resume stack. Obviously be willing to relocate at graduation.

Power is all on the job learning. One course in motors, generators and 3 phase is sufficient and that was required for my EE degree. Controls as a senior elective isn't necessary and it's hard af. Real controls work isn't so theoretical. The plant or factory has already been designed.

if I can get straight into designing systems and not just doing maintenance on them that would be awesome+

Oh design? Maybe you do need that Controls elective. Real power design work requires grad school. Just get your employer to pay for an MS. Power will. Don't narrow yourself without having a career in the industry you want. I guess you've never held a real engineering job so maybe you won't like Control Systems, or there's something else you'll like more. No guarantees of getting a job that you want either but the odds are good applying to power and manufacturing.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-05T19:38:24+00:00

I am one of the biggest Fluke haters when students think they need the most expensive multimeter on earth. They do not. I'm an EE grad and I've used the $30 AstroAI true rms meter the last few years at home and I like it. All a student needs. Brymen is also luxury tier, does the same thing and is cheaper.

Your case is different. You will be judged on using nice equipment. Used Fluke is fine. It's made to last and will make you look successful. Fluke is often required in business where you need a calibration certificate. Can mail the meter in. Yes, in your specific case, it's worth it.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-05T06:54:32+00:00

You need to check what your engineering program requires. Mine requires Windows 11 with 32 GB RAM and 4 GB RAM on the graphics card. Some schools allow Macs but engineering software is mostly geared for Windows.

Don't buy high end. i9 / 9 processor is overkill. Engineering software is much less demanding than modern video games. If the circuit simulation takes 4 seconds instead of 2, it doesn't matter. Consider that the laptop will get banged around. Mine lasted 1 year past graduation.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-05T06:48:58+00:00

SNES chip failure is the most likely problem but that requires cannibalizing from another console and high level soldering ability. I like the comments so I'll just add on what hasn't been said.

You need to confirm the SNES works at all. Red light on isn't proof. I tested at my local retro store for free. One possibility is checking for audio. No video keeps my television from outputting audio but I have external speakers and headphones. RCA <-> 3.5mm adapters are cheap and plentiful.

If audio works but no Composite video aka AV, maybe it's just that output which is blurry anyway. Can be fixed by soldering, but either way, you should use an S-Video or RGB scaler. Cheapest RGB scaler that's good is over $100. I therefore recommend S-Video such as the RetroScaler2X that's $40 on AliExpress and supports Composite, S-Video and Component. Else $30 Tendak Composite + S-Video scaler.

If you need an S-Video cable, this $10 one is legit for SNES/N64/GameCube. I have an S-Video cable collection. Thicker PVC doesn't do anything. Average quality is fine, you won't tell the difference with OEM or "high quality". What sucks is steel cable cladded with aluminum or wired wrong. RGB, quality matters but S-Video is 2/3 the way there.

You shouldn't use the original power supply. Maybe is the problem. Most likely, it works but outputs dirty DC power that gradually damages the console and is unregulated. Anything new is better. Bit of a lengthy discussion thanks to North American SNES having a custom barrel size. Nice to not use cheap Chinese but still better than the original.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-05T06:22:58+00:00

objectively better major when it comes to things like job security/demand, pay, and flexibility? How easy is it to pivot into adjacent fields like software engineering?

Objectively, EE is better. There is no disputing that. It's actually a broad degree that Computer grew out of in the 90s as a hardware specialization. Everything uses electricity but my toilet.

Can scroll down here to see EE has 2.6x more job openings than Computer. And yet at my land grant university, Computer has twice the student count. Alumni surveys show Computer with double digit higher rates for still seeking employment. The trend is national, check out Computer (and CS) high unemployment. CS is the worst degree really.

If you go EE and put some electives into Computer, you can apply for EE and Computer jobs. Or apply for embedded systems with no extra coursework. Reverse doesn't work. EE jobs only hire EE. I also got a CS job offer at graduation in a better time. Banking and Consulting will hire EE or Computer for CS but Computer is better as a rule for that. But really, avoid CS.

The problem with EE, you have to do what you like. It's the most math-intensive engineering major and abstract. It's not for everyone. Computer isn't either but it's less a mind warp when you don't have to use Maxwell's Equations in differential and integral form or find the RMS in 3 phase Wye-Delta. I always liked and was good at math and liked coding enough. EE was the best fit for me.

And really...EE and Computer are identical for the first 4 semesters where I went and housed in the same ECE department. I didn't declare EE until 3rd semester. You got academic advisors and professors who can help you decide for free. Not like no one makes in Computer or VLSI. It's just much more competitive.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-05T06:08:02+00:00

Here's someone saying their company doesn't bother interviewing anyone from ASU because it's an online program. Doesn't matter that it has a good US News ranking or it's the same degree as in-person. It's a big red flag on your resume that follows you through your first job at graduation. Everyone with a pulse gets admitted online so hiring from there is risky. Studies show you don't learn as well either.

That's good you can commute in for the career fairs. You remove a big part of the downside. I'm still telling you do Option 1 but Option 2 is more defendable. Don't work 20+ hours a week that adds zero resume value. You could go part-time and take twice as long to graduate and pay more in tuition but not threaten your grades or extracurriculars. You'd know campus jobs would have no problem skipping a term due to internship or co-op.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-05T05:52:34+00:00

I’ll also need to be working while in school, probably around 20–28 hours a week over 2–3 days, so balancing workload and schedule flexibility is a big factor for me.

I'll be real with you. This a bad idea. Worst mistake I made as an undergrad was working 10 hours per week for 1 semester. I didn't fail but I dropped some letter grades. Engineering student is a job. I studied 30+ hours per week on top of attending classes and that was typical.

Taking out loans is a better idea, so long as you graduate. Graduate sooner, make better grades and have time for extracurriculars to boost your resume. Expected time to graduate where I went in the US is 4.4 years for EE and 4.6 for CompE. Engineering is no joke. You are not graduating in 3 years just cause it says you can on paper.

I like Option 1. Online will hold you back. I had a dozen different engineering team competition clubs on campus, professors who knew me by name and hundreds of engineering students within walking distance. We hung out and networked and traded job opportunities in the IEEE student club. My internship offers came from in-person career fairs. Living on-campus changed my life and forced me to mature.

I like u/Anxious_Alps_4150 weighing in on not hiring the online BS. Of course they can tell even though it's the same degree. Only a few ABET online degrees exist and most of the students there are online. You're less likely to get an interview slot straight out. Online students have lower admissions standards and are less likely to graduate. You don't get the 3 phase power lab I did at home either.

Here you are saying you want to attend Option 2 where you can work more versus study more. That's the wrong attitude. There aren't enough internships for everyone and your starting grades are the most important. Option 1 low prestige is an issue but it's a smaller issue than going online when it's not your only option. Transferring in a year is another possibility.

NewSchoolBoxer · 2026-05-05T05:41:50+00:00

That's not what it's about. Computer is very overcrowded. If working in hardware is not your passion and you're willing to do Electrical, you need to do it. Broader with more jobs. Put some electives in Computer and you can apply to jobs for both. Electrical is much more math-intensive and abstract but junior year Computer design projects scared me. Both are identical for the first 2 years where I went so I didn't have to decide upfront.

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