AEIE...what I expected and what I got !!

APPLIED ELECTRONICS AND INSTRUMENTATION ENGINEERING....

Hefty name eh ?? That's all it has though.....a name !! Now before reading the entire thing please keep in mind that I only talk about what I have experienced so far in MY college...the scenario might be different in other institutes.

3 years back, after 4 thousand worthy students had been counselled I went into the hallowed halls to pick up my choice of graduation stream. My only thought was to study Electronics in one of the moderate colleges in the city. When the person at the desk told me that AEIE was available, I was quite reassured. I had taken up a branch of the subject I wanted to study. Boy was I wrong.

Now I realize that I have studied more about instrumentation and control rather than electronics..heck I haven't learned ANYTHING worthwhile in electronics. Then how is it that this subject is held in high esteem, almost at par with ECE and above CSE and IT ??? It should be positioned along with its sister Instrumentation and Control which is taken up normally by students of much lower merit. Here lies the brand game yet again. The "electronics" tag is a brilliant and cunning addition to the name of the subject so as to attract better minds to the hapless subject. It seems that in the industry the subject does have importance, but it remains a big question as to why misguide the likes of me who had a dream in pure electronics ??

AEIE is not a bad subject, but it is one in which the subjects are far less oriented to electronics and more so on instruments, control and process handling. All such subjects are, I think, extremely laborious and fit for those who have the gift of rote learning. I, personally, depend more on logic based studies which hopefully involves mathematics as it is my favourite.

As conclusion I'll say that I do not discourage upcoming students to take up AEIE but I bring forward the truth. I shall not say that I have wasted my years on the subject but it is also true that I have no desire in furthering my studies in the same field.

Man's greatest weakness

Yup I wanna be rich. And who doesn't ? But what's the secret behind efficient money making ?? From a very young age mine and your parents too, must have said ,"Work hard for these 5 years and you will never have to strive in the future again". Oh really ??? So right now if I study 23 and a half hours a day, in the near future is Citibank gonna come up to me and say, "Congrats! Since you worked so hard for the last 5 years now you shall sit back and relax FOREVER" ???
NOT GONNA HAPPEN !!

You see there is a very strange kind of irony which governs this knotty situation. Its true, it IS possible to earn a lot of money if you work hard now. But when you are 30 and you have lots of cash in your bank account, can you buy back your youth ?? That time you'll have such a high cholesterol level together with sugar, blood pressure and what not that McDonald's would be completely out of bounds for you. Whats the use of buying Reebok tees with Pepe jeans when you have grown a 35'' tummy having sat in your AC cubicle for your sorry 15 hours shift. You either get money or happiness. So choose....

Now it comes to the question as to why then, after knowing all this, am I so interested in making money ?? The answer lies in Man's oldest and greatest weakness, HOPE ! Although I know that millions in the world have made the same mistake I HOPE that I shall be an exception. I shall find happiness even after being rich. I hope I am right.

Its so pitiful to see that its not only me but everyone of my age who are suffering from the same disillusion . Some have realized it, some are doing it now having read this article but still we hold on to that sorry feeling of hope.

We hope to be different, we hope to succeed....and I hope that I am wrong in all that I said.