It's good to see the variety of people here, wildly different backgrounds and levels of know-how attained during and after school (if any).
I was nuts about peeping inside the TV, radio, etc since very young. Did very well in electronics in high school - the teacher and principal created a special two hour (or was it three?) block just so I could tinker more. The teacher let me do what I liked, with only occasional guidance. I helped the other students with their work. Won a plaque in the science fair for what today would be an computer engineering project. But I love analog more.
Majored in physics in college, not EE. Taught an electronics lab in grad school, though still in physics. Then left w/o thesis to go into software. That was a bad move!
So, no formal EE education but quite knowledgeable, did some design projects, and love to tinker w analog signal processing, solar powered LED circuits, audio etc. Fixed a big stamping machine in a factory, 'cause the owner knew I knew electronics. Theory and practice! Love the high horsepower math used in design and simulation, and I too know which end of the soldering iron to hold, even before breakfast. But never had luck finding a paying long-lasting job in electronics.
Now aiming for an MSEE at New Mexico Tech, conveniently close to where I now live. (Second choice: a photonics degree at UCF's CREOL.) Software work sucks and I've wanted to get out of it since a week after I started my first software job, while solar power, scientific instruments and millimeter wave technology intrigue me.