is design engineer profile interesting

[erece]

i am an undergraduate student and undergoing internship in vlsi design. I am not getting any benefit from internship in terms of learning things in vlsi design. The only task i am assigned is to study the manual for ic design tool. All this i have to do on my own . Though the ic design tool is provided at the training site but my trainee do not teaches. He will clarify my doubts, but this whole thing of studying the manual to learn the design tool is too boring. So, i just want to know that is this the work people do in this industry like studying the manuals initially without any specialized training or i am not being provided the right training. I want to do the work which requires logical thinking.
Please help

 

[D.A.(Tony)Stewart]

If you start simple and follow cookbook and "handbook" designs and have a passion for learning how to improve a design, then understanding all the component non-ideal characteristics of passive and active parts is essential. If you prefer the logic of Finite State Machines or programmable logic and uC, there is a wealth of complex logical designs to make simple cheap solutions.
I have enjoyed many different facets of design from designing radios, UARTs, SCADA controllers, telecom T1 test sets, HDD test equipment, world's smallest TV monitor etc etc from the 70's thru to 2002 then designed for other companies on contract. It is best to learn by reverse-engineering proven designs, then learn the process. A keen eye for hidden features to make it reliable, realizable and cost-effective, quickly with high customer-satisfaction are almost impossible to say in the same sentence. These trade-offs are what makes it interesting for me.

But if you want to get rich, get experience then become self-employed, if you can afford the tools.

 

[checkmate]

If you feel that learning a new tool is boring, then there are many more stuffs in a design engineer's job that is way worse.

And to answer your question, I was never sent for any professional courses to learn the tools that I use, with one exception, and that I was already relatively well-versed in that tool then, so it was just an excuse to get away from the many more mundane tasks that I had on hand.

Furthermore, RTFM is the most effective way to learn the tool. A lot of experienced design engineers with lotsa things on their hands absolutely dread classroom teaching experiences which are time consuming and ineffective. Nothing beats getting your hands dirty.