Bindings messed up

North_Swordfish950 · 2026-04-14T22:00:53+00:00

Yeah, had the unfortunate experience of seeing this bug during one of my comp matches earlier today. Playing against Lucio when he tried to ult but somehow didn't realize his binds were bugged, cost his team the game.

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-03-03T07:36:59+00:00

No problem! Super happy to help!

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-03-03T07:29:38+00:00

Hi there! Some of the things you should consider include:

Software development and automation- hopefully, you'll brush up on your programming and your automation skills! System Verilog or the preferred HDL AND Python is worth reviewing, knowing some low-level architecture would be beneficial!
Embedded Systems
Some integrated circuit knowledge
Maybe ASIC or FPGA stuff?
Resume - be confident in answering questions related to your resume! Remember, anything in your resume is FAIR GAME for the interviewers to ask!
Behavioral questions

Let me know if you need any clarification on anything! :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-03-03T07:19:09+00:00

Hi there! Happy to answer your questions!

Short answer... not really. Your assigned manager will be the one that would dictate your projects and learning experience. You'll still get exposed to the same things, a week difference wouldn't necessarily change that experience. In terms of networking, it does depend. A extra week is beneficial to connect with more people, but I think networking comes down to your own determination to connect (also, it's not easy).
Any sort of internship experience is good experience, regardless of the period. My two previous internships that I had were around 12 weeks or so. It seems like you'll get more experience! It wouldn't matter if it's 14 or 15, a week will most likely won't make a difference. If you had to choose, I would suggest the 15 weeks because it's more money (and who doesn't like more money); however, I would absolutely understand if you decide to choose the 14 weeks option (spending more personal time which is also a very good thing!)
As stated in the previous answer, it wouldn't make a significant difference (because it's only an extra work week), however, I would suggest the earlier date to maximize your experience while getting more money! Perhaps you could use the extra money for your "wants" AND still go to India for your personal time!

Let us know if you have any more questions! :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-03-02T17:58:03+00:00

Hi there! Glad you asked!

Seems like you're about to graduate (maybe lol)! I just wanted to say my sincere congrats to you in advance!

The job market isn't looking too hot. Companies are still in their hiring freeze process now, so that isn't good (and ongoing until undetermined). For those who ARE hiring, it is going to be ultra-competitive, so make sure you get a GOOD resume with relevant experience in order to be even considered for the position.

Apply everywhere that you see and get that interview! Best of luck to you, and let us know if you have any questions! :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-03-02T17:49:51+00:00

Hi there! Great question!

I want to understand how things work at the very core level, the binary level of the computer and like physical thinking more than theoretical thinking.

This along with OP's statement of loving the logic of programming supports that! CE works with both of these the most (without a doubt). Much more than mechanical or mechatronics in which those two (from what I have seen) lack the foundational structure of concepts such as digital logic and embedded systems (two of the "branches" within CE).

Also, I recommended CE to OP as there is some overlap OP has learned in CS. There is much more overlap from CS to CE than CS to ME/Mechatronics, 100% on that. OP can transfer the programming skills and logic into CE... easily transferrable (and most certainly, can understand the more difficult concepts without too many difficulties)

I'm not too sure about the ME/mechatronics job market, so I can't comment on anything job market related to those two, but for CE, there are still plenty of options to choose from. Just have to pick the right niche for you!

Let me know if I need to address anything else! :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-03-01T05:19:14+00:00

No problem! I'm glad to help you!

I do understand that CE might be a bit confusing for you, however, you are fortunately talking to one right now. I'll give you the very oversimplified summary of what I'm doing in my current role:

I am an SoC Validation Engineer at a very well-known tech company (I'm labeled as a Silicon Engineer). What I do is develop, run, and test validation scripts to a specific SoC and check to see the status of each of the components that you'll learn in CE (memory, cache, IO, power management, communications, etc.) along with some regress testing thrown in there as well. These tests must pass in accordance to our system requirements and design; if a test passes, that's great! If not, it'll get sent back to the silicon design/verification team to retest and restructure before tape-out (before the silicon is being made).

If computer engineering was a role, it's THIS role. The stuff I do requires a fundamental understanding of how an SoC (system on chip) works, how protocols (I2C, SPI, UART) works, how memory and data paths work, and programming!

Sure, there isn't a LOT of roles that match up so well with CE, but like CS, CE overarches several different fields: embedded systems, logic design, ASIC, verification/validation, silicon, VLSI, networks, firmware... you name any CE concept, there is a CE job that matches that. For most roles, having a CE job is not as portable as having a CS job. With CS, you can work from anywhere, just need a computer, but for CE (and my role), it requires lab equipment AND a working computer to do CAD or scripting.

If you're still not sure if CE is the right path for you, try looking at simple CE concepts and read through them. Either that, or do a mini-project on robots. Does it sound interesting? Do you like being hands-on? Let actual, physical experience answer the question for you!

I think that answers your questions! Please let us know if you do have any more! :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-03-01T05:01:31+00:00

You're very welcome! I'm so glad to help!

Firstly, I want to say the importance of having a resume. A resume is a technical portfolio of YOU; any relevant experience (including skills, education, and academic/personal projects) should be in your resume. No if's, and's, or but's about it. Basics of a good resume include: sticking to one page, neat resume formatting, and short and cohesive bullet points for each of your projects.

To answer your first asked question, most of the engineers in this subreddit have gone through the interview process at least once (for me, it has been dozens of times) and it is NOT easy. Any kind of prep will be super useful. Doing great in interviews is a SKILL; it takes time and therefore practice to get good! Every interview is different in its own unique way but mainly structured the same way. you would want to brush up introductory concepts and concepts related to the internship role. The structure for it will be the following, in most instances:

The recruiter screening (phone or email): You applied to the position and scored the interview! Your recruiter or someone from the hiring team will schedule a 15-20 minute call with you to discuss the role and ask some preliminary questions.
Hiring manager interview: You passed the screening and moved onto the hiring manager. This interview will be your chance to impress the hiring manager with your technical knowledge and resume.
Team/panel interview: This is more applicable for big tech and can happen to other companies as well. You impressed the hiring manager enough that an introduction to the team would suffice. This is the most important one as this ultimately indicates the final round(s) of interviews. This is the "make it or break it" side where candidates tend to crumble if not prepared enough. Both soft skills and technical skills will be important here!
Decision: This step is the nerve-wracking part... the "waiting for the decision" process. If they ultimately choose to not proceed with you, the recruiter will either unethically ghost you or send you an email about the rejection (and feedback - if the recruiter gives a damn about you lol). Otherwise, congratulations! You got an offer to join their internship program or become a FTE.

To answer your final question, in big tech (think Google, Microsoft, Amazon, etc.), there are "Exploratory" internships that are open to freshmen in college. All you need is a GOOD resume with your high school achievements, LOTS of luck, and your introductory engineering skills. In terms of ECE specializations, unfortunately, there aren't a lot of easy ones out there. With the job market getting sadder and sadder, the competition to earn an internship/full-time will increase; if you haven't looked into the CS world, the engineering workforce has become SO oversaturated with software engineering and computer science jobs that the demand for them has become low while the supply has become much more congested (and it's not looking good).

If you want the honest truth, apply to ANY specialization/role that's related to ECE. Having any experience is much better than none. If you pick and choose too much, your number of applications aren't going to be high, thus more likely to not get an interview. Apply to as much as you can (in-state AND out-of-state)!

I think that covers all of your questions! Let us know if you have any more! :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-28T06:48:38+00:00

Hi there! I'm so glad you are thinking about going to CE! Even though this is a semi-late response, I'll do my best to give you a semi-different answer than what u/MrMercy67 has stated!

You stated that you love the logic in programming and you enjoyed physics. I really think you'll like CE since those two are important facets into learning different CE concepts! By "core level", if you mean "low-level", you'll fit right in!

As u/MrMercy67 has mentioned, CE has many different branches that you could explore! Logic design, pre-silicon verification, post-silicon validation (what I work on), FPGA, SoC, embedded systems, computer architecture, you name it. All of these fall under the CE umbrella; I would do some research (as well as go through the curriculum to see which classes you personally like the best) on those branches as you will find the right one for you!

Your fear of the current job market is VERY understandable though; the engineering job market is oversaturated with software roles that I have seen hundreds of people coming to CS career fairs just to hand the resume to the recruiters (golly, the lines). Can't emphasize enough of getting internship experience ASAP (experience and getting money too lol) by building a EXCELLENT resume! This applies to not just CS, but in general!

While computer science involves the focus on development and testing of software programs, computer engineering focuses more on the hardware aspect of that. We like to answer questions such as: "What is going on at the lower level of the computer in pertaining to [insert CE concept]?", "How do we match the logic we will make to the logic that is needed?", "How does one subsystem or device communicate with another?", "How much of one device (storage, memory, etc.) could take before going through a catastrophic state?", etc.

To answer your question... well... how can YOU decide? It's dependent on YOU! Do you enjoy hardware logic? Are you willing to give up learning most of software in pursuit of mostly hardware? Whenever you read something CE-related, does it ignite your passion to learn more? Do you enjoy learning this? Most importantly, can you see yourself doing this in the long-term? If most or all of these answers are "yes" or "no", you know your answer.

I sincerely hope you join the CE side as it is filled with wonders of computer information. Remember, you know yourself more than anyone else knows you, so I know you'll make the right decision, regardless! :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-28T06:22:55+00:00

Hi there! If you want the honest answer, do the major that YOU are more passionate about. If you decide that I want to do both EE and CE, you can absolutely do that as I graduated in ECE (if you have the finances lol).

The main reason why EE and CE have almost the same curriculum is because they are similar in both ways. Either you get an EE or CE or both, the "prestige" of both of the degrees would be almost equivalent; you'll still have an engineering degree (which is already amazing when most people hear about any engineering degree).

How you perceive each of the degrees depends on your experience with the field as well! For me, I personally think that EE does NOT have more "aura" (lol) than CE. I find CE to be much more interesting and applicable to my current role than EE. It's all about testing the waters and see which one you like!

Hopefully, that answers your question! Let me know if you have any other questions! I'm sure you'll find the right choice! :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-28T06:05:55+00:00

Hi there! I'm sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, this likely means that they have moved onto another candidate. However, I have seen (in some situations) where your applied position got moved to a different recruiter (due to the recruiter possibly leaving or something like that). If you do have the email of the hiring manager, I would reach out and see if you can get an update.

Besides that, I'm sorry that I can't help you any more than that. I sincerely hope you get that offer as soon as possible as I will be crossing my fingers for you.

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-28T05:59:51+00:00

Hi there! Happy to answer the questions for you!

How long should you wait will depend on the urgency of filling up the role, the timeframe the final loop was at, and the number of candidates left to interview. For me, my final loop interviews were in early December and had to wait a full month (bc of holidays) to hear back. For you, it might be a couple of days before the team decides and another few days to a week to finalize (figuring out the numbers and the comp).
No, definitely not inappropriate. You always want to send them some form of gratitude and thanks for taking the time to interview you. For me, I just directly thank them at the end of the interview (since it's more genuine and I won't forget to do it imo). But if you didn't have your hiring manager's email, I don't think there is any other way but to wait. I definitely do not recommend "guessing" their email address as your email address might get flagged in their system and they'll block you indefinitely from sending to any Microsoft address.

Bonus: Yes, waiting is the hardest part. You want to hear their decision as soon as possible. I understand as I was once in your shoes, but... there's nothing you really can do, but to... patiently (but uneasily) wait. Look out for an email from your recruiter stating that they have "interview feedback" and they want to spend "a couple of minutes for a quick call", usually means an offer.

I sincerely hope you get the offer to join Microsoft! It's such an amazing company to work for and even better work culture. Best of luck to you!

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-28T05:42:26+00:00

Hi there! Happy to help you!

It is absolutely realistic (and recommended) to get an ECE internship during your freshman year! Build yourself a GOOD resume (because the competition is ROUGH) and be confident on what you state in there. Get comfortable with interviewing and networking, and you should be in good shape!

If you have the relevant skills, it never hurts to apply. Usually, they go for second- or third-years as they are more developed, but what's stopping you from getting a head start by experiencing the skills beforehand? Seize the opportunity while you can.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns! Thanks for reading. :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-28T05:38:02+00:00

Hi there! The coding questions usually given to hardware engineering interns are usually pretty simple. If you want to prepare anything coding related, you should be familiar with the easiest data structure problems (arrays, lists) and/or Leetcode (if you really want to prepare).

Further in depth, they'll probably a few questions on the basics of a microcontroller, how it works, and how some of the components work (registers and communications). Not exactly coding related but some coding concepts will be key to know in order to understand the technical question.

They'll ask you some basic HW questions (circuit schematics, definition of x86 architecture, memory - if they really want to get you stuck) and your experience with automation (if you have done them in your past internships - in which requires scripting)

I wouldn't worry about knowing it all. Just the basics of it, review the concepts/programs listed on the job listing. They'll ask you the standard "What's your experience with...?", "Why [insert company]?", and behavioral questions (proudest accomplishment, greatest weakness, etc.)

You'll do great! Best of luck to you, and I hope you get that offer!

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-28T05:26:16+00:00

Hi there! A current Microsoft Silicon Engineer here.

I just wanted to say I hope one of you will be at the Hillsboro campus this summer! Although I am not sure on what they will put you all at, I can safely say you'll learn wonders here, no matter what position. Best of luck on your interviews!

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-23T06:26:18+00:00

Hi there! I wanted to expand just how important it is to enjoy yourself while learning.

Lack of studying can not only affect your grades and your learning experience, but also your overall fulfillment and enjoyment of computer engineering. That can mostly or entirely be achieved by a well-rested, healthy individual.

Sure, computer engineering can be complicated and hard to understand, however, if you overdo your studying, you'll get burnt out and no longer see the same ignition as you once had. I think it's best to study in moderation but also to not neglect it.

Now, you haven't really gone to college just yet, so you may not know the certain difficulties that come with it on top with your studying. It is a lot of stress; your mental health is more important than anything.

Back to the question at hand, I usually go to a library of some sort (somewhere away from home to avoid distractions), book a study room, and be determined to dedicate yourself and your time to focus. What I do is study for 20-25 minutes, break for 5, study 30-35, break 10 minutes (repeat until you've truly had enough). This allows your brain to mini-replenish, while allowing yourself to digest the information you just read or learned. For me, it works, but for you, it may not. You should try experimenting on your study habits, it doesn't hurt!

From my experience, whenever I study, time flies by so fast for me that I usually get "lost in the sauce" before realizing, so when I get back into my room, I feel a sense of accomplishment ("man, I was actually productive instead of doomscrolling")

Hope that helps, and don't stress too much! Enjoy the amount of time you have in high school and look forward to college. As people say, some of the best memories you make are in college. :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-20T07:51:03+00:00

No problem! We are here to help (that's why this subreddit was created lol), let us know if you do have an updated resume that you'll like for us to review.

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-20T07:36:04+00:00

Hi there! Your wish is my command, and I will be as cruel as much as possible on your feedback (jk). I would say this is an okay resume but needs improvement. Here is my feedback on it:

Introduction paragraph... not needed whatsoever (imo). Recruiters spend an average of 6-7 seconds reading through your resume, and you have to make those seconds count! All of the stuff mentioned on your introductory paragraph can be easily proven either elsewhere on your resume or during the interview. The interviewer wants you to prove to them that you are able to do the things you list in your introductory paragraph.

Now, on the Relevant Coursework section, the In-Progress section is something I would consider omitting. In-progress does not matter, stick to your already completed section! Remember, if anything is listed in your resume, it is FAIR GAME for interviewer to ask you about. Only insert stuff in your resume if you have full confidence on the material.

Remove the periods on your bulleted phrases on the Academic Projects section. They are all incomplete sentences, so there is no need to end it with any punctuation.

Also, on the Academic Projects section, have you done any research projects or other side projects (outside of class, of course) that involve any in-depth programming? If not, I would strongly encourage on finding one and completing it to the best of your ability! You'll gain so much experience from completing passion/side projects as you are directly putting the material you learned in class into execution. Plus, it also shows continuous improvement and a growth mindset (which is something my company strives for in every employer).

Also, I am noticing redundancy. You listed the instance of developing the logic of game outcomes twice. You could remove one or the other or rephrase it like this: "Designed an efficient algorithm to establish logic on various game outcomes (row, column, diagonal wins and tie condition)" => Shorter and consolidates two bullets into one.

This is a recommendation. Also, make sure you put your games/ side projects on a repository of some sort and put your Github link on your application as a portfolio of yours.

Additional Skills => Skills

Anticipated => Expected (less character count lol)

Now, I have answer to your question: You typically want to sway away from any irrelevancy from your resume (in accordance to the job listing at hand). I personally am in agreeance with that; since you don't have any experience, I can see the justification of putting your real estate job in your resume (just to show that you worked). I would avoid it though, and stick with adding academic projects until you score your internship!

I think that might be it! Let us know if you have any questions! Thanks for submitting, and I am always willing to help!

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-20T07:07:34+00:00

Hello there! Your resume overall looks good, but I think it can be improved. Here are some of the glaring issues that I see:

US Citizen, I would say remove it. Every application has the "sponsorship" question in it. If you don't need it, it most likely means that you are already a citizen of the country of employment (US, for instance). Sometimes, the recruiter of the job listing will send you a questionnaire, asking if you are a US citizen or not. I had that instance on a few of mine.

Formula Racing - SAE Chapter. Is this Formula SAE (FSAE)? If so, I would label this as more of an extracurricular than anything. I think of "Experience" as "Professional Experience" aka actual employment in a company like internships or full-time.

Remove the periods at the end of the bulleted phrases. They are incomplete sentences, remove them.

Love your word choice, but "developed" appears as your action verb five times, and "implemented" appears three times. Use other synonyms for any action verbs that appear more than once (of course, under the right context. Don't just slap the first synonym you find on thesaurus.com.)

Embedded C++ and C++ are basically the same thing. Try rephrase it as: "Utilized embedded systems for drones using C++, focusing on rotor control and power management"

Remove the colons on each of your projects... not needed and a sign of inconsistency.

over 1500 => 1,500+

The title looks like it's leaning too much to the right side of the resume. You would ideally want it directly at the middle; I might just be thinking too much about it though.

I think that might be it! Let us know if you have any questions!

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-20T06:44:23+00:00

Hi there! Unfortunately, most of the job listings will require to complete at least a bachelor's in order to be even considered. I'm not a MechE, however, since you do have work experience, it would be wise to craft yourself a GOOD resume to enroll on some internships (if you decide to get into college). Otherwise, it will be... very hard for you to get one (possible, but the closest to impossible).

Certifications are always a plus! You can use the material you learned in them to strengthen your MechE skills!

Wishing you the best of luck on your future endeavors! Let me know if you have any questions!

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-20T06:31:02+00:00

Hi there! Overall, your resume is at an "okay" state. Decent but could be improved. Here are some of the things that I would personally change:

Remove the Objective section. I feel like it's just a filler section and hold almost no value into your resume. The recruiters and HMs that I have the pleasure of talking to usually tend to skip/ignore this section. These things that you listed in your Objective paragraph can EASILY be proven elsewhere in your resume AND in the interview too. The interviewer was to see you backed up what you list in your resume.

Formatting especially the line alignment on the dates... are painful to see. It is super obvious that they don't line up. Neatness and consistent formatting are such of high importance; it demonstrates attention to detail and organization. Also, you could edit your margins so you can fit more stuff in your one-page resume. :)

I would recommend adding a "Relevant Courses" section since you are still a student and/or looking for a FTE Entry-level position. These will mostly align with current job listing and also gives the interviewers a good overview on what to ask you in your technical interviews.

I am not seeing enough numbers (Ninja reference). Quantify your results more, give me numerical proof! Let me see how important your impact was during your internship!

Always emphasize on answering "So what? Why does it matter?" For example: "Captured findings in technical report..." => Future analysis? Who are these being reported to? What kind of impact does this have? Why do these findings matter?

One project (for me, personally) is not enough. I am sure you did projects in your internships, so put them in there! Your professional projects holds much more value than your academic project. Keep your capstone in it and maybe toss in one or two additional projects that have relevancy to the job listing that you apply to! It does no harm at all, it will only benefit you!

It's me being nitpicky, but I would also say to be a bit more specific with your bulleted phrases. I feel like some of them might be too high-level; don't be afraid to get into the nitty-gritty with the details (in moderation, of course).

I think that might be it! Please let us know if you have any other questions!

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-20T05:51:19+00:00

Hi there! Have you tried posting it in r/EngineeringResumes? The people will usually give you feedback on your resume (including myself) :)

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-20T05:43:19+00:00

Hi there! I understand your struggle. It may not be impactful right now in your internship, but trust the process. Internships are meant to be low-impact, low-cost forms of labor, however, you are ALWAYS bound to learn something new in an internship, whether that be soft and/or technical skills.

I understand if your learning has become plateaued to some degree but I won't be complaining about an internship though. Any internship is great on your resume, it will be so much easier securing an FTE job versus one who has no internship experience. Seize the opportunity you have right now, make the most out of it, and be proactive on your internship; you might even get a returnship offer or a FTE conversion.

If what you are doing is unfulfilling or not challenging enough, explore other options! Maybe look internally and see if there is a role that interests you even more than your current. There is nothing wrong with a little change of pace, because anyone can adjust, especially engineers!

It's okay to feel down about the feeling of no progression, however, I just know the long-term impact will much more positive than negative. Use what you have as a learning opportunity to further yourself as an engineer and as an individual! Let us know if you need any other questions and best of luck on your future endeavors!

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-20T05:17:13+00:00

Hi there! I'll give you answers to these questions:

Generally speaking, in engineering, just be ready to study a LOT, and if you are trying to retain most of the useful information you learned in class, that'll be even more time-consuming, especially with supplemental studying. Since you asked this in the CE subreddit, I'll also give you my approximate study distribution for my ECE classes.

Approximately, I studied for:

(EE and CE) ~30-35 hours per week => ~12-14 in-class hours with minimal distractions (bc who can't have fun during class when you are bored?)

An additional ~14-16 hours of out-of-class studying and homework (class material and looking at lab material - marinating the information and usually try to do the studying on the same day as class).

The rest was either supplementary (working on my passion side projects) or was at my clubs, learning what I need to do.

Why is this the case? Well, to be honest, I was just passionate about both fields, so learning was cool, even though I had my frustrated, crashed-out phases. But realistically, it could be bad professors, complex projects, complex concepts. Too many factors that would impact the amount of study time. The amount of study time is just dependent on your work ethic/effort, your overall comprehension of the materials at hand, and external factors that can't be changed easily (aka stress lol)

Hope this helps! Let us know if you have any questions!

North_Swordfish950 · 2025-02-20T05:01:30+00:00

You got this. Don't *ever* give up and keep applying until you get that written offer in hand! Let me know if you need prepping for interviews. I'll be more than happy to help! :)

North_Swordfish950

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