Step by Step Guide to be a Professional Engineer in Electronics and Communication

What is the first thing which has come to your mind when you have noticed this title? What would I actually mean when using this term-‘professional engineer in electronics and communication? Well let me guess, this article might sound like a guide for you to make a career in the field of electronics and communication.

Actually, you must be right then. But in the first case, why do you want to become an electronics engineer? Lo! I have an answer for that too.

I am sure many of you must have been fantasized by each and every electronics product around you. Starting from the toy u played with during your childhood, to the so called modern gadgets you are now fidgeting with, each and everything has involvement of electronics in it. How many of you can deny that you had always romanticized the idea of having your own electronic gadget or tried to build your own electronics projects or kits? This might have been surreal to your parents when you were a child, but now the only thing you can do to prove them wrong is to be a professional engineer in electronics and communication.

What do I actually mean when I say getting professional jobs for Electronics and Communication?

Well it can actually mean many things-

• Being an expert embedded system designer.
• Getting a job in reputed electronics companies like Videocon, Samsung, HCL, BEL, and Flextronics etc. It might sound interesting to you that in India, electronics market is one of the fastest growing markets in the world, with expected increase to USD 400 billion by the year 2020.

So without wasting any time, let me sort out the main steps needed to be a professional engineer in the field of electronics and communication.

6 Steps to be a professional engineer in electronics and communication

Step 1

Get a degree in Electronics and Communication

The first and foremost thing you should do as a starting step to be a professional engineer, is to get a degree in electronics and communication. You must have a BE/BTech (Engineering) degree in electronics and communication, or in some cases even an MSc in Electronics and Communication might help. Don’t forget you need to have a good academic record.

Currently, the field of electronics and communication is being provided by almost each and every engineering and science colleges in India. Remember you can also opt for only a diploma, provided you are only interested to have basic practical knowledge in electronics.

For those eager to build a career in research and development can also opt for Masters degree (Mtech) in relevant field related to electronics.

There are many colleges and universities offering an Mtech, but remember the best way to get an Mtech degree is by qualifying the all India entrance exam of GATE(Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineers) in electronics and communication. You can even opt for further higher studies like PHD by enrolling your name in any of the best universities like IITs, NITs, and BESU under the guidance of experts.

Step 2 

Get a professional certificate

If you are not alumni of any popular university like IITs, NITs, don’t worry if you wouldn’t get a job in electronics and communication. For your life don’t ends there. There is still a way.

Once you completed your BE or Mtech in electronics and communication, you can always enroll yourself in any of the institutes offering professional certificate courses in areas related to electronics and communication.

If you want to be a professional engineer in Embedded System design or VLSI design (two most prominent field of electronics), there are institutes like CDAC, Vector India, VEDAIIT, Maven Silicon and many more which offer short term or long term courses in these fields. Not only that you also get the advantage of being placed in any leading electronics company.

If you want to be a professional engineer in communications and networking, you can opt to get certification courses from CISCO like CCENT, CCNP, and CCNA etc. For entry level jobs you can opt for courses like CCENT and for professional level jobs you can opt for courses like CCNA or CCNP.

Step 3 

Have good practical knowledge in electronics design tools

Even if you have a degree in electronics and communication and even a professional certification, there is still a constraint in your becoming a professional engineer in electronics and communication. That is having a practical knowledge about one or more electronics design tools.

If you want to be a professional engineer in embedded system design or a circuit designing, you need to have grip on simulation tools like Proteus, Multisim or Pspice. You even need to have good programming skills in Embedded C or assembly language programming for Microcontroller programming.

If you want to be a professional engineer in PCB designing, you need to have good working knowledge on design tools like CAD, ORCAD, and Eagle etc. You even need to have basic knowledge about PCB designing and mounting.

If you want to be a professional engineer in VLSI or chip designing, you must have working knowledge in tools like Xilinx, Magic etc and of course must have good VLSI programming skills.

If you want to be a professional engineer in control and instrumentation, then a working knowledge in control and automation tools like lab view, PLCs can prove to be advantageous.

Apart from all the above tools I have mentioned, there is one more and the most important electronics software tool and that is MATLAB. Remember if you are an expert in MATLAB programming you can be the expert in the field of electronics and communication, be it in signal processing or image processing or control or any thing else.

Step 4

Have good technical skills

It is not only the knowledge of software tools that can make you a professional engineer, but also good technical skills.These skills can be having practical knowledge in circuit mounting, soldering or PCB designing , practical knowledge in installation of networking products like routers, switches etc, practical knowledge of working with home automation devices like PLCs or practical knowledge of operating electronic equipments like Oscilloscopes, Wave Generators, Pulse Generators etc.

Step 5

Have a good experience

When the word ‘experience’ comes, it doesn’t literary means to have any job experience in designing and developing electronics and communication products. Suppose you couldn’t get a degree from any reputed institute nor would afford to enroll for any professional course, don’t panic, there is always a solution.

There are actually many ways to get an entry level job, which can further prove to be advantageous to get a professional job.

As a fresher, you can apply for the position of trainee or intern at any reputed company. If you are GATE or NET qualified, you can always apply for the position of research fellowships at any Government recognized research institutes. A fresher with good theoretical knowledge about subjects related to electronics and communication can also opt for being a technical writer in the field of electronics and communication. Remember this might prove to be a great asset in increasing your exposure to the field of electronics.

Step 6

Have a good preparation for the interview

If you have passed all the above defined prerequisites, the last thing you must do, is to prepare yourself for a professional job interview.

The first and foremost thing you need to have is an attractive, simple yet precise resume. Remember your resume should contain all important details like your achievements, your training details, your experience, your skills and every other mandatory detail.

The next thing you must possess is good communication skill and present yourself in a confident yet modest manner.

Remember even if you have got all the above defined prerequisites of having a degree, a professional certification, technical skills, experience and still lack in communication, you can never achieve your goal of being a professional electronics and communication engineer.

That’s it! By the end of this article, don’t you feel more confident and determined to be a professional engineer in the field of electronics and communication and fulfill your rather surreal wishes? Hurry up! Why waste time waiting? Who knows there might be a future electronics and communication engineer amongst you.

Wait! Before you rush to implement all the above things, there is a simple request for the readers. Please give us your valuable suggestions and feedback in the comment section below regarding this article or electronics and electrical  projects. We will consider it our pleasure if our article can assist the readers in any way. 

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