Finding and Training the Next Design Engineers

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

There are a lot of job openings for PCB design engineers, and not enough young people in the pipeline to fill these jobs. How are we going to attract this next generation of design engineers to this industry, and what’s the best course of action for continuous training of these EEs?

I asked Bill Hargin, founder and “director of everything” at Z-zero, to share his thoughts continuous training and what the future may hold for design engineers of the future. As a signal integrity engineer and founder of his stackup software company, Bill has a fairly circumspect view of the industry, and he’s done his share of hiring. He’s also slightly off-grid, which often comes in handy in this evolving field.

Andy Shaughnessy: What advice regarding training and education would you give a young electrical engineer right out of college who wants to start a career as a PCB design engineer?

Bill Hargin: I think most companies have required and optional training opportunities, so leaning into that is a good start. My first job out of college was at Boeing, and we had tons of training options. I was almost always taking some sort of after-work course. Beyond that, I think everyone working in electronic hardware design should be working through books specific to hardware design. If it’s important, someone has written a book about it.

Shaughnessy: What topics and disciplines would you recommend for them to study: SI, PI, RF, EMC, etc.?

Hargin: I don’t like to generalize by saying, “Everyone should do XYZ.” But if I had to make a firm recommendation, I’d start by developing a firm foundation in basic signal integrity. From there, you can branch off into any or all the other three you mentioned.

To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the February 2025 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.