Looking for advice,is devry any good? i wanna be a tech

[shogun1]

I am interested in being an electronic technician,i figured the best way to figure out which direction to go in would be to ask you guys since you guys are all techs or engineers.are all techs created equal? are there more then 1 different type of tech,which ones are better,what are the advantages of being one type of tech over another,considering going to devry to take there program,are they respected?

 

[JimB]

1 There are many flavours of electronics technician.
2 Some jobs are good some jobs are not very good.
3 I have no idea what "devry" is. You may want to explain.
4 I assume that English is your first language, the best advice I can give is that you learn to write (and by inference speak) it correctly.
I would not give a technician job to someone who demonstrates such a poor command of the language.

JimB

 

[mstechca]

I think devry is a college they once advertised on T.V.

 

[DigiTan]

They still do. When I was a tech at Raven GPS, and some of our best RF guys were quick to credit it for being a great school. After touring thier Irving campus, it was clear they're a lot more hands-ons, than the state universities. They're program's exanded a lot since then, so I can't offer more advice; other than it's worth looking into.

 

[mramos1]

I know of no one from devry. But I can tell you, it is how well you learn the material, how good the material is and how good the instructor is that will
get you there easier.

So if you really want to be a tech, a tech school or college will work for you.

It more so boils down to you and your wants..

 

[shogun1]

Why would you waste your time replying to a message if you have nothing to offer oracle? I really dont want a guy from scotlands advice anyway.Devry is a tech school like everyone seems to know other then you.I also asked what are the different types of techs and you replied "there are many different types of techs,some good,some not so good" wtf is that? By this post i take it there is only one type of tech since nobody can explain the difference between one kind and another.Thanks for the help,i figured a 4 year college is a ripoff since you have to pay them for classes you dont need in this field.But theres a sucker born everyday i guess

 

[Optikon]

Why would you waste your time replying to a message if you have nothing to offer oracle? I really dont want a guy from scotlands advice anyway.Devry is a tech school like everyone seems to know other then you.I also asked what are the different types of techs and you replied "there are many different types of techs,some good,some not so good" wtf is that? By this post i take it there is only one type of tech since nobody can explain the difference between one kind and another.Thanks for the help,i figured a 4 year college is a ripoff since you have to pay them for classes you dont need in this field.But theres a sucker born everyday i guess

Shogun1,

So Jim hasn't heard of Devry.. I bet nobody has heard of the school he attended.. it's not relevant to your questions.

Do not be so quick to discount a 4 year program. That's 4 years of learning! A technician schooled for 4 years will invariably be much more qualified than one schooled for 1 or 2 in my opinion. Even though much of the coursework is not directly related to the field of interest - it makes them a much more educated person overall which has VALUE. Yes, it depends on the program, instructors, labs etc.. etc.. but more time in school will always be better.

I have yet to meet a "sucker" that went through a 4 year program and regrets it.

 

[JimB]

Why would you waste your time replying to a message if you have nothing to offer oracle? I really dont want a guy from scotlands advice anyway.Devry is a tech school like everyone seems to know other then you.

I do have something to offer, improve your written English, it is difficult to read without correct punctuation and spelling.

You know that I am in Scotland because I took the time to fill in the information, you did not so your location was unknown to me.
For all I knew you are in Outer Mongolia and "devry" is the local yak herder.

Good luck in your future studies, you will need it.

JimB

 

[mramos1]

BTW: I mentioned I know of no one from Devry, but I know of the school, it is big in Florida.

Also, you mentioned you wanted to be a tech, that is why I said tech school is fine. To become an engineer, it is a lot easier to do the college route. You can be awared by your company the title, but it will be school of hard knocks for sure. And you will have to prove yourself each time you start at a new company.

 

[kjennejohn]

Shogun1, there are different levels of technicians, and...

different ways to get the experience and skills. You can even be a really good tech without schooling, largely based on self teaching, but you'll always be operating at a disadvantage for compensation and job security.

- QA Technician. Largely spends his/her time at a bench testing new and repaired equipment. Works with the same equipment, all the time. Usually works from a check list. May work with the lead tech or engineer to develop the test methods and documentation to be used later during full production.
Relevant training is learning proper operation of typical bench equipment, like meters, analyzers, DMMs, oscilloscopes, etc. Some small knowlege of DC and AC theory helps. Most people get this in the military. Some community colleges here in California used to offer these classes, but thanks to improved designing for automated testing this is largely done on ATE machines now. Pay is minimal, benefits rare, job security nada.

- Bench Technician. Still mostly works at a bench, using a wide assortment of equipment and processes. Works from schematics and procedures documentation. The better techs can troubleshoot down to the component level. This is prefered, as the engineer is freed up to do bigger things than find assembly errors. It is a rare bench tech who can't do his own rework and change out the bad parts he/she finds. Still, most manufacturing sites have people dedicated to doing just that. The technician has better stuff to do, too.
After several years, most bench techs find themselves working on other projects. They help the engineers build prototype circuits; inspect new designs for possible problems; evaluate OEM equipment for use in company products; maintain, inspect, monitor and repair inhouse equipment; they get to advise, sometimes even write, diagnostic code to facilitate the test and repair of product. And answer phones, change toner cartridges, refill the towel dispensers, and whatever else arises.
This calls for at least two years of school to obtain a certificate of competence. Several years doing electronic work in the military is usually counted to be equivalent. An AS (Associates in Arts) in Electronics may, or may not, take more time, but is worth the effort.The compensation is better, but more importantly, the title-happy people in the Human Resources Office are more likely to give you the thumbs up and pass you on to the inner circle for an interview if you have an AS degree in hand. An AS degree is also more expensive. DeVry is a private school that stresses quick education, so you can get a degree faster, but they are (I'm told) pretty expensive. They have a decent reputation, but I worked with one of their graduates who couldn't be trusted to change a light bulb.

- Engineering Technician. Sometimes called an "Engineers' Aide". Some people pick up so much knowledege along the way, and work with the engineers so well, they just fall into the job. You may not have the title, but you have the responsibility, prestige and compensation to show for it. There are higher level colleges that offer this as an "upgrade" for technicians with an AS and two or more years in their field. This may take 2 or 3 semesters. You get into heavy duty math and software languages, a lot of these classes approaching engineering classes.
After graduation ETs can do most anything the engineer does, with a little supervision. But their previous years as a technician with their latest training makes them a highly prized worker, as a technician has practical hands on experience and has a good understanding of what works and what doesn't. He isn't so much a brake on the engineer as he/she is a regulator that keeps the green engineer from going off on unproductive flights of fancy.

The last two categories for technician are further defined by the field they specialize in:
- video
- radar
- audio
- microwave
- special military equipment, like cryptography machines
- digital boards, like embedded processors
- high speed analog (usually measuring systems) not covered in the above
- etc.

A great many fields can only be learned and practiced in the military. The downside is, most of the equipment is unknown in the civilian world or is used in such a manner as to be unrecognizable to a retiring military tech.

(I worked on ejection seats. I was greatly sought after to stay on in the US Air Force, and offered a great deal of money to reenlist. I got out at the end of my first hitch to avoid another tour in Viet Nam. But I had this training, so I asked: can I get a job outside in the US aerospace industry? I was told there was 28 positions for pyro technicians in the entire country, and none of the training I had received was relevant. And this, unfortunately, is largely true in all fields in the military. Except for basic electronics. This can be applied most anywhere.)

And then there's the field engineer (like the cable guy), and hygeine techs (janitors), and blood draw technician (phlebotomist, the guy in the hospital lab that takes blood samples), and the rest of the working world that gets "technician" in their title in lieu of a decent salary.

- Engineers. These people generally fall into two large groups: electrical and electronics. And like the technician above, they are further divided into the fields they work in.
It takes 3 to 4 years of intense study in electronics, physics, math, computer aided design work (CAD, schematics capture, board layout, circuits modeling), software programming, and the list goes on. It is, I'm told, a real grind. This judgement is usually supplied by the engineer just before he hops into his Jaguar to roar off for drinks with his cronies, followed by a night of debauchery (the young ones, anyways). They are greatly sought after, and wooed mightily by the industry, offered large salaries and many benefits. Once hired, they are worked like dogs. But, most of these people are young and love their job, and want and NEED a real challenge to show their stuff, so they deal with the pressure and thrive. Mostly. Some crack under the pressure and drag from job to job, looking for easy meals.

Problem: Engineers are the tip of the spear.
Management expects them to improve existing product, design bleeding edge technology to advance the company's product line and bestow bragging rights on them. And do it cheap.
The technicians expect them to provide diagnostics and documentation that allows them to test, troubleshoot and repair the product. At no matter the cost. Now.
The assembler wants them to drop everything and figure why the assembly process is failing.
The suppliers want them to come up with a substitute part THEY carry because the original part the engineer specified isn't on the shelf right now, and won't be for 34 weeks.
The manuafacturer just obsoleted the part that was the center piece in the design. Now the engineer has to find a substitute or adapt the board to use the next best thing. Which may or may not work.
And each engineer is competing with the other engineers, looking for advancement.

There is a real demand for graduating technicians. New, young technicians. People who will work cheap and put up with long hours at small wages to get the two years in that most of the bigger companies want to see on your resume before they'll let you in.
It is a rewarding, worthwhile job if you are ready to pay the price. You can only hope after the schooling that the jobs are there and that you discover you really did want to do electronic work. I wish you the best of luck.

kenjj
PS Does my Englilsh pass muster with you?

 

[shogun1]

Thank you for the detailed reply,i really did learn alot from that.Props to you

 

[Christophersocal]

DeVry University Evaluation. Current ECT Senior.

I am a fith trimester senior at DeVry here in Long Beach, California..I decided on going to DeVry after a detailed search about their accreditation, cost,the background of the professors that taught there..ie..a 15 year engineering work history or a english teacher that was hired to teach a embedded microprocessor class..lol..
1:The school is very costly...about 21,000 a year..3 trimesters..
2:The classes are full on hard coreand the professors know the subject..Most are engineers for the electronics classes.. the math,english,the networking "cisco"..are Masters or Phd's....
4: You are treated like a person they know your name and they will chew your ass if you screw up..lol..
5; Takes alot of work..trust me..I have one last tri to go I grad in sept..and so far this dummy is carrying a full load..16-19 units..and so far been blessed with a 4.0 GPA..
6: There is so much more to the school that just makes you aware, that they want you to do your best ever and if you are serious you'll have a job,,a good job with thier help and all the company reps that interview you even before you grad..alot are pre hired...
But some things suck too..like not having a life due to being so busy..
I'm done..Hope this helped..
Chris

 

[k7elp60]

Electronics Technician

I have been in the electronics industry for approaching 50 years. I have held jobs a an electronics technician where my duties included maintenace and repair. I have also held jobs where I was a design engineer and a project manager.

I feel that a good education is valuable. I mean a good education is one that you not only learn electronics, but you learn communication skills, both speaking and writing as well as how to manage people and projects.

 

[dknguyen]

Devry costs $21k a year?!! That's way 3-4x more expensive than the University of Alberta. I though you couldn't an Engineering degree from Devry since its not a 4 year program (to my knowledge). Why does it cost so much? Don't you mean $21k total?

 

[BeeBop]

Hey, dk,
You are (were) at the Ew of Eh, I'm assuming EE, right? How much math in the program? How much experience did they give you with micros, and which architectures?
I always walked past the shops when I was at U of A, but was in another program, and was always curious about the EE programs there.
Regards,
Robert

 

[dknguyen]

Ew of Eh? Yeah, I'm an EE. There is a ridiculous amount of math in the program. Its everywhere. A RIDICULOUS amount. There is sooo much math its crazy. Ive heard we take more math than anyone else except the math students...I haven't seen anything to go against that yet.

I am just entering 4rth year when all the technical electives kick in so we haven't "delved" into micros or anything specific yet like microcontroller architecture. As far as physical devices. it's been the basic building blocks so far: digital logic basics and basic digital and analog circuit building blocks so far. You know, amplifiers, filters, adders, shifters, logic gates and memory and so on. The rest is signal processing, electromagnetics, theory stuff.

A lot of the stuff we have been working on is discrete component stuff that seems to be more geared towards VLSI, but that stuff is applicable to PCB-level stuff too. As far as working with prefabricated commercial ICs: none of that. I assume its because every IC is different and if you know the basics and read the manuals you can figure it out. We haven't touched in implementing specific MCUs on PCBs if that's what you are asking about. You kind of got to read the manuals and work your way up since every chip is different so it doesn't seem like its something they teach. They expect you to put it all together with what you've learned in class and from the device manual.

What program were you in?

EDIT: haha, i got it. Ew of Eh. Had to say it aloud instead of of reading it as an abbreviation for something.

 

[BeeBop]

Hello,
Thanks for the answer; it confirms my greatest fears. (It has been many years since math 31!) I'm just wondering if I want to do another degree, lol. Electronics has been part of my life since sixth or seventh grade. So far, my love for it hasn't been dampened by university.

I thought 'ew of eh' was common knowlege around campus.

Don't laugh when I tell you, OK? I got a Masters of F.A. It means fine art, but it may as well be f*** all. That's why I'm in Asia, teaching English. LOL The up side of that are all the electronics suppliers, bunched up in a couple of very large areas here. It is going to make me sad to leave here.

Regards,
Robert

 

[dknguyen]

Yeah, its a serious load of math. I mean...calculus, linear algebra , complex numbers, fourier stuff is all kind of expected...at least somewhat...maybe it's just me because I have been around it for a while. But the stuff that pops up in control systems...who even knew that kind of math existed?! lol

But yeah, its quite step up from Math 31. Very interesting stuff. Using reducing matrixes to solve several equations at the same time, cross and dot products, working with functions in the frequency domain (as opposed to working with functions that are graped with respect to time). You might want to take a look at it if you haven't already...you might want to stay away from the control systems stuff ...seriously gnarly stuff haha.

What are you fine arts in? I'd love to have more time to practice music...

 

[BeeBop]

Hi again,
(I hope we aren't in ka ka for hijacking this thread!)
That is what scares me! There would be some review time, just to get my head back into it. I think for the first couple of years it would be all math, and I'd be distracted by my other interests!
You were smart to do the degree in something 'practical,' and keep the music for 'yourself.' You will get time later, to play. What do you play? What kind of music are you interested in?
My degree was in painting, but I haven't done much for the last couple of years. I did some backdrops for some plays my kids did, the first year I was here, that was about four or five years ago, now. (God, time flies!) The regard for arts here, is even worse than in my own country; they are something which you do not take seriously because there is no money in them. Interestingly, most Korean kids study some form of music (usually classical piano,) as well as some form of martial arts, and English, and many other things. They don't get any free time, though!
Perhaps I'll do something visual with micros and leds, that sort of thing is very popular here. Some of the huge LCD screens are amazing. At some point, I'll get some photos of those, and of the electronics markets up, somewhere.
Best wishes,
Robert

 

[dknguyen]

I'll try and keep this hijacking to a minimum. I play Violin- classical. I heard that music is taken very seriously over there because classes are expensive and its very prestigous.