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.