Hello,
I have some rather old books on Control Engineering that have material
similar to the Wikibook on "Control Systems" (
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Control_systems
) and I was wondering if this material is a good way to get started in
Control Systems Engineering.
Actually, I am thinking of trying to get a thesis (undergraduate
diploma project) in this field later on this year. I'm an Electrical
Engineering student in Athens, Greece but the Control Division in our
School is in a big mess and I'm not sure if it's a good idea.
Any advice or support is very welcome.
Thanks,
John H.
That looks like classical "modern" control theory (never call something
"modern" unless you're 80 -- if you call it "modern" when you're 30
you'll look stupid in 50 years). The "modern" control theory that was
developed in the 1950s is still the basis for all of the current control
theory development, and it doesn't change. Furthermore, on a per-dollar
basis most of the work in control systems is either done using 1950
control theory, or it's done by guess and by gosh.
So that would be a good place to start.
I can't begin to tell you what to do about the fact that your school has
a messed-up control division. You need to make the decision yourself,
but if you're absolutely determined to do control the choices I see are to:
A: Concentrate on something related, like communications systems, then
either be happy doing that, or get a Master's degree in control at a
different school. There is a lot of common ground between low-level
communications systems theory and control theory. I studied both, I
consult with both, and I'm constantly improving my practice of the one
with things that I learned doing the other.
B: Change schools. If you're only a year away from graduation this
could be a pain -- I know that the picky US schools have a 2-year
residency requirement, and even the lesser state schools have a one-year
residency requirement. I actually transferred in to a school with a
2-year residency requirement when I was only one year away from my
bachelor's, but I did it by promising to get my Master's degree there,
too. This only worked because it was a small, flexible school (Thanks,
WPI!).
C: Get your degree in controls anyway. Depending on how messed up
things are, how determined you are, how smart you are, and how
resourceful you are, this could either be a success or a disaster. I
wouldn't recommend it unless you can really go out and get stuff done on
your own _and_ there is at least one good controls faculty member that
you can latch onto for help. If the whole faculty sucks then it's best
to revisit options A or B.
D: In the US, mechanical engineering departments often give control
systems degrees in parallel to the electrical engineering department.
I'm starting to see a groundswell of support among software departments
for yet another parallel track (just in time for sales of my book*, heh
heh heh). You may be able to switch majors to an ME, or arrange to take
the necessary courses from that department.
Good luck -- it's always a bummer when your school lets you down.
Tim,
I can't find the words to thank you for your reply. I've noticed your
special contribution here in this group and I really admire your
knowledge and your work.
In my personal situation I think possibility C, as you described it,
is the path I should take. There's a "civil" war in our Controls
Division (among professors mostly) but I'm an "old student" and maybe
somebody there could give me a simple project so I can finish my
degree at last. I've only studied just a few things on Control Systems
but I am very passionate about it and for now it's become my full-time
self-study subject. I'm watching this group very closely via Google,
done a lot of searches on various subjects and I'll try to help anyone
in need of information. I'm not thinking about employment right now
but I can cope without a job for a while. I'll be happy if I become a
ProAm (Professional Amateur) on Control Engineering and help other
people out.
Thanks again,
John H.
Sure! The fundamentals don't change much. The application does, but
that's what a Master's Thesis should be about in a field such as
engineering.
My schooling amounts to a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering.
I don't have a Master's Degree; although I am a registered Controls
Engineer. Personally, I think that while a Master's degree looks
impressive, for practical purposes it doesn't add much to your
capabilities on the job.
Engineering is a hands-on application of theory to the real world; and
this is never more true than for controls engineers. Schools have
difficulty teaching these things because practical applications are not
easy to come by. I could be wrong about this, but my experiences
dealing with those with Master and PhD degrees lead me to believe that
that they simply represent a chance to learn more theory but not much
application. Engineering, as I said before, is all about the application.
There are many things to learn which have very little to do with the
math and the application of control theory. A perusal of Liptak's
handbooks will show you the breadth of other knowledge you might need to
know besides just control theories.
Were I in your place, I would do what it takes to get the degree, and
then go out and try to do the real work in industry. That's where you
prove yourself.
Jake Brodsky
A Master's degree, at least if you do a thesis, is good for completing
big projects, and writing book-length coherent works. I'm not sure how
the 'senior thesis' track that so many schools compares, but I do know
that I've used both the book-writing skills and the extra theory I
learned in my day-to-day jobs.
I use a lot of theory in my day-to-day job -- but I work on some unusual
stuff, which can't be done by recipe or out of a handbook.
This is a good point. Schools will teach you how to be a good control
systems mathematician, and that certainly has a place in your box of
tools when you go to work. What they can't teach you as well is all of
the bedrock practical stuff, or how to dance along the borderline
between theory and practical, which is where a control systems engineer
can _really_ start adding value.
<snip>
If you're looking for a useful capability on the job, you might want to
consider networking and industrial comms. Connectivity issues between
devices come up all the time with control systems nowadays and many control
engineers - me included - can easily get stuck.
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