Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Elementary, Mr. Watson: Where Have All the PCB Designers Gone?

What are the biggest challenges in PCB design? Now, that’s a loaded question, but one that I’d like to talk about. Before I do so, I think it’s helpful to talk about challenges themselves, how we view them, how they affect us, and what we do about them. What one person perceives as a challenge may not be a challenge for another person. Challenges can vary based on individual circumstances, goals, values, and strengths or weaknesses. Some folks avoid challenges or never expect to have issues, but this is entirely unrealistic.

Why are challenges something to avoid? Never believe that you shouldn’t have difficulties, or that everything will go smoothly with no problems. It reminds me of the adage, "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst." But today’s prevalent attitude seems to be that we should avoid every challenge.

While challenges can be complex and demanding, don’t try to avoid them altogether. Instead, see that challenges are opportunities for growth, learning, and personal development. Avoiding challenges can hinder your progress and limit your potential.

Remember, not all challenges are worth pursuing or can be overcome immediately. So, be patient and vigilant. By that, I mean, always be careful to notice things, especially possible danger or problems. There are two sides to this coin: You either look for problems under every rock or you become very lazy. You want to look for middle ground, a place where you are prepared and watchful for any possible problem or issue.

After spending some time in this industry, you think you've probably seen just about everything. Then out of nowhere, something pops up that is a complete surprise. Early in my career, I worked on an advanced PCB. I thought I had covered all my bases, checking and double checking everything. Feeling confident, I sent out the design for fabrication, and wouldn't you know it? When I got the bare PCB back from the vendor, clear as day, sealed underneath the solder mask, was what seemed like a mosquito-like fossil from the Mesolithic era. I have to laugh about it now, but you never know where challenges come from, so be prepared and vigilant.   

The Greatest Problem
While the great industry experts will take on some of the biggest challenges on the PCB design side (see the June issue of Design007 Magazine), for me, the biggest challenge is much more significant and personal, and it drives much of what I now do in my career.

In the past decade, I’ve seen a disturbing trend: the lack of new PCB designers. Every year, I read a survey that asks designers, "Do you intend to retire within the next 12 months?" Each year, the response is consistently well above 60%. The massive sucking sound many hear in their companies is the talent walking out the front door, taking years of experience and training with them, and leaving companies scrambling to fill the void. 

That trend probably began around the economic downturn of 2008, when companies moved away from designated PCB designers and decided to tap into the resource of electronics engineers. What they quickly learned was that many of these engineers didn’t have the training necessary to do even basic PCB designs. While I teach PCB design at the community college level, I’ve noticed it is not given much attention at the university level. At a recent conference It is not something that is taught in detail in higher education. I recently saw that educational trend at a conference for university engineering department heads, where I asked how much attention they gave strictly to PCB design. Unbelievably, I was told that it was only six weeks. That point was brought home when someone wrote on a white board in big, bold letters, "Where have all the PCB designers gone?"

But I believe that we have come full circle on this issue. I speak to companies nearly every day who are looking to fill positions. The new trend is that they are so desperate, they are willing to train. It feels like they just want a “warm body,” and they’ll do the rest.

Interestingly enough, during this dearth of PCB designers, innovation hasn’t slowed down. In fact, it’s the opposite. In recent years, we have seen some of the greatest electronics innovations in history.

The PCB industry, like many other technology-driven industries, faces challenges with talent acquisition and qualified employees. There is a well-known skills gap. It is my personal mission as a professor at Palomar College San Marcos to tackler this problem head-on.

As a company struggling to find that talent you so desperately need, collaborating with universities and educational institutions can help bridge the skills gap. PCB companies can work closely with academic institutions to develop curricula, provide internships or apprenticeships, and establish research partnerships. This collaboration can ensure that graduates have the relevant skills and knowledge needed in the industry.

I partner with companies waiting for our students to complete Palomar College’s 32-week PCB design course. These companies realize that while many of those students may be new to the industry, they have been in such a robust and detailed environment and now have the needed job training and experience to begin their careers.

As a professor teaching in the PCB industry, I encourage lifelong learning with each student. The PCB industry is constantly evolving, and professionals need to stay updated with the latest trends and technologies. Encouraging a culture of lifelong learning within an organization can help employees acquire new skills and knowledge through continuous professional development programs, conferences, webinars, and industry events.

The talent shortage is something I think about every day. How do we reverse the trend and begin to see more PCB designers entering a company than leaving? We can change that trend one student at a time. We can reverse this downward trend by partnering with great schools like the one I teach at and using it to train your teams, open an internship or, dare I say it, a job to a student.

Talent shortage is a significant problem that impacts our industry today, but we’ve seen other challenges hit us in the past. They come and go. I await other challenges, like the subsequent raw material shortage, to see which components will hit and cause supply chain shortages. Maybe it will be because of political upheaval in some distant country that will cause an issue for me in completing my next PCB design. Those problems will hit us again in the future and, just as we have done time and again, we will adapt and overcome.

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

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