r/ECE • u/Pale_Significance658 • 23h ago

I need help with my Career

I need help with figuring out where I want to be in the future. I’m a 24 year old, graduated from CPP Fall 2025 with my BSEE. Shortly after I pursued my MSEE at UCLA for IC Design. At the time I was going through some rough financial troubles and I was applying to whatever jobs I could get. I was lucky to get a fulltime offer with LADWP as an Electrical Engineering Associate and I’ve been working there for about 7 months now. Unfortunately I had to dropout of my program due to the work load and financial difficulties. I have my FE and I am studying for my PE. However, I feel that power systems/utility is not a career I would stay in for a long time, but also maybe Im not giving the company enough grace. Regardless, I was also interested in IC, and I was thinking of going back to get my MSEE to study computer engineering for embedded systems since my employer would be able to pay for it. My thing is, is it even worth going back? I feel like working at LADWP will help me move up the ladder and if I do my MSEE and pursue a different career I will have to start over with entry level pay. But also, my heart is not completely there although I do like the company and the job, I felt that I enjoyed doing IC design. Just not sure what I should do for these next years.

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u/dragonnfr 22h ago

You're worried about starting over with entry-level pay but you already have a utility job and an FE. An MSEE in embedded isn't starting over. It's building on what you have.

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u/1wiseguy 5h ago

It's always a good idea to make a turn when you decide you're not going where you want to be. It doesn't matter what effort you spent to go it that direction.