Electrical Engineering (2 Viewers)

[batigol]

Does anyone here choose optical communication/optic for their specialisation? I'm wondering what it's like since the EE/T website doesnt provide much info about this. Thanks in advance.

 

[gman03]

Does anyone here choose optical communication/optic for their specialisation? I'm wondering what it's like since the EE/T website doesnt provide much info about this. Thanks in advance.

It is basically similar to EE except you do more physics labs than other EE students. That's about the difference really.

 

[withoutaface]

thanks, you guys are much more helpful than the guys in the sydney uni forums

I am from the sydney uni forums.

 

[elfm]

I am from the sydney uni forums.

unsw brings out the best of us

 

[deon_c]

just a quick question...i did 3 unit maths in y12 and didnt find it hard but i didnt find it easy either... is electrical engineering one of those subjects that requires heaps and heaps of work, because ive noticed hat in school the key to dogin wel in maths was practice...i have a strong interest in electrical engineering but wherever i go peopel tel me its extremely hard and maths oriented..how true is this?

 

[gman03]

just a quick question...i did 3 unit maths in y12 and didnt find it hard but i didnt find it easy either... is electrical engineering one of those subjects that requires heaps and heaps of work, because ive noticed hat in school the key to dogin wel in maths was practice...i have a strong interest in electrical engineering but wherever i go peopel tel me its extremely hard and maths oriented..how true is this?

Please don't get confused over hard and lot of work.

Yes it requires a lot of work, it it might be hard to understand at first. If you are one of those who leaves work at the very end of the day then you are literally fcuked.

Elec Eng (like Mech Eng) is maths oriented but 3 unit maths knowledge is fine. Uni actually teaches you 4U maths in first half of first year anyway. It is maths orientated in a sense that much of the concept are explain/introduced in the forms of equations after equation (noted not EVERYTHING is like that in Elec Eng, but MOST)

I'll tell ya, a person who starts things earlier will find them MUCH EASIER to handle over a person who does the same work but starts late.

So yeah, hard or easy, depends how to manage your time.

 

[TheKey]

yeh well i found 3 unit maths a living hell.

Yes electrical engineering is bloody maths oriented in the first few years..well beyond 3 unit level but it is actually taught well and there are quite a few mini tests throughout the semester which cover a seriously small amount of material. Each of those mini tests requires about a 1 day of work (if you attend lectures and stay awake half the time) and knowing this key material + a day or two of study in stuvac will give you a pass.

The key to doing well (D,HD) is to be consistant and do tutorials AND PAST PAPERS ...which i find very time consuming and never bother...also because I can never get the right answer anyway.

If you have a strong interest in engineering then do it! If maths is your only worry, then you have nothing to worry about. Maths is probably the best taught subject in this uni, best notes, helpfull class tests and plenty of past papers with fully worked solutions.

 

[username?]

textlist

hi. im joining in 2006. Got into the BEng/Bsci (electrical) course but i think ill drop the BSci when i get there. Is there a way I can get my hands on the text list for the first year or semester? I tried to contacting the faculty but they wouldnt respond. I graduated almost 3 years ago and just want to go thruogh the portions..

Also, ive started to revise my math after reading up on the previous posts. IS calculus a major part cause thats what im going through only... or do i need to go through the other stuff like complex numbers and matrices and all? Thanks..and if anyones got the names of any of the books they have had to buy for the elctrical eng, pls post them so i could buy them..thanks a tonne.

 

[gman03]

hi. im joining in 2006. Got into the BEng/Bsci (electrical) course but i think ill drop the BSci when i get there. Is there a way I can get my hands on the text list for the first year or semester? I tried to contacting the faculty but they wouldnt respond. I graduated almost 3 years ago and just want to go thruogh the portions..

Also, ive started to revise my math after reading up on the previous posts. IS calculus a major part cause thats what im going through only... or do i need to go through the other stuff like complex numbers and matrices and all? Thanks..and if anyones got the names of any of the books they have had to buy for the elctrical eng, pls post them so i could buy them..thanks a tonne.

complex number, matrix manipulation. vector algebra, probabilities, convergence of series, first & second order differential equations - the solving of, set theory, limits, EIGENVECTORS.

maths = 1/2 algebra ( ~4u maths) + 1/2 calculus (lots of new theorem)

hardcore physics - mechanics, electricity

electronics - ohm's law, kirchoffs law, first order equations.

programming - C

text book - not useful, use lecture notes

 

[username?]

hey, got a couple of questions about the elec eng/ Bsci course.
1) Is it true that for the first year, only the engineering course is taught..and the science from the second onwards?
2) is a laptop useful for the elec enginerring course?
3) anyone know the number of students, approx, that join each year?
4) whats stuvac?
5) just wondering if unsw has free wireless internet access anywhere on campus other than the libraries...
6) and this one's for anyone staying the kensos..or anywhere on campus i suppose. I heard the cafeteria closes at 7...is there any place you can head to later than that, other than to town, to pick up something to eat? on campus maybe?

 

[gman03]

1) Is it true that for the first year, only the engineering course is taught..and the science from the second onwards?

Yes

There will be structural changes to what you have to do and when you have to do those extra science-related courses. They should be available to you by the end of this year, hopefully.

2) is a laptop useful for the elec engineering course?

For as long as you computer runs both MS Windows and Linux, laptop/desktop is fine. Laptop for note-taking is not necessary.

3) anyone know the number of students, approx, that join each year?

Looking at the enrollment from 2003 I would say between 150 to 200 for Elec Eng alone. Uni-wise, I dunno. This might change next year since they introduced a number of unknown factors to high school student include flexible first year and Multiple Criteria Entry.

4) whats stuvac?

It is the days between the last teaching day of the semester and the first day of your examination. At UNSW the minimum days of stuvac is 4

5) just wondering if unsw has free wireless internet access anywhere on campus other than the libraries...

Wireless - yes, Free - no

 

[STx]

what are the "unknown factors to high school student include flexible first year and Multiple Criteria Entry". thx

 

[gman03]

what are the "unknown factors to high school student include flexible first year and Multiple Criteria Entry". thx

This year high school student are given the choice of 'flexible first year engineering degree' at UNSW and let the student to decide which engineereing degree they want to do at the beginning of year 2. This might encourage people to choose this over straight Elec Eng degree, so enrollment might drop.

Multiple Critera Entry might increase the number of intakes so enrollment might go up.

In short, new systems changes number of enrollment.

 

[grimreaper]

6) and this one's for anyone staying the kensos..or anywhere on campus i suppose. I heard the cafeteria closes at 7...is there any place you can head to later than that, other than to town, to pick up something to eat? on campus maybe?

There are a couple of options. First, you could just get someone else whos at your college to get your dinner as takeaway and then you could heat it up at one of the microwaves at college. Otherwise, theres a maccas on anzac parade which is probably a 7 or 8 min walk. You could also go to randwick which is about 10 minutes walk

 

[Zaphk]

if you love asian food, there are a lot of restaurants at kingsford, Anzac Parade. You can go take away too.

College food at kenso are the worse, the best is probably at New College but they pay about $200 more. Shalom college serve only Kosher food and residents can not bring back non-kosher food (my friend can't bring back maccas).

Most of the collegians would head to the bars (e.g. regent hotel) when the food is pretty bad. The only time food is good is during survey time. Talk about being dodgey...

You know, theres the odd story going around that the caterer Eurest/Scholarest also caters Long Bay jail, and the inmates are getting better food than us.

 

[Li0n]

What slidey said is somewhat true, good maths skills will make the mechanical calculations for elec much easier/faster but speed isn't really an issue to being a good elec engineer.

To be good at elec you need to understand concepts well and clear, you'd be surprised how many different final answers a single question can get all. Concepts in general are extremely easy and you can learn in 5 minutes, but applying these concepts to questions is hard . You can't learn by looking at tutorial solutions (90% of all PS/CR average elec students do this me included). You have to start early, do 10 trillion questions and you're set.

You need to be efficient in your working, try look for shortcuts yet be very careful because one mistake can waste you another 20 minutes in an exam, 5 pages of messy rubbish which will get you 0. Elec markers (from experience) are very lazy and really cbf looking through garbage which is where i go down in.

 

[STx]

What slidey said is somewhat true, good maths skills will make the mechanical calculations for elec much easier/faster but speed isn't really an issue to being a good elec engineer.

To be good at elec you need to understand concepts well and clear, you'd be surprised how many different final answers a single question can get all. Concepts in general are extremely easy and you can learn in 5 minutes, but applying these concepts to questions is hard . You can't learn by looking at tutorial solutions (90% of all PS/CR average elec students do this me included). You have to start early, do 10 trillion questions and you're set.

You need to be efficient in your working, try look for shortcuts yet be very careful because one mistake can waste you another 20 minutes in an exam, 5 pages of messy rubbish which will get you 0. Elec markers (from experience) are very lazy and really cbf looking through garbage which is where i go down in.

hehe, is computer eng similar to to elec eng in those terms? What do you guys think?

 

[Zaphk]

Hey people, I'm starting ELEC3017 Electrical Engineering design this semester.
We just watched a video on the top projects in 2005 and the work seems intense.

got any tips for making a good project?

 

[PiGMAN]

Alright here's my 2 cents on flexible entry program for engineering:

It sucks.

Reason? Because if you don't know what kind of engineering you want to do, you don't want to do engineering.

Fin~