-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueLevel Up Your Design Skills
This month, our contributors discuss the PCB design classes available at IPC APEX EXPO 2024. As they explain, these courses cover everything from the basics of design through avoiding over-constraining high-speed boards, and so much more!
Opportunities and Challenges
In this issue, our expert contributors discuss the many opportunities and challenges in the PCB design community, and what can be done to grow the numbers of PCB designers—and design instructors.
Embedded Design Techniques
Our expert contributors provide the knowledge this month that designers need to be aware of to make intelligent, educated decisions about embedded design. Many design and manufacturing hurdles can trip up designers who are new to this technology.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
Tim Haag Celebrates 10 Years as a Columnist
December 19, 2022 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 5 minutes
I ran into columnist Tim Haag at PCB West, who was visiting the show with co-workers from the technical writing company First Page Sage. We discussed Tim’s years as a Design007 Magazine columnist, and some of the drivers affecting the technical writing market, such as the retirement of many PCB subject matter experts who were also go-to writers within their companies.
Andy Shaughnessy: Tim, good to see you. It’s been a while. How’s it going?
Tim Haag: It’s going really good, Andy. Good to see you.
Shaughnessy: Yeah, good to see you. So first, tell us what brings you to PCB West?
Haag: I have two writers here from First Page Sage who will be taking classes. I’m here to connect with people, make new connections, and just basically network with the whole design community that I’ve known for the last 30 years or so.
Shaughnessy: Now you’re in a management position with a number of writers working for you. Not bad, considering that you were a PCB designer, and not a writer. How did you wind up in management?
Haag: I started out by writing different things for the company that I was working for at the time, and that’s where I began to grow as a writer. Eventually I had some ideas that I put down, and Design007 Magazine started publishing my column. That led to more writing, and eventually, First Page Sage was looking for somebody who could write technology pieces about the PCB design industry, and they hired me. As that has grown and the company has grown, I’ve had more supervisory experience. Now I’m a team lead of a group of writers who cover just a vast assortment of different industries.
Shaughnessy: It looks like First Page Sage services much of the electronics industry, not just PCB.
Haag: Exactly. We have a lot of different customers that are in the EDA industry and other technology segments. EDA is just one area that we service. We also have people writing about other industries medical, legal, real estate, and SaaS-based applications. The list is endless.
Shaughnessy: I can’t believe you’ve been writing your column for 10 years. Congratulations!
Haag: I’ve enjoyed it. It’s really been great working with you all.
Shaughnessy: When you sent your first column to us, we published it as-is. I don’t think we changed a single word.
Haag: I was never so shocked as when you came back to me and said, “We’re going to publish this word for word and not change a thing.” I was stunned.
Shaughnessy: But with the next column, you weren’t so lucky. We bled all over it.
Haag: Oh, yeah. Just red on every word.
Shaughnessy: That’s how it is when your first column is a home run. You can’t hit homers all the time.
Haag: I had such an ego crash.
Shaughnessy: Now you’re the team lead. You said that your company is hiring writers right now, and that seems to be the case across the board. I’ve heard other technical writers saying that there’s just so much work writing out there now. Is it because so many subject matter experts left the industry during COVID, or are they all just retiring? What do you attribute this to?
Haag: We do see a lot of that. A lot of people come to us because they don’t have the in-house expertise to write the material that they want. But we provide more than just technical expertise. We’re laying out an entire campaign for companies to grow their presence on the web and to attract visibility. We do that by not only organizing the SEO aspects of their campaign, but also by studying their industry in depth, and then we provide writers who are subject matter experts and can write high-quality content to attract that interest from the people they’re trying to attract.
We do the basics of SEO, sure, like everybody else does. But with us that’s the beginning of the journey, not the destination. We will look at what the company needs, what it’s going to take to get there, and then design an entire campaign that will answer those needs. We also provide technical expertise on website design in addition to the content that our writers are providing.
Shaughnessy: What is the main problem customers have when they come to you?
Haag: We see a variety of needs from customers. Some people just want technical expertise in what we write for them. Other people say, “Our website’s a mess, and we know it. What do you guys recommend?” Other people say, “We want to see a campaign that will grow our readers’ interest.” What we provide the customer depends on what they want. We may publish blogs to their website, or publish it to social media outlets like LinkedIn, or whatever is necessary.
Shaughnessy: That’s great. This all happened almost accidentally, right? It’s like designers say about their career, “I didn’t choose this; it chose me.” This happened fairly late in your career.
Haag: It was late in my career, and my career in design started out by accident as well. I was working for an electronics company on the manufacturing floor; I had been a photographer in school, and this job opened up in the photo lab, so I took a look. I had no idea what it all meant. They transferred me over and next thing I know I’m making film that’s used for layers of circuit boards.
Shaughnessy: You were in the yellow room?
Haag: Exactly. I went from there to laying out boards, and from there I eventually became a technical writer for circuit board design.
Shaughnessy: I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since you started the column.
Haag: Yes, it’s been 10 years. It’s been wonderful, too.
Shaughnessy: Thanks for your time, Tim.
Haag: Thank you, Andy. Always a pleasure.
Suggested Items
May Issue of SMT007 Magazine: Coming to Terms With AI
05/06/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamIn the May 2024 issue of SMT007 Magazine, we examine the profound effect artificial intelligence and machine learning are having on manufacturing and business processes. We follow technology, innovation, and money as automation becomes the new key indicator of growth in our industry.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/03/2024 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007This week’s most important news is strategic—and telling. When one puts together the IPC industry reports, we simply have to include the recent conversation with Shawn DuBravac and Tom Kastner. On the design side, check out the latest “On The Line With…” podcast featuring Brad Griffin from Cadence Design Systems, discussing SI and PI in the realm of intelligent system design.
IMI Welcomes New CEO
05/03/2024 | IMIIntegrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. (IMI),The IMI Board of Directors announced, in a disclosure dated April 25, 2024, the appointment of Louis Sylvester Hughes, Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Gstar Announced the Strategic Move: Groundbreaking of Silicon Wafer Factory Construction in Indonesia
05/03/2024 | PRNewswireRecently, Gstar held a groundbreaking ceremony for its silicon rod and silicon wafer factory, marking the beginning of the rapid construction phase.
ZESTRON Academy Launches 2024 Advanced Packaging & Power Electronics Webinar Series
05/01/2024 | ZESTRONZESTRON, the leading global provider of high-precision cleaning products, services, and training solutions in the electronics manufacturing and semiconductor industries, proudly announces the launch of its highly anticipated webinar series on Advanced Packaging & Power Electronics, a webinar series on the latest innovations, cleaning, and corrosion challenges.