How to get into analog circuit design

[danieloxi49]

Hey all, it was music/audio that got me into ECE and I've done a ton of independent projects/study, but I would love to work my way into the industry professionally.
A little background:

• A.S. in EET (electronics tech) completed
• B.S. in ECE (three semesters left)
• Currently doing a co-op in broadcast engineering (radio)
• Currently in Columbus, OH, with my family in Pittsburgh, PA

This co-op is great because I'm developing my understanding of various systems (audio, RF, power, IT, etc.) but I really want to do more circuit design. My employer has a 2 year development program (after graduation) that would place me as a radio market engineering manager which would be cool because of all the travel I would do and it would sort of be a fast track in the industry, but I feel like I would hate to leave circuit design as a hobby instead of building my career on it.
Anyone have any advice on how to get into that industry? What kind of company to look out for, how to snag an internship or a permanent position after graduation? My dream job would be working for a company like Roland who makes electronic musical instruments and amplifiers and such, but I am certainly open to other industries that still utilize a lot of analog circuit design. I am not against DSP but I also don't have any experience with it yet.

 

[barry]

i Would suggest you take some courses in analog circuit design. With only a few semesters left, that doesn’t give you a lot of options. Analog is a pretty broad term, but if you’re particularly interested in working in the music field (where I worked for a number of years) you WILL need to get some knowledge on DSP, filters, amplifiers, etc. You will need to learn the fundamentals of circuit analysis: loop and mesh analysis, Laplace transforms, etc.
As far as getting into a MI(musical instrument) company, you’ll need to have some skills they want. there are a number of large MI companies and some smaller ones In the US. Just find out who they are; look through music magazines, for example.

 

[BradtheRad]

In a radio station I imagine you'd have opportunities to maintain and build and test and repair equipment.

* Transmitter circuitry and wiring, indoors, outdoors.

* Power conversion and distribution, low voltage, high voltage.

* Audio mics, cables, amplifiers, speakers. Recording and playback equipment. Connection and communication with computers.

* Possibly television and/or security cameras.

 

[BigBoss]

Do not think to become Analog Designer because it's already dead..New World Order is Entirely Digital..

 

[barry]

Do not think to become Analog Designer because it's already dead..New World Order is Entirely Digital..

Ridiculous. Just nonsense.

Everything is analog. If you dont know anything about the analog nature of the signals on a Pcb, you’re in trouble. How do YOU handle a Signal from a transducer, do you just connect it to a flip flop? How do you amplify the sound to fill a stadium, connect it to the output of a NAND gate? How does YOUR radar transmitter work?

 

[crutschow]

Do not think to become Analog Designer because it's already dead..New World Order is Entirely Digital.

Digital is just a subset of analog.
Who do you think designs the analog to digital converters that convert all those analog signals before they become digital?
Show me a transducer that generates a digital signal without an A/D converter.

Starting jobs in analog design are likely more available in large companies that are involved in doing analog design (at least in part), since they are likely to have a larger number of engineers in design, thus having some room for hiring inexperienced engineers.
Small companies have fewer engineers and are more likely to prefer experienced engineers for the ones they hire.

 

[BigBoss]

OK, the Nature is analog but only and only Input and Output Nodes are Analog.
The rest ?? All Digital..
Today either video or sound or anything is converted into Digital in order to process them, right ??
Sound is amplified in digital manner .. Class-D is Digital too..Yes, this is right.
Video ??? It's all digital.From CMOS sensors to displays..
RF ? Just PA's are analog also Front-Ends.. The rest ?? They are all digital. FPGAs.DSPs, even A/D-D/A Converters are Digital..
In my humble opinion, there is no logical reason to work on analog devices anymore because they have already been perfected and there will never be a revolutionary step in this era.
30 years ago, there were -maybe- hundred of thousands Analog IC, Discrete Transistors,Diodes, etc.. Where they are now ??

 

[crutschow]

30 years ago, there were -maybe- hundred of thousands Analog IC, Discrete Transistors,Diodes, etc.. Where they are now ??

Look at Texas Instruments analog catalog, and the sales of Analog Devices corporation (AD's third quarter report said "Revenue of $1.46 billion increased 11% sequentially, led by growth in the communications and industrial markets") .
Someone is buying all those analog devices.

 

[BigBoss]

Analog Devices is not a Purely Analog Manufacturer anymore, instead it's a Mixed Signal IC Manufacturer.
Their revenue is mostly coming from ADC/DAC and other Mixed Signal Devices such as DSP and Power Management.

 

[KlausST]

Hi,

Most arguments can be turned around:
* The rest ?? All Digital..--> all analog
* From CMOS sensors to displays.. --> CMOS sensors are analog
* even A/D-D/A Converters are Digital.. --> even A/D-D/A Converters are analog..
* Analog Devices is not a Purely Analog Manufacturer --> Analog Devices is not a Purely digital Manufacturer

Analog and digital coexist
Digital grew more than analog but it can't replace analog. And most digital systems are based on analog circuits and parameters.

Analog will be active for a long time. Indeed most engineers focus on digital systems...and the CEO of a big automotive supplier company told me that there currently is a lack of good analog engineers.

Good engineers are wanted. Digital and analog.

Klaus

 

[barry]

Big Boss, this is just infuriatingly naive. Class D amplifiers are NOT DIGITAL AMPLIFIERS, nor are their outputs connected through digital filters to digital speakers. Apparently, you dont know how CMOS sensors work either if you insist they are strictly digital. And ONLY the PA and front end of RF is analog? That sounds like a lot of analog to me.

 

[sutapanaki]

Here is a question. What is more in a digital smart phone - analog or digital? Just a teaser.

 

[d123]

Hi,

Here is a question. What is more in a digital smart phone - analog or digital? Just a teaser.

I think the answer to what there's most of on any digital phone is endless unused and unwelcome Google products.

 

[sutapanaki]

Hi,



I think the answer to what there's most of on any digital phone is endless unused and unwelcome Google products.

Or maybe Apple products ?

 

[schmitt trigger]

As Klaus mentioned, digital and analog coexist.
Happily, I should add. It is a very symbiotic relationship.