DSP interview question
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From: nk.subbu on 18 Feb 2006 12:46 I had a general question about the transition from grad school to industry. Most schools seem to concentrate on DSP theory and delve into mathematical details - and students too become quite adept in dealing with such aspects of DSP. Does the industry, say for a DSP s/w engineering position even care about these - in short does mathematical proficiency in DSP take you any distance in the interview process?
From: dohm on 18 Feb 2006 13:46 >I had a general question about the transition from grad school to industry. > Most schools seem to concentrate on DSP theory and delve into mathematical >details - and students too become quite adept in dealing with such aspects >of DSP. >Does the industry, say for a DSP s/w engineering position even care about >these - in short does mathematical proficiency in DSP take you any >distance in the interview process? > > > I will give you my 2cents on this topic. It has not been many years since I left grad school to enter the wide open world of industry. In my opinion, your mathematical proficiency is important as long as you can apply it to solve real problems. I found that most of my job opportunities have come as a result of my applied experience (hobbies, projects, etc.) and not as a result of any class work or theoretical prowess. The best thing I did while in grad(and undergrad)school was to get involved with some real DSP projects outside of my required course work. It continues to suprise me how much I can apply what I have learned with my hobbies to what I do at work. Also, regarding interviews, I find that enthusiasm is always contagious! Ohm
From: nk.subbu on 19 Feb 2006 03:34 >>I had a general question about the transition from grad school to >industry. >> Most schools seem to concentrate on DSP theory and delve into >mathematical >>details - and students too become quite adept in dealing with such >aspects >>of DSP. >>Does the industry, say for a DSP s/w engineering position even care >about >>these - in short does mathematical proficiency in DSP take you any >>distance in the interview process? >> >> >> > >I will give you my 2cents on this topic. It has not been many years since >I left grad school to enter the wide open world of industry. In my >opinion, your mathematical proficiency is important as long as you can >apply it to solve real problems. I found that most of my job opportunities >have come as a result of my applied experience (hobbies, projects, etc.) >and not as a result of any class work or theoretical prowess. The best >thing I did while in grad(and undergrad)school was to get involved with >some real DSP projects outside of my required course work. It continues to >suprise me how much I can apply what I have learned with my hobbies to what >I do at work. > >Also, regarding interviews, I find that enthusiasm is always contagious! > >Ohm > > Thanks! I have been called for an interview with a company, the position of which is not fully clear to me (forwarded resume through friend). Moreover, the only vacancy for DSP engineers on their website is for those with 2+ yrs of experience - not sure how to go about preparing. Any thoughts?
From: Joerg on 19 Feb 2006 20:45 nk.subbu wrote: > > Thanks! I have been called for an interview with a company, the position > of which is not fully clear to me (forwarded resume through friend). > Moreover, the only vacancy for DSP engineers on their website is for those > with 2+ yrs of experience - not sure how to go about preparing. Any > thoughts? > I second Ohm's opinion. Experience is what often counts the most. For my first interview I brought in schematics and photos of my largest hobby projects. All of my peers at university plus some of the academians said that would be ridiculous. Luckily I did not listen to them. Turned out the guy who interviewed me really liked that and asked lots of questions about some of my projects. You can buy a nice "sales presentation" binder for around $25. Mine looks like leather but it's naugahide. These can hold a dozen or more letter sized photos and schematics. You can stand them like the side of a tent during show time. I included large foldout schematics for big projects to show them that I am a guy that documents thoroughly. Neatly folded per industry standard, of course. Surprisingly they asked me nothing about medical ultrasound (the job I was applying for), a topic I hadn't heard about at all until two days before the interview. Whew. They just wanted to know whether I was smart enough, had tackled sizeable projects on my own and could solve problems. And that's exactly how I interviewed people once I had moved up the management ladder. The one thing I added: I posed a tough question and gave them the whiteboard marker. It didn't matter whether they solved it completely, I wanted to see how they'd approach it. Main thing: Just stay calm, try not to look nervous. If you have convinced yourself (but let it never show) that it's ok if you don't get this job it will be much easier not to become nervous. Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com
From: Randy Yates on 19 Feb 2006 22:24
Joerg <notthisjoergsch(a)removethispacbell.net> writes: > nk.subbu wrote: > >> Thanks! I have been called for an interview with a company, the >> position >> of which is not fully clear to me (forwarded resume through friend). >> Moreover, the only vacancy for DSP engineers on their website is for those >> with 2+ yrs of experience - not sure how to go about preparing. Any >> thoughts? >> > > I second Ohm's opinion. Experience is what often counts the most. If I were the interviewer, I would look for both. The problem with a great mathematical/analytical mind is that sometimes these type of people have little to no practical skills. On the other hand, there are very practically skilled people that don't have the education to analyze things at higher levels. To be brutally honest, it's really, really tough to be good at both at the same time. It's like your mind has to be able to stretch in the X AND the Y dimension, simultaneously! Maybe that's what everyone's been saying... -- % Randy Yates % "Rollin' and riding and slippin' and %% Fuquay-Varina, NC % sliding, it's magic." %%% 919-577-9882 % %%%% <yates(a)ieee.org> % 'Living' Thing', *A New World Record*, ELO http://home.earthlink.net/~yatescr |