How would a 14 year old (me) get into (the basics of) electrical engineering?

Question

Well, first off, I'm not sure if it's electrical engineering, or electronic engineering. Actually, I don't know if it's either. I guess I'll describe it a bit.

I've always liked taking apart broken electronics (such as CD players, portable games, digital cameras, etc), one time I took apart a CD player and a cassette player, and made a top that spun for 3 minutes straight. I also broke my game boy advanced about 4 years ago, so I took it apart and fixed it somehow. About a week ago I found a old RC boat that has been in my room for the past 3 years, and you couldn't turn left, only right. So I took it apart and fixed it.

Just small things like that. And actually, my dream is to make one of those war bots, and terrorize the neighborhood cats (and kids, hehe). Would that be robotics, would I have to learn electric engineering too? I really don't know much about it, I've never had any lessons or anything like that. I do have a electronic 200 in 1 thing that lets you build all kinds of things with pre-made pieces, that you just snap to each other in the right places and such. It's called "Kid Inventor Creative Electronics Kit". I've had it since I was about 10, and it seems more like something for littler kids, but I never really paid attention to the lessons, I just tried to make the things in it that had instructions. I never read how it works or anything.

To get into electrical/electronic engineering, does it require a lot of math? I've always been kinda bad at math, maybe this will give me the motivation to get better at math..

Any help, info, or tips would be greatly appreciated. The only bad thing is I can't spend very much, so free is best, but cheap is ok too.

I'm home schooled, 14, and live 20 miles from a actual town. Does that effect anything?

Thanks!

Answer 1

You're already doing the right things. Taking things apart and fixing them is a great way to start.

It is true that you will need a lot of math. What sort of difficulties do you have? It might be possible that you don't really have difficulty learning the material, but rather that you haven't had much use for it so you simply haven't had a need for it yet. You have a good way to go before you have to worry much about the math.

Home schooling shouldn't be a factor unless you allow yourself to avoid the math lessons in favor of other things. If that is the case, perhaps you might be better off pursuing those other things. If you really want to do engineering (and it sounds as though you are headed that direction) then you will need to put some effort into your basic math.

Algebra and geometry aren't difficult, but they are abstract. Once you see how they are applied, then the rules and operations will make more sense. If the light bulb in your electronics set is too bright then you may have already figured out that all you need is a resistor to reduce the battery voltage. But how would you know which resistor to use? That's where your algebra will come in. You can solve an equation that will allow you to, for example, provide the light bulb with exactly half the voltage it's getting now.

So hang in there. Don't be afraid of the math. It just takes practice.

Feel free to email me at [e-mail] if you want to discuss this further.

Answer 2

I got started by sticking a screwdriver into a receptacle.

Answer 3

Yeah, a lot of us started by taking stuff apart...and at least trying to put it back together!  Finish high school (home school or not, doesn't matter), go to college (any of 'em, doesn't matter...you'll learn the same stuff at a local state U as you will at Yale or UCLA), and you'll do fine.

One neat thing about college btw, is most engineering schools have some kind of work/study program, often called "CoOp", where you go to school for a term, then work for a term, then school, then work...etc.  You might work at the same place each time, or at different places...

Answer 4

I started out with the 150 in 1 kit and also had a habit of tearing things apart to see what made them tick.  Having an interest fueled by curiosity and driven passion in any subject is key to successful learning. So it seems that you are well on your way.

I would recommend that you read anything you can get your hands on.  A subscription to an electronic magazine is cheap (makes a good birthday present - hint to your parents) and may be available in the local library. I would recommend the magazine "Nuts & Volts", there is a  decent mix of tutorials and simple hands on projects.  Forrest Mimms is an author of electronics books, some of which were sold in radio shack stores as a "Note book" series.  His books focused on simple circuits using a handful of components which could be quickly assembled in an hour or two.   See if you can find one of his "Note books" or check out his web site.   If not the "Nuts & Volts" magazine has a Q&A section where simple circuits are featured each month. Take a look at this section and try building one that strikes your interest.

  

Schooling:

A decent understanding of math is required for electronics as many concepts are expressed as formulas.   Ohms law  V = I x R for example illustrates how Voltage is related to Current(I) flowing through a Resistor.  You will use simple algebra to re-arrange the formula.

Electronics math is not difficult as you will learn specific formulas. You will need to use skills that you learn in school such as Algebra and Geometry to work with these formulas at a technical level.   (Later on in engineering you will need some higher level math such as calculus )

Depending upon the school system you may find that your High School may teach electronics as early as Sophomore year especially if offered as a VoTech program.  If a dedicated electronics program is not offered you will want to take Physics.   Usually second year and Advanced Placement Physics will include learning about capacitance and inductance.  These are two concepts  which are widely used and require a thorough understanding of in electronics.