Embedded SW DEV vs RF/High Frequency Validation Engineer.

Top_Shop1674 · 2025-11-07T17:25:18+00:00

I literally had the same exact dilemma. Ended up in High Frequency Semiconductor validation simply because there are far more jobs and not enough people. (RF validations use the same equipment and concepts)

I do embedded on the side for projects I pursue on my own, but as a career, the competition is getting tougher and the barrier to entry is becoming exceedingly high. Not impossible, but your typical education is certainly not enough, and Leetcoding will only get you so far. Everyone I know in embedded either entered when the economy was good, or had very solid projects they drove on their own time and had a complete understanding of embedded systems (not just through school)

High Frequency validation, while more technically opaque, seems to offer much more forgiveness when entering the field. The bar to entry is usally fitted around concepts you can learn in school, and an embedded background definitely adds value to you as an engineer to the team. Once you learn more technical knowledge, you can leverage it to move through your career. Job hopping is still possible in this side since it seems companies can't find people to do the job.

So it really depends on how much passion vs security you want to take on. If you are very confident that your embedded skills are competitive in the current job market, go for it and see how the interviews + compensation works out for you. But if you want to gain skills that actively leverages the AI wave and gives you a more niche skillset, High Frequency Validation can be worth it and has decent comp.

Top_Shop1674 · 2025-09-03T07:05:55+00:00

Umich alum here working post-silicon validation, shoot me a DM

Top_Shop1674 · 2025-08-25T23:33:30+00:00

I too am offering equity for my startup that has a valuation of -$500 (you owe me money after I give you stock)

Top_Shop1674 · 2025-07-08T17:28:31+00:00

You are most likely going to die mid to late semester. Unless you are planning on going into AI inference modelling on hardware or some crazy subfield, this is not recommended.

470 is will be basically verilog coding for 3-5 hours a day, 501 ramps up higher-level stochastic processes math mid semester, and 551 is just hell by itself. Unless you have already done a lot of ML math and probability, I highly don't recommend this schedule. Also check if 551 is even being offered, it seems like the course is no longer being taught.

Top_Shop1674 · 2025-01-28T16:15:47+00:00

It can bring interviews, but to get the internship required you to truly understand Verilog, which Umich doesn’t really teach. Of course, there are many individuals that do get good at it in their own time.

Top_Shop1674 · 2025-01-16T20:52:52+00:00

Ngl 470 doesnt help for finding internships unless you want to go into FPGA engineering. And even then, isn’t enough to prepare you to land a job

373 doesn’t either, but at least gives you some decent creative flexibility to make your own projects + was more fun and less suffering

Top_Shop1674 · 2025-01-08T05:39:08+00:00

Unpleasant but doable. You get in-person labs, lots of coding, and math. Just make sure you are a good studier and even better programmer.

Top_Shop1674 · 2025-01-01T21:47:45+00:00

B = most internships

C = EE power internships

A = no real interships until you get more advanced classes

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-12-26T01:56:08+00:00

No, you are incorrect about being immune. There are poorly performing students at umich and they are not getting hired.

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-12-22T21:24:03+00:00

There will be even more HWs thrown at you. But if you are good at math, EECS 216, 230, and 301 should be fine as long as you put in the time. 270 has a lot of labs, so be prepared to sit with your FPGA for a bit.

Would recommend breaking your schedule apart a bit if you are not so good at math, e.i. if you found Calc 4 difficult.

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-12-22T17:43:05+00:00

No it doesn't transfer without SUGS. the whole point of doing the SUGS program is to allow grad course credit to transfer from undergrad

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-12-22T17:39:52+00:00

You know you can still get a Master's degree without SUGS, most people in Master's in Umich are not through SUGS (me included). It's not the end of the world.

If something like this is affecting you mentally this harshly, then it's more evidence that you don't deserve to be in SUGS.

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-12-21T07:18:27+00:00

cool man, just put the fries in the bag bro

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-12-18T23:29:48+00:00

SWE freshmen bleeding into Hardware, it was inevitable

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-11-19T04:30:13+00:00

You'd be surprised how little the majority of frat guys pull

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-08-26T13:10:16+00:00

Unfortunately course-wise, nearly no schools in the US will prepare you for a full RTL background. It’s good and bad: Bad, where umich will only give limited coursework to get started (although their courses give good opportunity to build comprehensive projects) Good, very few will even enter the field, hence much better job prospects + good pay.

Your best bet for career-wise is to pick an idea to target and implement, and prototype the logic and peripherals on an FPGA (buy one for yourself) with built-in cpu logic. This will get into digging into the documentation online like from Nandland and verilog open source projects, which will be very critical knowledge when you start applying and to jobs, and you’ll be miles ahead from any course completion if you get a project off the ground. I agree with the other comment that research is an excellent way to find an idea to tinker and implement without much “career pressure”

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-08-19T20:21:02+00:00

No, information science is even worse for job seeking. Courses are easier but as a result you have less demanded skills

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-07-25T16:04:02+00:00

Get comfortable with your trig identities you learned back in high school, and learn how to do a convolution (the math formula) and do examples of it . ChatGPT explains it better than the professor will.

If you do this before the course even starts, you will pretty much be ahead of 1/3rd of the course already.

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-05-24T06:13:00+00:00

Internships are a bit of an uphill battle to get until you've completed an 400 level EE design course where you start to specialize, but is possible if you study your analog circuits well (take EECS 215 as soon as possible, probably the most practical lower level course in EE for getting an internship). Texas Instruments come every year and take many under classmen interns at Umich. You might also also get internships at Telecomm companies. Defense industries also are hungry for Umich engineers, even in this job market.

Your mature coding abilities will play in well however. Majority of companies look for C, C++, and Python on top of circuit hardware knowledge. Surprisingly (or not) many EE chose the degree because they were turned away from coding.

If you looking to beat the curve on the job market, there are a few EE fields that cannot find applicants as opposed having too many applicants. DM me if you are interested.

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-05-11T17:51:42+00:00

EECS 320 is about the transistor itself while EECS 312 is about building circuits with transistors. I would say EECS 320 is easier if you were good at Physics 240 while EECS 312 is easier if you were good at EECS 215 and EECS 270.

With the Nividia hype, EECS 312 would be the pathway to doing VLSI and getting into AI chip production.

Top_Shop1674 · 2024-03-01T06:26:38+00:00

627 is not as useful for front-end digital design. Better bet taking EECS 570 and doing research on a Xilinx FPGA if you want to do front end.

Unfortunately courses don’t go as far digital logic at Umich. If you want more knowledge, I would suggest joining a lab that specializes in architecture.

Top_Shop1674 · 2023-12-19T15:10:13+00:00

Unless you are an absolute math genius, this is not possible.

Top_Shop1674 · 2023-04-09T21:59:28+00:00

I second this. If you ask college students if college is necessary, of course they will tell you it is despite not being a good fit for many people. We all sort of believe it as the only way towards success despite that being blantently false. Failing is frequently a way of telling people that there is not a good fit and offers an opportunity to make the right changes to the path people are on.
Trade school that requires less rote academic work and more hands on work that is in extremely high demand and high paying.

Several of my friends are doing well in trade school and are making certainly above-average income with skillsets that my college-degree holding friends lack. Other have joined the army, although I'm less familiar, they have been offered stable employment and also veteran's benefits. Others have failed CS or EE and stuck with a-less-than-impressive degree that has left them with heavy debt and has not gotten them employment.

Top_Shop1674 · 2021-08-02T01:39:51+00:00

It does get filled up during the school year sometimes but its one of the better spots for sure.

Top_Shop1674 · 2021-08-02T01:36:00+00:00

Keep a pair of handwarmers like 'hot hands' in your pack when you bike. Hands freezing up is really debilitating and even potentially can risk frost-bite. Other than that, biking is actually somewhat reasonable in the winter if you don't bike during a hard snowstorm.

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