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NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:54:34 -0600
From: Tim Wescott <tim@seemywebsite.com>
Subject: Re: I need you advise...
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On Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:17:26 -0800, seryuz wrote:

> Hi All,
> 
> I am a senior level electrical engineering student. I like the field of
> Control systems and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC). But my
> university doesnt have so many opportunities to practise those stuffs. I
> am about to graduate and want to improve myself in this field.
> 
> I need your advises about my interest. I am trying to find a good
> company to continue in this field. But I dont know what I have to do and
> know about my study. It is huge and complicated. I am about to graduate
> and I feel like `I dont know anything about this topic.`
> 
> Could you please tell me what I have to do now? For example,
> -What should I learn as a simulation program? -What should I concentrate
> to get hired very easily in the future? -Which publications should I
> follow? magazines? -For master studies, which universities should I
> apply in the USA? -shortly, what should I know? to achieve in my field
> of interest. I feel so empty now.
> 
> Thanks,
> Seryuz

Before you think "what program should I learn?" you should think "how can 
I learn to use a program effectively?"  Having said that, I prefer Scilab 
for price (although it helps to approach it as a Matlab power user).

No one thing will help you get hired easily.  Having said that, I always 
look for people who have done something _real_.  So if you're going to 
get an MS, I strongly suggest you find a department that's going to make 
you do a practical project.

Dunno about publications.

Look for a university that has more than one specialist in control 
systems -- if they just have one or two then they aren't serious about 
it.  University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana, is one of the big names, 
but may not be the best for you unless you're a real hard charger.  I'd 
say a department that has some depth, and does real projects in what you 
want.

And finally, you didn't ask (or say) what _sort_ of control systems you 
want to get into.  Do you want to do industrial process control (great 
big dirty things)?  Do you want to do aerospace or instrument control 
(itty bitty clean things)?  Something in between, like machines in 
sawmills or paper mills?  There's room for all of those things under the 
"control" umbrella, but which one you want to do can have a big impact on 
what you should know.

-- 
Tim Wescott
Control systems and communications consulting
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Need to learn how to apply control theory in your embedded system?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" by Tim Wescott
Elsevier/Newnes, http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html