Electrician studying Electronic Engineering?

bonzos

Hi folks, I am an unemployed electrician in my mid 30's and am seriously considering going back to college to study Electronics. As far as I know it is possible to jump straight into 2nd year because of my electrical background.I want to know if anyone here as made the jump from electrical to electronics?did they find the course difficult? and what are the job prospects on completing the course? I am at the stage now where it is almost impossible to get work,becoming self employed would be like committing financial suicide and I would rather spent some of my savings on my education which will hopefully get me a job down the line.Any advice on this?

Ging Ging

Hi Bonzos,
Did you apply for Sligo? I'm actually a plumber who just completed first year of electronics in DKIT. Even though I knew nothing on the subject heading in, it went well. Once you attend the lectures and labs, you will get it. There were 3 electricians in the class of 40 in September and 2 more joined in semester 2 after Christmas.
I don't know what subjects you study in Sligo but all the sparks in our course had a fair handle on what was going on. My advise is DO IT!
First year should be a breeze, but I'd say jumping into year two after being out of education for so long could be quite hard for a lot of people. In Dundalk they only let you join in semester 2 if you are an electrician.

Dtay

Hi Bonzos,

I have just completed my second year in Electronic engineering in IT Sligo, i started in year 2 because i had qualified as an electrician many years earlier,The electrical background is a massive advantage on this course , the only disadvantage of going straight into second year is you miss out on the first year maths, all the other subjects are starting from the the begining in second year, as long as you attend the lectures and the labs and are willing to put work in yourself you should have no problem with this course, I would recommend you do it. Most employers will not consider you without a degree. I am now looking foward to year 3 in September.

butsy1986

i just started in second year this year gone out, like yourself because of the lack of steady work. i found the sparking to be a good starting piont for the labs which was great because i had fears of being behind the rest of the class because i got to skip first year. If you are seriously considering it i would recommend sligo it. if you contact the college and look for one of the tutors they might be able to answer some of your questions. all in all ive enjoyed the coarse and the change!

christy_weezer

This is probably a bit late but to be honest I would recommend doing mechatronics instead of electronics, I've completed my 3rd year of electronics in sligo and when i was in second year 2 electritians came in to the course but dropped out after christmas as they expected the course to be different, the vast majority of people in your situation opt for mechatronics, but don't let that put you off doing electronics, you might like it! the lecturers are top notch, though other lecturers are more inclined to put you to sleep...lol

dingding

I would have taken this route in the early 90s. Then I got into information technology and networking.

I don't regret doing it. Depending on what you would like to work at I would consider mechatronics which would be a good combination with electrical for industrial work in automation. Which I worked at for a few ears and found great.