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EE Majors....come on in

Gibson486

Gibson486

Lifer
I have a choice between taking Electromagnetics this semester or Linear Systems. Which class goes better with a full course load?
 
neither really...you should just have that period open to enjoy the other aspects of college

linear systems if you really have to tho...
 
depends. some people fine electromagnetics easier, some linear systems...

as for me? i found linear systems easier only AFTER you studied quite a bit. I tried to study like insane for electromagnetics and i was still 😕 that's me though.
 
discrete or continuous linear? Discrete is easier than continuous, but I believe continuous is a pre req for discrete. I took both, and they are extremely math intensive (diff eq+). I HATED E&M with the fire of a thousand burning suns though, so I say take a psych class or something.

If you have to pick one, go linear systems. Have fun with my man B.P. Lathi
 
E&M was so obscure, I hated it. I could get the right answer, but I had no idea what it meant. E&M was what made me change from EE to Computer Eng. I'd definitely go with linear systems.
 
Linear systems = control systems or some sort of linear algebra? I haven't taken a control systems class but I'm not all that interested in it, EM leads to waves classes which gives you the background for things like antenna and wireless systems engineering and optical engineering. It really depends on what you enjoy.
 
Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
Linear systems = control systems or some sort of linear algebra? I haven't taken a control systems class but I'm not all that interested in it, EM leads to waves classes which gives you the background for things like antenna and wireless systems engineering and optical engineering. It really depends on what you enjoy.
Click to expand...

I believe in this case that Linear Systems referes to either Discrete or Continuous Time Systems, which is the foundation of all Signal Processing. Tons and tons of math, but infinitely better than E&M which was just horrible. I had the pleasure of taking both classes at the same time, talk about a death wish.
 
I vote linear. E&M is gods way of testing if you have the goods to be an EE. Linear will also lead into Communications and Controls. E&M 1 will lead to E&M 2 and some major health problems 😉

It might differ from school to school. At my uni, Linear is a junior level class and E&M 1 is a senior level class. Some schools have them both Junior or some other weird order.
 
Well regardless of what everyone else said, I've taken two E&M classes and now I'm taking my third one and while it is definitely math-heavy I like it.

The first class I took was EM Fields and focused on static fields; mostly it was an intro to Maxwell's equations then we used the equations to electrostatic and magnetostatic problems. These are the types of problems you might see in power engineering.

The second class was EM Waves, an introduction to time-harmonic waves. We covered things like reflection in transmission lines, rectangular wave guides, and an introduction to antennas

The third class (which I am taking this semester) is Fundamentals of Photonics and it covers things like propagation of light (free-space, optical fibers, and wavequides); dispersion; optical sources (fundamentals, LEDs, semiconductor lasers); optical detectors.

The fourth class, which I am taking next semester is Photonic Devices and Systems which covers modulation of optical signals; optical amplifiers; devices for optical signal processing (e.g. filters, routers, and cross-connect switches); link system engineering; concepts of WDM and TDM; and issues in high-performance lightwave transmission systems.

<-- Specializing in photonics &amp; telecom

(some of this is lifted from the course descriptions, btw)

 
Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
Well regardless of what everyone else said, I've taken two E&amp;M classes and now I'm taking my third one and while it is definitely math-heavy I like it.

The first class I took was EM Fields and focused on static fields; mostly it was an intro to Maxwell's equations then we used the equations to electrostatic and magnetostatic problems. These are the types of problems you might see in power engineering.

The second class was EM Waves, an introduction to time-harmonic waves. We covered things like reflection in transmission lines, rectangular wave guides, and an introduction to antennas

The third class (which I am taking this semester) is Fundamentals of Photonics and it covers things like propagation of light (free-space, optical fibers, and wavequides); dispersion; optical sources (fundamentals, LEDs, semiconductor lasers); optical detectors.

The fourth class, which I am taking next semester is Photonic Devices and Systems which covers modulation of optical signals; optical amplifiers; devices for optical signal processing (e.g. filters, routers, and cross-connect switches); link system engineering; concepts of WDM and TDM; and issues in high-performance lightwave transmission systems.

<-- Specializing in photonics &amp; telecom

(some of this is lifted from the course descriptions, btw)
Click to expand...
You should try to get a job at my lab, you'd LOVE it here. I mean it.
 
I'd say Linear first. At my school, I took that as a sophomore...I'm a junior now, and I'm currently in EM. I'm only 2 days into it and it dosen't seem that bad. I'm also taking Analog Communications and Wireless comm circuits this term. 3 EE lab courses...FUN!
 
What are your other classes? What are the professors like for each? What university? Are you better at physics and multi-dimensional calculus or at differential equations?

I thought linear was easier at my school, but it depends on what you like and what your university and professors are like.
 
I would say linear theory. Linear was always easier that E&amp;M when I was an undergrad. If I recall correctly it's all linear algebra, so it shouldn't be that bad if you did well in pre-req linear algebra class.
 
Originally posted by: sciencewhiz
What are your other classes? What are the professors like for each? What university? Are you better at physics and multi-dimensional calculus or at differential equations?

I thought linear was easier at my school, but it depends on what you like and what your university and professors are like.
Click to expand...

In all honesty, linear is probably the easier class just about anywhere. Take a few eigenvalues here, plug a few eigenvalues there. BOOM, stable system 😛

E&amp;M has all these funky line and surface integrals and BVPs that can get messy in a hurry.
 
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