Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Elementary, Mr. Watson: Paying the Price To Be a PCB Designer

Introduction
Shopping is not one of my favorite pastimes, mainly because of how I look at it. For me, shopping is a mission, or better yet,  a conquest. Get in, “bag the blouse,” and get out. Most women I know say it's not about what they buy that is important but rather the whole experience. I have spent hours in the mall, roaming the various stores like a nomad; in the end, I never purchased anything—and I didn’t enjoy the experience.

That is partly because of the mental process. When we go shopping and we see something we like, what do we do? First, we find the price tag and determine whether we are willing to pay the cost. Many times, we decide that it is too high, and we walk away.

The same can be said about being a great PCB designer. Honestly, some are satisfied with just being "good" designers. But good PCB designers are a dime a dozen. You can drag a $100 bill through some areas and pick up a handful of "good" designers.

Today, the electronics industry is flourishing with innovations and technologies. The result is that the “good” designers are left in the dust. Truthfully, our industry doesn't need more good designers; rather, we need great designers—those who can face any challenge and instead of cowering in the corner, looks at the task at hand and says, "Bring it on."

You can quickly identify the good PCB designers in a group. They are the ones that have more excuses than solutions. I have heard it endless times from some people who are faced with a task or a challenge that takes them out of their comfort zone and they immediately fall back to the go-to list of excuses: they don't have the proper education, they don't have the time, or they cannot figure it out. Excuses are endless, and they either accomplish very little in their career or nothing.

Please understand what I am saying; this is not a put-down or insult, but rather a challenge. If you are perfectly okay with maintaining the status quo and not advancing in your career, this article is not for you. But if you are a good designer who wants to become a great one, know that decision comes at a price, and if you first decide to pay that price, I can promise you that it will be one of the best decisions you will make in your career. 

Pay the Price With Furthering Education
I recently spoke to a group of engineers, and one of the PCB designers pulled me aside. He mentioned how he was encouraged by the same challenge I am giving here, and he liked what I said. I knew precisely what was coming next; he said, “But…,” and I knew what would follow was his excuse. He was a middle-aged designer, did not go through formal training, and did not hold a degree of any kind. He felt he didn't have the educational level to be a great PCB designer.

Being a great PCB designer is not based on a diploma hanging on the wall but on your attitude to learn and grow continually. While I acknowledge the value of a formal education, I also believe your education must continue throughout your career. Many would agree that the real education begins after you leave your college or university.

After being in the industry for over 40 years, I spend a fair amount of my week studying and learning new things. I make a point of keeping a running list of subjects that I want to research and then purposely set aside time to learn those new things. What are some great resources for learning? Frankly, anywhere you can. Everything you want to know is written down somewhere; you just need to find it. It has never been easier; with so many online resource, it is not a question of access. You are not going to learn these new things through osmosis, so take the time and effort to seek out new learning opportunities.

Put in a concentrated effort to find and learn new things. Don't look at it as a struggle, but rather as the price you must pay to be a great PCB designer. 

Pay the Price of Hard Work
There are two types of people in every company. First, there’s the person who works until the clock on the wall tells them it's time to go home. You know this person—they strictly work the set hours and collect their paycheck every two weeks. These usually are the same folks first out of the parking lot on Friday afternoon and the last back in on Monday morning. The second type of person is the one who keeps working until the job is done. I will leave it to you to determine which type you are.

Something that has infiltrated the electronics industry, and something I have seen with new designers, is wanting the quick and easy path, and looking for instant gratification. For the great PCB designer, that doesn't exist. It takes a tremendous amount of hard work to succeed. Vince Lombardi, long-time coach of the Green Bay Packers, once said:

"The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”^[1]

Until you are willing to put in the necessary work, all you have are hopes and dreams to be successful. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty, putting the required hours, and get the job done. 

Paying the Price: Turning It Up to 11
In the 1984 classic rock documentary This Is Spinal Tap, guitarist Nigel Tufnel proudly demonstrated an amplifier whose volume knobs were marked from zero to 11 instead of zero to 10. From that movie, we get the phrase, "Turn it up to 11." This is not just a lesson in perception, instead it’s one of seeing a limit and exceeding it. What is your level 11? The only person who can answer that that is you.

Do not let anyone tell you what your potential will be. The saying goes, "Misery loves company." It seems as if the miserable person who gave up on their dreams a long time ago are the ones saying what you cannot have yours. Never, under any circumstance, let anyone do that. Only you can place limits on yourself.

Your future and your continuing success are not dependent on your education level, where you grew up, your age, or anything else. Whatever career path you decide to follow does not come from the outside, but rather from the inside, and no one can take that away from you.

It's about your attitude. Don't be controlled by excuses. Instead of the possibility of being a great designer, the industry is waiting for what you can offer and for your answer. The sky is the limit of the possibilities of what you will do. 

References

1. Brainyquote.com.

John Watson, CID, is a customer success manager at Altium.