b2386

Hi all,

I have an important decision to make in the very near future and wanted some outside input, if possible.

I am currently a student at GA Tech majoring in EE and decided to join the Co-op program this fall, in which I will alternate semesters of full time work with an employer and full time school. This semester, out of about 60-70 available positions for EE's in the Co-op program, I narrowed it down to about eight that I thought I would be interested in. I then went through the interview process with all eight of the companies and amazingly received offers from every single one of them (which is rare I am told). However, after learning more about the companies and participating in on-site job visits, I narrowed my decision down to the four companies as follows:


Newcomb & Boyd - They are a consulting and engineering firm responsible for designing the HVAC, electrical, lighting, communication, and security systems for large commercial buildings. They are the largest firm of their kind in the country and also the most prestigious, as they specialize in more advanced structures, like hospitals and research labs, as well as some of the tallest skyscrapers across the country. I would be working in the department which designed the electrical systems.

Southern Company - They are one of the largest electricity and utility companies in the US. They provide power across four states and employee about 26,000 people. I would be working as a protection and control engineer, responsible for modeling transmission lines and protection systems for substations among other things.

L-3 Communications Display Systems - They design and manufacture the display screens in the cockpits of military aircraft. I would be responsible for designing and testing the hardware that goes into these display screens.

Cellnet - They design wireless metering systems for utility companies. They construct wireless radio antennas and circuits that go into residential and commercial meter boxes that allow usage data to be transmitted over complex wireless networks. I would be working in the engineering dept, researching and designing more advanced transmitters and wireless receivers.


At this point, I am really not sure which company to go with. As I see it, the four jobs can be basically divided into two categories: the top two I listed are power engineering and the bottom two are more electronics/digital design. Unfortunately, I do not know which of the above two fields I prefer. Since I just transferred into Tech this semester , I am currently taking my first EE class (Intro to CompE) and have not advanced far enough in my EE classes to even have an idea as to which subfield of the discipline interests me the most.

Therefore, I would like to ask those who are EE's or are taking EE classes what are the pros and cons of the two areas and which area most people seem to enjoy more.

undefined

I would do the:

L-3 Communications Display Systems - They design and manufacture the display screens in the cockpits of military aircraft. I would be responsible for designing and testing the hardware that goes into these display screens.

I've read about power engineering, so I'm a little familiar with it. I'm not too fond of the idea of working at a plant or utility company locations. I don't have anything against them, but most of them I've been to have been "crappy" - the atmosphere isn't where I would want to work for the rest of my life. I don't know how to really phrase this, but I'd rather be working in a nice building, rather than at a crummy plant.

Power Systems Engineering In Wikipedia: Power engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would definitely do the design because almost EVERY company needs them. Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Apple, Qualcomm, Raytheon, etc!!! The list goes on. It's more intellectually challenging (I think). You have to be very precise with your design and interact with many different types of engineers (control engineers, DSP engineers, FPGA programmer engineers, etc). You can work in many different aspects of EE if you do design... digital hardware design (more of a CE topic), electronic/circuit design, etc.

ken285

Newcomb and Boyd didn't sound like one of those companies that are based out of a plant. It seems more like a consulting firm / designer rather than a service provider. undefined, you seem to be talking more about those who generate the electricity, which Newcomb & Boyd does not do. Sounds more like a "sit in front of a computer all day in an office" kind of job, and not the "getting your hands dirty" type. Maybe... maybe, as an entry level employee, they might send you out to the construction site, but it would probably be very rare.

Southern does more of the jobs that undefined doesn't like.

undefined

Sorry - my mistake. I forgot to mention that I'm talking about power systems in EE in general.

UriA702

Personally I would for go for Newcomb & Boyd. Seems a bit less, just due to prestige, it would look great on an employment application and can get you some good solid contacts in a top firm. Considering they are at the top of the field and specialize in substantially complex systems such as hospitals, you will more than likely be working on a few projects simultaneously, I can imagine working at l-3 would get a bit repetitive?

ken285

I wouldn't make the choice here based on prestige. The difference in the types of work between Newcomb & Boyd and L-3 seem to be fairly significant, so I'd research the fields more.

I can see that happening. When I used to work as an intern for a small engineering consulting firm, there were some weeks where I'd work on 7 or 8 different projects. One of the toughest part of that job was just trying to keep track of which clients I was supposed to charge my hours to!! L-3 may get a little repetitive, but if you're interested in the work there, I don't think you would care or even notice it.