Back to School With Jonathan Studinka

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

At the Anaheim Electronics & Manufacturing Show, I spoke with Jonathan Studinka, a student in John Watson’s PCB design class at Palomar College. In this interview, Jonathan shares his experience, highlighting how John’s class has broadened his understanding of PCBs and sparked his interest in mechatronics. Despite having no prior electronics training, Jonathan says he finds the coursework manageable by taking it step by step. 

Andy Shaughnessy: Jonathan, tell us about your PCB design class at Palomar College. 

Jonathan Studinka: It’s opened my eyes to many things about PCBs and the world we live in. The device recording this conversation has a PCB in it, so without that PCB, this interview couldn't happen. I wanted to go to the mechanical side at first. But after taking John Watson’s class, I want to look more into mechatronics, combining mechanical and electrical.

Shaughnessy: You mentioned that you have a background in AutoCAD, correct?

Studinka: Yes, I've learned AutoCAD. At my old company, we built water filtration systems for municipalities around San Diego County, and I helped them design a frame for a mixer that would sit in a tank holding up to 10 million gallons.

Shaughnessy: That's pretty cool. What led you to take Watson’s class? 

Studinka: Basically, I was just seeing what was out there. I want to do something hands-on, building something from nothing. 

Shaughnessy: How far along are you in the coursework? 

Studinka: We're six weeks in. It's a very overwhelming thing when you haven't had a background in PCB, not having touched anything about it before. So, I eat the elephant a few bites at a time.

Shaughnessy: Did you have any prior electronics training? 

Studinka: No, no electronics training at all. I thought I would go into construction work, but quickly decided that was not a path for me. We had a construction class in my high school. I realized I didn’t want to go down that path. 

Shaughnessy: Well, Watson certainly has a jobs pipeline. He says companies ask him for candidate referrals every day.

Studinka: That would be amazing to go from a class right into a job. 

Shaughnessy: Since you already have AutoCAD experience, you could be the part-time mechanical guy instead of having to call the mechanical guy.

Studinka: I think it would be cool to wear multiple hats. 

Shaughnessy: Would you recommend this class?

Studinka: I would, absolutely. Give it a shot; you don't know until you try, even if you feel like you're in over your head. John takes you through every single step you need to know. I often think that if I do this and this, what will happen to my design? We're just finalizing the schematic, and even in our lab, I was playing around with different pins and this and that, seeing what it would do. I actually was able to fix a few issues just by playing around and seeing what could happen. 

Shaughnessy: It is an art. Some people say it's also like a puzzle. Do you like to do puzzles? 

Studinka: Yes, it is like a big jigsaw puzzle where the shapes do not always fit together properly, but they go next to each other.

Shaughnessy: That's a good way to look at it. Any final thoughts? 

Studinka: No, just get into PCB design, and you can start with this John’s class at Palomar College.

Shaughnessy: Thank you, Jonathan. Glad to see young people coming into PCB design again.

Studinka: Thank you for the opportunity.