Jennifer's Analog Experience

I had so much fun today! My supervisor brought in a kit where you can build your own circuits. I did things like turn a light on, make an alarm, turn on a fan, etc. At the same time, the book that comes with it teaches you all about electronics as you do the projects. I learned today that I learn much better when I work with my hands. I learned a lot more today about electronics than I did in science class! I also continued programming because I'm really starting to get addicted to it. Two weeks ago I didn't even know what it was. A coworker asked me, "So what do you know about programming?" and I just gave him a blank stare. Now I know that there are multiple languages used specifically for programming that are used in different areas of IT. I've also started learning the basics of programming with a language called Python at home. It's a slow and sometimes tedious process but every day I see myself making some improvement. Until tomorrow - my las

Day 7 was really frustrating! I spent nearly all day making a new circuit board. My coworker couldn't find a piece to the circuit board, so we spent almost 3 hours trying to take the piece we needed out of my old circuit board. And guess what? After 3 hours, I found that there was the same piece in the drawer of my desk! But it's finally (seriously  this time) done. I had a go at programming on the circuit board and I had a lot of fun! I made shapes and a game just by using lights on an LED Matrix. It's so cool to see how just by writing a random string of words and numbers, the output turns out really cool! My mentor said I'd be trying something new on day 8 and to give her feedback so she can see if it's something that schools and people my age would be interested in. I'm really excited to test it out! -Jennifer

Too much didn't happen on day 6. I continued programming for most of the day. I started using a site that teaches programming basics and the time really flew.  I started doing the programming for my circuit board but it wouldn't work. I told my mentor and she said the soldering had to be fixed, so we started re-soldering but couldn't figure out the problem. It's back to the lab for day 7! That's all there is for today. -Jennifer

I think day 5 has been the best day working in Analog so far. I totally forgot to write this post over the weekend, so I'm doing it today in work before I start working. My coworker and I finally finished soldering my circuit board. It took a few hours, a lot of trial and error and a break or two, but we got it eventually. As he said, "It's all part of the work of the engineer". I connected my circuit board to a model one and connected that to a USB port. In the afternoon after lunch I started something new - programming. I think it could become a hobby of mine. My second supervisor showed me the basics of programming on a whiteboard and I began reading the tutorial myself. It was a lot of fun learning something from scratch. With programming, I have to write code using a special software, verify that it's correct and upload the code to the circuit board. The pieces I soldered to the circuit board will carry out the commands I wrote in the code. I'm feel

I started soldering my Arduino circuit board with another coworker! Soldering is a really tedious process. You have to have a really steady hand, and it really does take a lot of practice. It sounded simple to me when my coworker explained it, but when actually done it is so easy to slip up, and fixing a mistake in soldering takes a long time. I also noticed a trait about engineers - all of them are so patient. I've learned that to be a good engineer you need to try all the possible solutions, even if they seem completely wrong. You also need to keep trying even when it seems hopeless. Every person I have talked to so far in Analog hasn't given up even when they were completely lost, and I think that's the most important thing I've learned about engineering/technology from working in Analog so far. The soldering is still not finished, so I've another day of hard work tomorrow! -Jennifer

I'm writing this post while I have some free time in work. I'm writing it a day late because I was just so tired from work yesterday! Yesterday my coworker and I met the woman who initiated the Teen Turn programme, Rebecca. She spoke to us about our careers, and she really made me think a lot more about how many options I have. Before getting involved in Teen Turn or being a member of Analog, I didn't have a clue about college degrees. Ever since the meeting yesterday, I've been researching into how college works and types of degrees. It's a lot of fun to search through all the various degrees on the UCC website and seeing what suits you. For the rest of the day I pretty much worked on my Arduino layout on the computer, which I now know is called a cadence! Even though it got kind of boring in the last two hours, I've a lot more motivation today. My mentor also said yesterday I'm going to be soldering my circuit board today, so I don't have to wo