"Don't be intimidated and just start somewhere"
Over my years as an undergrad, school exposed me to much theory and many closed form solutions. I have been inspired by the science and mathematics behind engineering. Having started from DIY high school I always found theories to be irrelevant for the most part, simply because any circuit can be tweaked to operate correctly. However, despite my initial preference towards practical learning, I somehow became obsessed with closed form solutions: solutions that can be entirely and certainly solved through theory and math. I couldn't step up to the task in my earlier graduate courses in analog IC design. In thinking too deeply about everything that could go wrong I forgot that what matters is that your design works.
A few days ago at my design review meeting with my professor about my LNA my professor clearly saw I was struggling. Even with the deadline approaching I was still characterizing the IC process to derive constants of the transistor devices. He then told me to stop being intimidated and start somewhere. I always found this prof to be very intimidating for how he speaks, but this time his words resonated (no pun intended) with me. He began sketching up a design based on the project specifications and very simple device parameters; before I knew it, he was done with enough to begin simulation.
Although his design was using idealized components (no noise, loss-less, etc.) with all of the theory I've learned I can easily make up for the discrepancies later. Back when I didn't understand anything and I didn't know better but to build first, then learn, then fix. It turns out that I was doing the right thing all along! The only difference that knowledge of theory seems to make is in early design stages and when the bugs arise; with each bug we are simply able to make informed and goal-directed decisions. What's great is that this type of work can also lead to invention and innovation, as the frontier or engineering may simply seem like another bug. Theory moves engineering forward but only through implementation!
After telling my classmates the same thing all along, it's ironic that I would be trapped by the same mistakes of thinking I'm a scientist when I'm an engineer. I could never understand why people couldn't build, but now I understand why. I will forever appreciate my professor for saying that right thing at the right time.
