Did your Hobby go Bye Bye with Uni? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: @rt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 08:05:22 am
content: Because I pushed the button and that’s my greatest fear, and lament right now.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 08:20:26 am
content: Quite the opposite. I gained knowledge to hobby even better. Also, Uni does not consume 100% of the time. That would be horrible.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 08:33:29 am
content: No, it won't, therefore I'm an EEE.

author: Rbastler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 10:32:22 am
content: Nope. It even gained a major boost, since I`m studying EE. I learnd lots of things that I now can put into my projects. Plus I already know that I want to do my master in microelectronics and circuit designAnd I also got a lot more room for my lab now ^^Edit: Find a way so that uni doesn't consume all your time. Don't try to finish in the lowest amount pf time possible. That also prevents you from getting crazy... And don't try to look to hard a good grades.

author: Neganur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 10:46:42 am
content: If you have to work while studying to pay the rent etc, then yeah pretty much no time for hobby for a while.

author: medical-nerd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 02:17:54 pm
content: Definitely in my case.6 years of medical school, 11 years travelling around the country training and doing postgraduate exams - marriage, kids etc.Only now am I seriously returning to my hobby, so definitely biased to 80's and 90's tech, catching up on all those missed years.Cheers

author: NivagSwerdna
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 02:55:29 pm
content: Quote from: @rt on February 17, 2018, 08:05:22 amObviously depends which establishment you go to but in my experience being friendly to a department will get you access and if not many places now have maker spaces.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 02:56:46 pm
content: Quote from: Neganur on February 17, 2018, 10:46:42 amThis was my experience.But once the education was finished and life settled down (stable income, no longer moving every 6 - 12mo., ...), I got back into it.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 03:10:01 pm
content: I've studied my hobbiesThe EE field I had chosen included three of my hobbies.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 04:48:41 pm
content: Quote from: @rt on February 17, 2018, 08:05:22 amIt depends on how much effort you need to put into your study. I recommend to put the study (homework) first. I did not do that and I had to catch some things up later on.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 06:03:43 pm
content: If you love your hobby and make it your career path, uni and later work will just mean you are doing what you love all the time, and with justification that most of the world can understand.The only danger is that your hobby is something you like in small doses, and that heavy immersion will poison it for you. It does happen, but I can't say what percentage succumb to this.Of course, as others have said, if your education and career are different than your hobby you will likely be too busy to participate for a few years. One of my hobbies as a teen was model airplanes. That hobby got set aside in uni, and didn't return for more than four decades.

author: rhb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 06:55:59 pm
content: I spent more time on electronics as a grad student than afterwards. I'm only now getting to the level of what I was doing then. Of course, a much more sophisticated level as there are lots of things I learned in the intervening 30 years that are applicable. And lots of really cool devices.However, I *did* sleep less back then.

author: @rt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 07:28:01 pm
content: It is EE aligned with hobby.Nevertheless, I have doubts I control the syllabus such as happens with my hobbyHopefully it’s genuinely interesting enough it’s distracting from it naturally.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 07:46:01 pm
content: Quote from: medical-nerd on February 17, 2018, 02:17:54 pm+1!

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2018, 08:24:42 pm
content: Yes, before university I was a full on nerd, and looking back I wasn’t half bad as a largely self-taught geek in electronics and computers, I was part of the homebrew age of the late 70s. When I went to university, engineering became an afterthought, I discovered booze and women.After university, though I went straight into work, over 30 years later, I am still learning about engineering, booze and women. I feel I’m getting to grips with the engineering and booze, but still struggle on that last one, and I am sure my OH would agree.Jokes aside, I feel that university is very different to what it was all those years ago, certainly in the UK where it higher education is now a very significant long term personal financial commitment, which it wasn’t in my day. I am not so sure the fun times are as fun anymore, but ISTBC.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 12:13:54 am
content: Quote from: CatalinaWOW on February 17, 2018, 06:03:43 pm+1, this is crucial one, to honest, its not easy.Glad I did fully aware, that my hobby was not enough doses to do the full immersion back then, can't imagine my life if I did that.

author: rhb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2018, 12:58:14 am
content: Work is something you have to do on someone else's schedule. A hobby is something you can stop doing when you want because you control the schedule. The hobby also lets youf fail or quit without consequences if you keep the right attitude to wards your hobbies.For an EE the hobby side can be very valuable for skills enhancement. It's a venue for poking into places that they won't let you at work.If you're not spending 4 hours each week learning something that might be useful to you at work you deserve the layoff that is headed your way. I worked in a number of oil industry R&D labs and was utterly amazed at the number of PhDs who would not read a work related book unless the company bought the book and paid them to read it. I also watched a bunch of them leave the building for the last time.As I am not an EE, but a seismologist, I bought books and computers. Only now in retirement am I buying T & M toys.If you're not willing to spend your money and your time improving your skills why should anyone else want to do that?