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Analog Diary: The Final Day

I'm sad to say that today was my final day. The day started off as normal - I logged onto my computer and continued programming from the previous day. The feeling soon vanished when my mentor came up to me, reminding me, "Today's the last day!" At that point it sank in that it really was my final day working at Analog. Towards the end of the day, my two mentors took me to an office to discuss my experience working here. I could have went on forever about how much these two weeks have made such a positive impact on my life. I've realised my strengths, I've realised what it takes to be an engineer, my confidence has grown, and most importantly, I've found a new passion. Now I feel like I have a clearer vision of my path for the future, and that I have a sense of direction in where I am going. This experience has given me the chance to consider a lot about what kind of person I am and with that, what career would suit me best. Trying engineering hands-o

Analog Diary: Day 8

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

Analog Diary: Day 7

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

Analog Diary: Day 6

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

Analog Diary: Day 5

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

Analog Diary: Day 4

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

Analog Diary: Day 3

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