Day in the life of a Junior Electronics Engineer in London - what I do day to day
Summary
TLDRThomas, a Junior Electronics Engineer in London, shares his day at Garrison, a cybersecurity scale-up utilizing hardsec technology. He wakes up around 7:30 a.m. and arrives at work by 8:30 or 9, engaging in various meetings like stand-ups and hardware discussions. Thomas is currently leading a project to develop a test design for a microcontroller board, focusing on establishing SPI communication between a Raspberry Pi and a microcontroller. He uses tools like oscilloscopes and Altium for PCB layout, taking breaks to socialize with colleagues. His day ends around 5:30 pm, offering a glimpse into the life of an electronics engineer.
Takeaways
- 👨💼 Thomas is a Junior Electronics Engineer at a cyber security scale-up company named Garrison in London.
- 🏢 Garrison specializes in hardsec technology, which uses FPGA devices for effective security threat elimination.
- 🕗 The company offers flexible working hours, allowing Thomas to start work between 8:30am and 9:00am.
- 📧 Thomas begins his day by checking and responding to company emails.
- 🗣️ He participates in various meetings, including stand-ups, production meetings, and hardware meetings.
- 🔬 Thomas is currently leading a project to develop a test design for a microcontroller board for mass production.
- 💻 He is working on establishing SPI communication between a Raspberry Pi and a microcontroller, using Python for programming.
- 📊 Thomas uses an oscilloscope to debug and confirm the correct format of UART signals.
- 🍽️ For lunch, Thomas usually goes to Lower Marsh, a cost-effective food vendor area, but today he tries Korean food.
- 🤝 He attends a big meeting with hardware engineers and the production team to discuss weekly progress and challenges.
- 🛠️ Thomas uses a variety of tools, including an oscilloscope, voltmeter, and soldering equipment, to advance his project.
- 💻 He also uses programming tools like Python for serial communication and Altium for microcontroller PCB layout design.
- 📚 The job involves a lot of research, reading, and documentation, as well as taking breaks to socialize with colleagues.
Q & A
What is Thomas's profession and where is he located?
-Thomas is a Junior Electronics Engineer located in London.
What is the name of the company Thomas works for?
-Thomas works for a company called Garrison.
What type of technology does Garrison specialize in?
-Garrison specializes in Hardsec technology, which uses FPGA devices for effective security threat elimination.
What is the significance of Hardsec technology in the context of Thomas's work?
-Hardsec technology is a practical approach that uses non-Turing machine implementations for security, which is the forefront security system of the company Thomas works for.
How flexible are the working hours at Thomas's company?
-The company is quite flexible with working hours, allowing Thomas to either get to work by 8:30 am or 9 am, as long as he works for 8 hours a day.
What is the purpose of the stand-up meeting Thomas attends in the morning?
-The stand-up meeting is for the production team to discuss each member's tasks for the day and to address any problems they might need help with.
What is the main project Thomas is currently leading?
-Thomas is leading the development of a test design for a microcontroller board for mass production.
What specific task is Thomas working on in the video?
-In the video, Thomas is working on establishing SPI communication between his Raspberry Pi and a microcontroller developed by one of his colleagues.
What issue is Thomas facing with the SPI communication?
-Thomas is facing an issue where he is receiving no signal at all on the SPI line, which is unusual and requires debugging.
What is Thomas's lunch routine and where does he usually eat?
-Thomas usually goes to Lower Marsh for lunch, a spot with food vendors of various cuisines, where he typically spends around six pounds for a meal.
What tools and software does Thomas use in his work?
-Thomas uses tools like an oscilloscope, voltmeter, and soldering equipment, and software such as Python for serial communication, Altium for microcontroller PCB layout, and he also develops PCB interfaces using Altium Designer.
How does Thomas balance his work and breaks during the day?
-Thomas takes breaks to eat fruits, use his phone, and chat with colleagues to get his mind off work when he's stuck, ensuring he doesn't work continuously for the full eight hours.
Outlines
👨💻 A Day in the Life of a Junior Electronics Engineer
Thomas, a Junior Electronics Engineer in London, introduces his day at Garrison, a cybersecurity scale-up company specializing in hardsec technology. He wakes up around 7:30 a.m. and has flexible working hours, either arriving at work by 8:30 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. His day starts with checking company emails and responding to updates. He attends various meetings such as stand-ups, production meetings, and hardware meetings. Thomas is currently leading a project to develop a test design for a microcontroller board for mass production. His specific task for the day is to establish SPI communication between a Raspberry Pi and a microcontroller, for which he has written a Python program to send and display signals. He encounters an issue with the SPI line and is in the process of debugging it. After a productive morning, he heads to Lower Marsh for a budget-friendly lunch and later attends a big meeting with company employees to discuss weekly progress and any arising issues.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Junior Electronics Engineer
💡Cyber Security
💡Hardsec Technology
💡Flexible Working Hours
💡Stand-up Meeting
💡Microcontroller
💡SPI Communication
💡Oscilloscope
💡Altium Designer
💡Prototype
Highlights
Introduction to Thomas, a Junior Electronics Engineer in London.
Description of the company, Garrison, specializing in cybersecurity and hardsec technology.
Explanation of hardsec technology using FPGA devices for security threat elimination.
Thomas' flexible work hours, arriving at the office between 8:30am and 9:00am.
Daily routine includes checking company emails and responding to updates.
Variety of meetings such as stand-up, production, hardware, and business update meetings.
Morning stand-up meeting with the production team to discuss daily tasks and issues.
Project leadership role in developing a test design for a microcontroller board for mass production.
Establishing SPI communication between a Raspberry Pi and a microcontroller.
Debugging issues with no signal on the SPI line during communication testing.
Lunch break at Waterloo, exploring food vendors at Lower Marsh for affordable meals.
Description of a delicious Korean spicy cod fish stew during lunch.
Afternoon meeting with hardware and production teams to discuss weekly progress and updates.
Use of various tools such as oscilloscopes, voltmeters, and soldering equipment in the project.
Programming tools used include Python for serial communication and Altium for PCB layout.
Thomas' approach to taking breaks and interacting with colleagues for mental refreshment.
End of workday routine, wrapping up at around 5:30 pm.
Closing thoughts and invitation to stay tuned for more engineering content.
Transcripts
Hey guys, my name is Thomas and today i'll show you guys a day in my life
as a Junior Electronics Engineer in London to give you guys a brief summary about my company the
company i work at is called garrison garrison is a cyber security scale up and which uses hardsec
technology as their forefront security system hardsec technology is a practical approach
in which uses fpga devices to deliver effective security threat elimination using a non-turing
machine implementations since i've introduced myself and the company let's go into my day
I like to wake up at around 7:30 a.m depending on the day though i'll either get to work by 8:30am or
9am as my company is quite flexible in terms of working hours as long as you are in the office
and do work for 8 hours as soon as I arrive to the office I go through my company email and see
what emails need to be updated and be responded depending on the day I have various meetings it could
range from morning stand-up, production meeting, hardware meeting, business update meeting and or
personal meetings with engineers that i'm working with for the current project today in the morning
i'm having a stand-up meeting with the production team for us to discuss about
what each of our members are doing for the day and if there are any problems they need
help with the project i'm currently leading is to develop a test design for microcontroller
board for mass production for today though i'm specifically working on establishing a
spi communication between my raspberry pi and a microcontroller developed by one of our engineers
i've written a program in python so far to send and display write signal and hex through uart
as you can see here the oscilloscope shows that the uart signal gave me a response of ff in hex
which is equivalent to eight ones in binary running from a lookup table given I can
tell that the command sent through UART has been confirmed to be in correct format with no errors
however i'm having an issue here on the spi line where i'm receiving no signal at all which is
strange and so i'm currently trying to debug what the issue here is so far I think I have debug
one of the issue which could have been a problem here which is the command cent which may have not
been correct but based on the feedback that you are there is no problem with the command at all
afterwards when the clock hits around 12pm pm I go down the office to waterloo and get
lunch i usually go to lower marsh which is a spot where there are food vendors of various cuisines
it's super cheap to get as it costs around six pounds and it's actually surprisingly
pretty decent for a meal then I go back to a big meeting room to with the company employees
however i decided today that i'll be having some korean food instead
so what i'm having here is a spicy cod fish stew and it's super delicious just look at it wow
i personally don't like to eat fish but damn this dish is good and healthy by that time i go back
up after an hour lunch i'll have another meeting with the hardware engineer and production team
where both teams discuss and explain what they've been doing for the past week
it is an update for both teams and for us to see where our progress are and update any
hardware changes procurement or problems that has arisen that need change it give us a chance
to see the big picture and get help from others if needed afterwards i just go on the day with
my project that i'm currently assigned to lead to give an overview of what kind of things I do
i've been using all kinds of tools at my disposal to progress my project forward
these ranges from using an oscilloscope to read signals of voltmeter to test connectivity and all
the soldering equipment to populate chips headers and further I used to create my own makeshift
jumper wise for an interface between the female headers of the microcontroller and the raspberry
pi pins the makeshift jumper-wise are not that reliable both due for the proof of concept
programming tools i have used so far have been mostly python for serial communication
and creating test design and a program called altium to look at microcontroller pcb layout
later on though i'll be developing a pcb interface between the raspberry pi and the microcontroller
using the Altium Designer program and the rest is just a lot of research reading and documentation
for the project of course i don't just work eight hours straight i do have breaks
time to time eating fruits be on my phone talk to my colleagues
have a chat with other engineers you know just to get my mind off things when i'm stuck
by then the clock is around 5:30 pm and I pack up and ready to get home yeah that's my whole day
working as a junior electronics engineer hope you guys enjoyed the video and i hope you guys stay
tuned for more engineering content in the future thanks for watching i'll see you guys next time
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