What to Expect

While classroom learning is part of an electrical and electronics engineering student's life, practical experience also plays a large role.

"The thing that attracted me to the electronics program is being able to work with everything hands-on," says Amy Hoose. She took the electrical engineering technology program at Michigan Technological University. "There is a lab that corresponds to every course....It's nice to be able to know there is a reason for what I [was] learning."

Scott Logan was an electrician apprentice when he took electronics technology classes at night at Waubonsee Community College in Illinois.

In addition to his regular job and his coursework in electronics, Logan served as the national post-secondary president of VICA (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America).

"VICA seeks to promote professional training and preparing students for the world of work," Logan explains. "It is a student vocational association for trade occupations, skilled labor, health professions and others."

With all these responsibilities, Logan was glad he wasn't burdened by too much homework in this program. He says he had almost none -- he did most of it in class.

Hoose, on the other hand, spent about three to five hours doing homework each day.

How to Prepare

"Basic math and science are real important," Logan says. "[So are] any activities you can do, or shop classes you can take, where you are learning by working with your hands. Take all the science classes you can while in high school."

Hoose says students should be prepared to work hard. The course load was more than she expected. But it's all worth it in the end.

"The thing I like most about the electronics technology program is the fact that it is hands-on, you learn something in the lecture and then you go to lab and prove to yourself that what you have learned is true and has importance in real life," she says.