5000th post with good news! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 10:10:19 am
content: It's very fitting that for my 5000th post (woohoo!), I have good news, and to an appreciable extent, EEVBlog is to thank!I was out of work for several years due to RSI problems (and pretty significant depression) and struggling to find a new career direction (leaving IT, needing to find something brainy enough for me, yet not totally computer-based like almost everything these days). During that time, I got back into my childhood hobby of electronics, which had mostly gone by the wayside when I got into computers as a teen. I read stuff, I watched Dave's (and others') videos, built up my home lab little by little, experimented and tinkered, and read and wrote on the forums. I learned a lot.Well, after several years of getting nowhere with the disability office, from whom I wanted assistance finding a new career and getting any necessary retraining, I finally got my legal insurance involved, and suddenly, things were able to happen. (Things I'd been told weren't available. Uh huh.) Once my file landed on the right desk, with a guy who knows technical jobs, I was quickly invited to do a 4-week assessment at a technical training center, to look at the two candidate fields I was interested in: industrial automation and electronics. It went well, and the result is that I've been offered, and have accepted, a 3-year apprenticeship at the training center as an electronics technician, starting in August. In the meantime, I've been working there as the assistant to the electronics instructor, working on some internal projects and helping teach/monitor the “regular” (i.e. teenage) apprentices. (The disability office will pay my wages for all of it.)So to everyone here, I say thank you! Thanks for the information, the insightful discussions, the food for thought, and for putting up with my bullheadedness. Rekindling my joy and fascination with electronics has finally given me a path forward, which in turn has also really helped me climb out of the dark hole I was in. And I don't think it would have happened if I hadn't had the videos and forum to learn from.So thanks again to everyone, I really appreciate it, and want you to know that you made a difference.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 10:16:37 am
content: Congratz ... g'luck and stay healthy.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 10:18:55 am
content: I wish you good luck and hope it all works out for you!!

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 10:42:40 am
content: Good news indeed; the first step on a long journey.I'm sure you realise this, but just as in computing knowledge can be divided into two categories: fundamental and ephemeral. The challenge is to recognise which is which, and act accordingly.The fundamentals, which can be theoretical and practical, will last you a lifetime. I'm still relying and using stuff I learned 30/40 years ago, applying it to new areas.The ephemerals, which can also be theoretical and practical, have a half life of 6 months to 3 years. It is worth avoiding learning those except where there is an immediate need.Classic fundamentals: what a compiler does and what the emitted code looks like, limits (e.g. Byzantine Generals problem, Lamport's temporal logic), the eight fallacies of distributed computing, time-frequency domain equivalence, stability criteria, metastability, schematic/PCB layout, FSMs, different design concepts and when to use/avoid them, how to design so something can be incrementally implemented and tested, and many more.Classic ephemerals: this year's favourite procedural language, yet another schematic capture and layout package, yet another opamp.Having said that, I've been very grateful that in my spare time I made sure I kept ahead of at least one strategic change. That's been invaluable when looking for mynextjob.

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 01:09:08 pm
content: Not to mention 'Language' training here, for the un-initiated !!

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 02:11:58 pm
content: Congrats tooki that's excellent news, your a great guy and it sounds like a life changing opportunity ahead of you.

author: jmelson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 03:39:45 pm
content: Wow, that sounds like a real change of fortunes, and may turn out to be an incredible adventure, where you will make great networking connections and work on interesting projects!Jon

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 07:50:19 pm
content: Congratulations and best wishes.

author: MrMetthew
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 07:53:31 pm
content: Good luck man, we make our own luck in life. And that is exactly what you are doing!! Keep going!

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 08:53:29 pm
content: Excellent to hear!I know firsthand how hard that situation is, and it really brightens my day to hear how someone has overcome the biggest hurdle – getting "back on the horse", so to speak. Thank you!

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2020, 09:28:56 pm
content: That is great news, it's a rough world out there!

author: MosherIV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2020, 12:59:22 pm
content: Congratulation.Hope your training and new career does not stop you contributing to the forum.

author: newbrain
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2020, 01:28:28 pm
content: Glad to hear this!Congratulazioni!Grattis!

author: Dave
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2020, 08:39:35 pm
content: Glad to hear you managed to turn your life around for the better. Best of luck in your new job!

author: HobGoblyn
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 08, 2020, 11:11:29 pm
content: Congratulations. I’ve appreciated the help you gave me when I was setting up my lab and I’m sure you will do very well

author: basinstreetdesign
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2020, 03:30:13 am
content: Congratulations and best wishes.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2020, 05:27:16 am
content: Thank you for the kind words, everyone! <3Quote from: GlennSprigg on July 06, 2020, 01:09:08 pmCada loco con su tema, as my mom likes to say!(And in this instance, it’s an interest I can blame her for: she’s a career language teacher. As little kids, she bought me and my sister books in English, Spanish, Italian, and French, and she’d read us any of the booksin any of those languages, translating on the fly!)Quote from: tggzzz on July 06, 2020, 10:42:40 amOh, I knowexactlywhat you are talking about. I’ve often referred to that distinction when discussing how one should (or shouldn’t) hire software developers: HR drones often want checklists of languages and technologies, but a talented developer can pick up new languages in no time. The skills of how to actually architect and write good software are unrelated to the languages used.Or how having expensive art supplies won’t make you any better an artist than you were before. (As someone who isn’t artistic in the traditional sense, I’m always amazed at how gifted artists can make great art out of anything that inspires them.)Quote from: MosherIV on July 08, 2020, 12:59:22 pmDefinitely not. I’ve actually been working there almost full-time since January, and I’m still finding time to participate.Quote from: HobGoblyn on July 08, 2020, 11:11:29 pmGlad to be of help! Has it been working out for you??

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2020, 07:13:11 am
content: Quote from: tooki on July 09, 2020, 05:27:16 amHakuna matata !

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2020, 07:44:57 am
content: Quote from: tooki on July 09, 2020, 05:27:16 amI will make a distinction between different programming paradigms, to use a word I dislike. From one procedural (or OOP or funtional) language to another is easy. From procedural to OOP or FSM or HDL is more difficult, and some people never manage it.QuoteJust so.My favourite example is the Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, who can make music with anything.I once saw him in a double-bill with another well-respected percussionist (Evelyn Glennie), and her jawliterallydropped at one point in his performance. His instrument was a pair of hands, or rather a thousand pairs of hands. All he did was to simulate the sound of a passing rain shower in the Amazon rain forest, by getting the audience to randomly clap their hands, infrequently at first, then more rapidly, then more infrequently again.

author: Fred Basset
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2020, 08:24:53 am
content: It is nice to have good news these days, well done and the very best of luck Tooki!

author: capt bullshot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2020, 11:22:04 am
content: Simply adding to the plentyness of wishing well: Congratulations, and good luck with your new career!

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2020, 11:40:21 am
content: Great news! Stay well

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2020, 01:04:48 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on July 09, 2020, 07:44:57 amWhen you get into instrumentation and automation, some of the programming lanagues are graphical such as LabVIEW and ladder logic, which can take time to adjust to.

author: MuhScopeBroke
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2020, 09:57:11 pm
content: Happy for you

author: pidcon
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2020, 07:49:18 am
content: Congratulations!

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2020, 08:27:06 am
content: Quote from: Zero999 on July 09, 2020, 01:04:48 pmTrue.I'm not familiar with either of those, but if I needed to use them I would be paying careful attention to the semantics of the diagrams, rather than the syntax. My uninformed guess would be that ladder logic is better in that respect.Other graphical languages include Harel StateCharts (and FSMs in general) which are pretty well defined, schematics which have stylistic variations but must be semantically well defined, and all the UML diagrams which are not very well defined.

author: knotlogic
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 12, 2020, 07:38:29 am
content: Congratulations tooki! All the best with the new job, and and I hope things continue to get better!

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2023, 09:58:04 pm
content: I started this thread when my apprenticeship began. Now that it’s finished, I think a big update is in order!FYI, due to my prior experience and education, I was able to skip the first year of what is normally a 4-year program, hence my being done in 3 years. (I’ll refer to my years within the program by their place in the 4-year program.) For those not familiar with the Swiss apprenticeship system: an apprentice is formally employed (and paid) by a company, and the apprentice goes to (theoretical, classroom) school 1-2 days per week, and works at the company for the balance. Additionally, specific hands-on courses must be completed at vocational training centers.As I said earlier, the apprenticeship was offered by a vocational training center itself, a place whose primary business is to conduct those hands-on courses. But they have some apprentices of their own, too. Since they aren’t a “normal” electronics business as such, their year 3 and 4 electronics apprentices are sent on internships at partner companies (often ones whose own electronics apprentices came to us to do the hands-on courses) to get more real-world experience. In year 3, I was offered a 4 month internship at a place that doesn’t normally offer them (but that had space because their own year 2 apprentice had quit): the electronics workshop of the physics department of the University of Zurich. (That’s the same physics department where Albert Einstein earned his PhD.)The internship went well and ended up getting extended to 6 months, during which time the option got floated of actually being able to transfer there formally. I finished out year 3 at the vocational training center, and then for year 4, officially became employed as an apprentice by the university. This also means that the university would be my employer of record upon graduation, and while I am deeply grateful to the training center for giving me the opportunity to climb out of that long, deep hole, the university is a more prestigious name to appear on the diploma. The internship and year 4 in the physics department were great, with me getting experience with things I’d be unlikely to encounter in most companies, like working with high voltages (up to 50kV) and currents (up to 14kA), high and ultra-high vacuum, cryogenics, radiation hardening, and very weak and/or fast signals. Lots of coaxial connectors, lots of Teflon and Kapton insulated wires and cables, lots of coaching on high-speed and low-noise PCB design, and lots of working directly with the researchers who’d be using the things to conduct experiments that mostly go way over my head.(Lemme tell you, working in the physics department was a humbling experience, as I'd never, ever, worked or studied in an environment with so many people who are so much smarter and more talented than me.)In May, while studying for finals, I was also starting to look around for a job for once I finished. As the physics department’s electronics workshop had no openings, there was no possibility to stay on there. But as it turned out, the chemistry department’s electronics technician had left a few months prior, and they were about to begin searching for one.Well, it all worked out and in June, I passed my final exams and was granted the diploma as a (Swiss) federally certified electronics technician, and as of this month (after taking a long-overdue vacation to visit USA) I am the new electronics technician for the University of Zurich’s Department of Chemistry, where I’m in charge of supporting the entire department’s electronics needs. This job is a mix of creating new setups for research projects (a lot of lab automation, but also some custom circuit design), modifying and maintaining existing setups, and of repairing and maintaining commercial lab equipment of all sorts. (The chemistry department conducts hands-on labs for large numbers of beginning chemistry and premed students, so there are huge numbers of gadgets that need to be working at the beginning of the semester, so I’ve been busy with that at the moment.) The electronics workshop (crappy shaky panorama attached) is within the mechanical workshop, so I’m working alongside several machinists who do all the non-electronics side of the aforementioned setups and repairs, which I am also enjoying since I like that stuff, too.I couldn’t be more delighted with this outcome, since I know I enjoy working in academia, and permanent positions at the university are apparently quite sought-after.So to everyone here who’s ever interacted with me, be it to answer my questions, challenge my mistakes, give me things to think about or interesting ideas to research, or whatever else, I extend my sincerest thanks for helping me on this journey! I’ve learned so much here, both from interacting and from reading others’ discussions, that I honestly don’t think I’d be where I am today if it hadn’t been for this forum. Thank you.🙏

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2023, 10:02:28 pm
content: Congratulations!

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2023, 11:45:55 pm
content: So good to hear that!And well deserved because you worked hard and was rewarded for the effort!Wish you best luck!Siniša

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 12:15:01 am
content: Well done on completing your training and diploma, plus landing the new position at the same time! Sounds like the right place/environment if you wish to further your studies, which is huge bonus imo.

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 12:39:43 am
content: Well done, congratsBest,

author: Smoky
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 12:42:15 am
content: Wow, that sounds like you're setting off into a wonderful future

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 01:13:04 am
content: I had a similar job at a research institute a long time ago. Lots of interesting stuff to work on for sure! Maybe working at CERN is next at some point

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 04:08:52 am
content: Best of luck.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 07:23:27 am
content: Brilliant, congratulations! The academic environment should present you with a broad variety of projects, contact with bright people from a different discipline, and maybe the opportunity to become involved with teaching (lab courses) yourself at some point? Communication is obviously a strength of yours, so I am sure you will be doing great in intercating with your internal "customers", and would be a great teacher.May I remark that your timing is slightly off -- shouldn't this have been your 10000th post?

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 10:22:05 am
content: Quote from: ebastler on September 24, 2023, 07:23:27 amWhat's a few hundred ppm here or there?Congratulations tooki!

author: JohanH
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 10:59:00 am
content: That's so nice. Congratulations!

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 01:23:11 pm
content: Congratulations!News such as this is always uplifting.

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 06:33:53 pm
content: TOOKI:Many congratulations !I had wished to ask about details, how you were getting through that period of time, but re-reading your intro helped define that, as to what income source (to rely on), uncovers a while fundamental difference, with the U.S. disability. Here it seems you just get a 'stipend' for living, and no real presence of re-training programs. Maybe that's changed in 39 years, I don't know.In the U.S. they (Disability office) would very likely send you off into depression treatment land, an appalling 'system' centered around the medications. Sorry to be cynical about SSDI here, but first off specialist wasn't, em er, uh, wasn't shall we say 'truth-full', in his report. Have me the impression that system wasn't necessarilly geared towards the client's needs.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2023, 11:59:55 pm
content: Well, let’s just say that I have a number of, um, choice words I could say about the Swiss disability office, as well as specifically about the case worker I had been assigned, who did things thatactivelyand maliciously aggravated my anxiety. As I wrote in the first post, it took getting a lawyer involved to get them to actually do what the law said they were supposed to do. As soon as the lawyer got involved, things finally moved in the right direction. (What’s perplexing is that doing this resulted in exactly the outcome they want, too: to get someone back on their feet, rather than have them end up on permanent disability or welfare. I wonder how many welfare recipients are in that situation precisely because the disability office reneged on its duties, ultimately costing the taxpayermorein the long run.)

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2023, 12:08:14 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on September 24, 2023, 01:13:04 amHeh, my former supervisor at the physics department is actually designing PCBs for CERN, for thenext-generationCMSdetector in the LHC. (I actually did some soldering on a few early prototype boards, which are very large flex PCBs that route power and signals to the actual sensor boards and to the media converters that will convert the copper to fiber optic cables, due to both the staggering data rates involved as well as the need to minimize the amount of metal within the CMS as much as possible.)

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2023, 12:34:49 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on September 24, 2023, 01:13:04 amActually, come to think of it, a bunch of PCBs I laid out (and many of which I assembled) are actually at CERN now. (They’re high-speed amplifiers for silicon radiation detectors, 4GHz bandwidth.) The circuit design was done by the PhD student himself, and we collaborated on the mechanical design, but his PCB layouts didn’t work due to oscillation, so I redid them. Here’s the4-channel versionin action:A16-channel versionwas the very last project I did at the physics department, and that board (with a mechanical design entirely my own) is now down at CERN, too. (The PhD student laid out the mating carrier boards himself. Board assembly was done by others, since I’d already finished by then.)

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2023, 12:42:38 am
content: I think this is also the 4ch version:

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2023, 06:41:51 am
content: I'm very happy for you, tooki. Yes, we often disagree, but I think that's a positive: it keeps my mind open to new views and possibilities.The work will be interesting, especially if you get to talk with the researchers before they make component choices, as you will get to help them makebetterstuff.I'm also envious. Something like that, but on the software/server-side/embedded/systems integration, would be my own choice. But, I've had it very difficult to get any kind of assistance here, and have basically stalled on any kind of progress for the last five years. On one hand, it is heart-warming to hear someone else has managed to get back to doing useful things! On the other hand, I feel even more like a failure myself: perhaps I just haven't tried enough, spent enough effort...In any case, I know the work and effort and tenacity that this has taken, tooki, and I definitely admire it. Well done; and keep up the good work!

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2023, 10:34:29 am
content: Quote from: Zero999 on July 09, 2020, 01:04:48 pmThe COBOL of EE, except COBOL suits its niche better. FSMs and ladder logic are not a match made in heaven.Either way, still a market for programmers.

author: aeberbach
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2023, 09:57:30 pm
content: Congratulations Tooki! This is a great story and shows it's never too late. I have often described my dream job as something like what you have; find solutions to varied problems in a well-equipped place full of smart people on an unlimited budget. Perhaps you don't quite have the last part

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2023, 10:38:46 pm
content: Yeah thats a nice looking lab and board.I applied to the local CERN equivalent here some years ago, no luck though.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2023, 05:55:21 pm
content: Congratulations, tooki! I didn't see the original post but I would have wished you the best of luck then as I am doing it right now.I know we don't see things eye to eye at times and have our skirmishes here and there, but I genuinely am happy for the great outcome that came out of your own effort and ability to overcome any barriers. The possibilities are limitless.(As for a neverending battle to get the public entities to do their job, I have many stories as well. When dealing with some of these services, either you become the annoying person or you succumb to their bureaucracy and total lack of empathy and rational thinking).