UK(Scotland) EE college question/advice  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Supernaut
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2025, 09:13:10 pm
content: Hello everyone,I was curious to get some input on HNC and HND level college degree's in the UK, im a college educated vehicle mechanic with over 10 years experience in the field, I was very fortunate to have good tutors in college and they made sure we learned a decent bit about electronics.In 2020 i decided to leave the automotive field due to poor pay and usually poor working conditions, i started doing restoration work on a whole host of items which i would buy and sell for profit. I do this at a hobby level although the deeper i dig the more i feel i should maybe go back to college briefly to brush up on my electronics knowledge. As it stands, im capable of basic servicing and diagnostic work on solid state amplifiers, valve amplifiers, 9v effects pedals for guitars and ive recently started getting in to restoring old lamps among other things.With regards to servicing amplifiers and effects pedals, its a fairly straight forward process that involves mostly remove and replace types of work, nothing overly technical as im not designing anything or building from scratch. Most times it involves transistor replacement, new wires, new switches, plugs or pots, new caps or sometimes a full recap depending on the unit in question.Im wondering what advice someone would give to a mechanic with reasonable electronics knowledge who is looking to improve his skillset, unless im working on a valve amp (which is for my own use and usually not for sale) then im typically dealing with 240v maximum, although this is usually stepped down to 50 volts or less in most of the things i work on.My current qualification is IMI Level 3 Light Goods Vehicle Service and Repair and I also have further certification in Hybrid and EV technology.Any input would be appreciated.

author: PGPG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2025, 12:44:46 am
content: I have learned a lot from articles I have linked here:https://forum.kicad.info/t/decoupling-capacitor-via-placement/25132/14https://forum.kicad.info/t/decoupling-capacitor-via-placement/25132/19This is not knowledge needed for repairing electronic but for designing, but "knowledge is never enough"

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2025, 01:19:03 am
content: Simon (moderator) has recently gone through a similar exercise of studying for a college level qualification in electronics, although the way he related that experience it was not altogether positive. I think his main concern was how the material was delivered and taught.What you should probably be aware of is that there will be a significant mathematical content to such courses. The material will be more theoretical than practical, and you will need to have some comfort and ability up to A-level mathematics to make it through, or be able to study up to that level (this may apply more to HND than HNC, I am not sure).

author: seanf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2025, 12:57:19 pm
content: EKGTA in East Kilbride might be a place to look at. Their more kitted out for mechanical stuff, but they may be able to do a practical electronics course bespoke to you. Not sure what depth they would be able to go to though.Found these useful as a starting point,www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/experiments/Then went on to books. AoE, LTAoE and Principles of Power Electronics. Not maths heavy and seem to have good info.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2025, 01:04:42 pm
content: might be worth doing a pat course,yea its a total con,but if something goes wrong you can at least show you have the relevant bit of paper as proof your supposedly competent in ensuring the repaired device was safe to use when it left you

author: Terry Bites
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2025, 06:13:37 pm
content: www.totaljobs.com/jobs/electronic-technician/in-scotlandand other similar sites. Put up your profile on Linkedin.For HNC/HND you will need an ONC or A levels.

author: voltsandjolts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 03, 2025, 06:32:06 pm
content: OP seems to have good work experience, is pro-active and keen to learn. These characteristics are appreciated by employers, and if you can find a half-decent one, they may sponsor you to go to college one day a week for a year, to perhaps gain a HNC or such like. Get paid to learn, and use your colleagues to help with aspects of the course when you need guidance. Your electromechanical skills would be appreciated in, say, robotics, UAV, underwater ROV (see Fugro etc).e.g.https://www.fugro.com/careershttps://www.fugro.com/expertise/other-expertise/fugro-academy-training-centrehttps://www.expro.com/careershttps://www.oceaneering.com/rov-services/https://www.rovop.com/

author: Supernaut
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2025, 09:46:16 pm
content: Quote from: PGPG on May 03, 2025, 12:44:46 amPCB design is something im actually interested in, even making my own PCB's using the etch method would be good, sometimes i just need to make something simple. Some valve amps i work on need more negative voltage to bias correctly so sometimes they need a few extra components to make them work with modern valves. Some people just solder extra components to existing components and it usually looks like a fire hazard at the end. I like trying to keep things neat.Quote from: IanB on May 03, 2025, 01:19:03 amThe math is what concerns me, however i was hoping that HNC would maybe be a bit lighter on the math side of things. I did have to learn to calculate swept volume inside a cylinder among other things when i was studying mechanics so i can grasp it to some degree but for the most part my math is terrible. I never intend on becoming a full blown EE but i just feel i need an extra boost to the knowledge i already have and im hoping just the HNC part of the course might provide that.Quote from: seanf on May 03, 2025, 12:57:19 pmThat's interesting to know, i actually used to work through in EK for a while so im quite familiar with the area. Ill have a look over the links you provided, ive bought quite a few old electronics books on various topics so i have some decent reading material. Some of the books are old Osram electricians handbooks, they are from the 1940's and tell me all about this new wonder material called asbestos....Quote from: themadhippy on May 03, 2025, 01:04:42 pmI have considered this too, im currently restoring five 1227 Anglepoise lights from the 1950's so its 2 conductor wiring which i need to swap out for 3 conductor. Not a hard job of course but i plan on selling two to recover my initial investment and i always have a liability alarm bell going off in the back of my mind when it comes to mains wiring.... I know what im doing but if something was to go wrong i would be devastatedQuote from: Terry Bites on May 03, 2025, 06:13:37 pmIm sure when i done my mechanics course i had to brush up on maths and other things but off the top of my head i actually cant remember which level im at, i think my current education would get me in the door for HNC but probably nothing beyond that.Quote from: voltsandjolts on May 03, 2025, 06:32:06 pmI do like to keep on top of things across different fields of engineering and practical work, my background is fairly varied, for the first five years of my work life i was in construction, i done a couple junk factory jobs before going to college to study vehicle mechanics and some of my friends are engineers, spray painters, scaffolders etc, so my knowledge is fairly broad. The only reason i got into electronics as a hobby was because i bought an old solid state guitar amp that didn't work, i threw out the first amp but i bought another with similar problems, that lead to me taking it apart and having a look. I was surprised when i was able to identify capacitors, resistors, diodes etc while leaning on my mechanics qualification. My college tutors were old dogs and they made sure we covered many aspects of electronics even though our main gig was timing belts and clutch replacement. I owe a lot to those guys, sadly they are no longer with us now.Might be worth mentioning that my goal is to work for myself doing restoration and repair work, i was diagnosed with ASD Level 1 a couple years back (aspergers/autism). I strongly dislike working with/for other people and i have an endless need to build and repair things. Ive been quite successful so far but i feel like a bit of a fraud when it comes to the electrical side of things, even though i have a fairly strong grasp of what im doing i would still like a formal qualification or certificate to increase my confidence.Thanks for the replies so far, great information provided

author: armandine2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2025, 06:37:41 am
content: ...two things strike me from reading your thread -1) as you are someone with knowledge of vehicle technology to build with, why not look at that area of electronics? Otherwise you may've wasted that effort/knowledge.I watched a good YouTube video the other day where the tech replaced the eeprom and two other processors on a Range Rover dash board instrument panel pcb. Though, it was not clear to me on first viewing if the tech was a general electronics technician or specialist auto.2) Mend it Mark was offering some form of instruction / community for electronics enthusiasts who were into repair - might be worth a punt.I think having a plan is worth thinking about / developing - a plan to turn the theory to practice and the knowledge into a paid job.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2025, 07:03:27 am
content: You sound like an ideal candidate to be a production engineer, and the industry is crying out for good ones.It's not a job that requires a deeply academic background, though a good employer might let you study for an academic qualification for a day a week - but it's not essential. It's about practical skills, experience, and above all, *really* caring about the quality of the stuff that rolls off the end of the line.Being a good production engineer means understanding how things are put together, what processes are involved, how to make them work well and what to do when they go wrong. Diagnosis and fault finding is part of the job, but so is operating and servicing equipment, spotting problems, developing and improving processes, maybe some assembly and rework.You say that "I strongly dislike working with/for other people", but I'm afraid that just too bad. Maybe you've been working with the wrong people? I've worked with, and for, geniuses and morons. People I'd take a bullet for, and people I wouldn't p*ss on if they were on fire. Production engineering is mostly about the tools, equipment and products, but there's interaction with people in every job and it's important.