I experienced the real academic difference between electrical engineering and other fields of study while serving as a field engineer in the army, and I was proud of my major as I learned about the different fields of electrical engineering and their applications in the latest technologies.
I served in the army as a field engineer. I was always climbing on power poles, working with wires, and field wires connected to various self-propelled artillery and armored vehicles. I was especially pressured to solve problems with various electronics because I was an electrical engineering student. However, studying electrical engineering and being good at fixing electronics are two different things, so my major didn’t help me in the military. Many people think that electrical engineering means being good with electronics, but that’s just a stereotype of the department.
First of all, electrical engineering is defined as the study and application of phenomena related to electricity and magnetism. As such, electrical engineering is closely related to electromagnetism and quantum mechanics, which are essentially branches of physics. The development of electrical engineering was accelerated by the spread of mathematical representations of electrical phenomena by scientists in the Middle Ages. Generators and electric motors were developed, and electronics such as battery radios appeared. Nowadays, with the application of quantum mechanics, electrical engineering is leading the latest technologies such as smartphones and TVs.
In the Electrical Engineering Department, students learn basic math and physics in their freshman year to prepare them for the major, and they learn the major in their sophomore year. In the third year, there are specialized areas of electrical engineering, and you can take courses in all of them, or you can choose a tech tree that interests you.
There are four main areas of specialization in undergraduate studies: systems, electronics, communications, and computers. In systems, you’ll study how to transfer electrical energy efficiently and quickly, in electronics, you’ll learn about semiconductors and displays, in telecommunications, you’ll literally learn about communication networks and how to process signals, and in computers, you’ll learn the languages needed to develop applications. The reason for studying all these different majors is that if you look at a smartphone today, you can see the tiny batteries, the antennas for communication, the touchable display, the circuits that make it possible to use electric energy efficiently, and the various applications.
The reason why I joined the Department of Electrical Engineering is not only because of the job opportunities, but also because I like to make things with my hands, like science boxes and Lego, and if I’m going to make something, I want to make something that uses the latest technology and leads the way. It is self-evident that if you want to lead the way, you can’t do it without going through electrical engineering. I’m also a hard worker, but I don’t try too hard, and I like to be flexible and adaptable. This is something that all engineering students can relate to. No one ever succeeds at a project, an experiment to solve a problem, the first time. Everyone fails and learns from their mistakes, and that’s what makes the experiment successful. I feel that doing this fits well with my personality and makes me feel rewarded for choosing electrical engineering.
After enrolling, the most interesting courses for me were “Logic Design and Experimentation” and “Signals and Systems”. In Logic Design and Experimentation, I learned the basic concepts of logic design, which is the basis of digital system design, and aimed to solidify the concept of logic circuits by actually designing, building, experimenting, and performing projects on basic circuits. In other words, I practiced the process of creating a path for electricity to flow and controlling it freely to perform complex behaviors. Through this course, I gained a lot of confidence that the electronic devices around us are actually a combination of these circuits, and that I can talk about them, and that by applying them, I can create and control any control system circuit, such as automated driving systems, fire alarm systems, robot systems, etc.
The signals and systems class also teaches us to analyze signals and systems that we see around us and in engineering, and to reinterpret these basic theories and find a more physical meaning in order to apply them to the desired application. What you can do with these classes is advance and smuggle signals, like adjusting the subtitle sync when watching a movie, and you can also control the signal to speed up or slow down, like playing a video at double speed. For example, video signals from the moon are too noisy to make out once they reach Earth, but by backtracking the signals, you can amplify and reduce certain signals, picking out the ones you want and turning them into clean, crisp images.
In addition to this, the field of electrical engineering also deals with many topics that are closely related to the environment, such as energy efficiency, power systems, and renewable energy. Having been involved in projects and research related to these topics, I’ve realized that electrical engineering is not just about technological advancements, but also about finding ways to contribute to sustainable development and environmental protection.
In graduate school, professors have a topic and the whole lab is working on it, but all I can hear and understand is the name of the research, such as display, semiconductor development, or artificial electronic eye. Even if I heard the name of the research, I couldn’t understand it, probably because of my lack of knowledge in the field. I know that Seoul National University’s Department of Electrical Engineering is ranked in the top 10 among the world’s electrical engineering departments. I believe that my studies and research will lead to the development of new technologies that will surprise the world, and I will continue to work hard.
Electrical engineering is always changing and evolving, so we need to keep learning and researching. The future will be made more convenient and enriched by advances in electrical engineering, and I take great pride in being able to contribute to that process. Although my experience in the military may be considered somewhat ineffective, I believe it was also an important learning process that can be connected to my major. It has given me a more well-rounded perspective and I am ready to take on the challenges ahead.
