Monday Major Madness: Electrical Engineering

Each Monday, we highlight a certain major here at UA. Regardless of the particular major's sanity or lack thereof, we like to call it Monday Major Madness...

 In today's installment of Monday Major Madness, Honors College student Jonathan Pittman talks about his experience as an electrical engineering major.



1) Why did you choose your major?
My dad is an electrical engineer, so I grew up familiar with the field. He works at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL with a small company called Navigation Technology Associates (NTA). I attend several "visit-dad-at-work" days as a child, but I never really thought that engineering was for me. In fact, throughout most of my high school career, I thought I wanted to go into law. Luckily, my dad convinced me to apply for an internship with NTA during the summer following my senior year of high school. I was able to work on several really cool projects, including a project that involved GPS navigation for missiles. The experiencewas great, and  I decided to pursue electrical engineering in college.

2) What are your career plans?
I am certain that I want to pursue a Master's degree in electrical engineering, and I may also pursue a PhD (depending on how much I enjoy research at the Master's level). After I'm done with school, I will probably return to Huntsville, AL to work with a military contracting company there. As a side note, there are a veritable ton of engineering opportunities available in Huntsville. It was one of the few places in the nation that prospered during the recent economic downturn, and plenty of high-paying engineering jobs are available there...even for folks right out of college.

3) What has been your favorite class (required for your major) so far?
It's so hard to choose! I really enjoyed having Dr. Patrick LeClair of the physics department for both Honors Physics II (PH126) and Modern Physics (PH253). He is an incredible lecturer, and it's obvious that he cares about the success of his students (his homework is absolutely killer, though). I also enjoyed my Digital Logic class (ECE380) with Dr. Bruce Kim. In that class, I was able to see many of the topics that I had covered in lower level courses come together and be applied toward some very practical ends. I am also currently enjoying my Electric Power class (ECE350) with Dr. Tim Haskew.

4) How many hours per week do you spend working on major-related activities?
I won't lie to you, electrical engineering requires a major time commitment. Almost all of my classes have required homework assignments, and several of them have lab assignments. I probably average 15-20 hours per week studying and/or doing homework. There is no way to get through the electrical engineering curriculum without a solid understand of physics and math...and that just takes time.

5) Anything else you would like to share? 
Work experience is quite important for engineering majors (at least, for those who wish to find gainful employment after college). As I mentioned before, there are many employment opportunities for electrical engineers who are straight out of college, but most employers strongly prefer that you have some type of work experience on your resume. I was fortunate enough to secure my internship with NTA through personal contacts,but there are certainly other ways to get an internship. The University has a Co-op program to help students gain work experience while they're in school. The Co-op program does add some time to your undergraduate experience, but it's a great way to get some work experience (and money). The Co-op program's website can be found at coop.eng.ua.edu.