-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssuePartial HDI
Our expert contributors provide a complete, detailed view of partial HDI this month. Most experienced PCB designers can start using this approach right away, but you need to know these tips, tricks and techniques first.
Silicon to Systems: From Soup to Nuts
This month, we asked our expert contributors to weigh in on silicon to systems—what it means to PCB designers and design engineers, EDA companies, and the rest of the PCB supply chain... from soup to nuts.
Cost Drivers
In this month’s issue of Design007 Magazine, our expert contributors explain the impact of cost drivers on PCB designs and the need to consider a design budget. They discuss the myriad design cycle cost adders—hidden and not so hidden—and ways to add value.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
Setting Goals for Your PCB Design Education
March 30, 2022 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
For our March issue of Design007 Magazine on planning your design education, we spoke with Bill Brooks of Nordson ASYMTEK, a long-time PCB designer, CID instructor, and fantastic sculptor. He is also one of the first to ever teach standalone PCB design courses in a college.
After he earned his certification to teach the IPC CID workshops, Bill served as an adjunct instructor at Palomar College near San Diego, teaching beginning and advanced PCB design classes for 10 years. I asked Bill to share his thoughts on setting up a PCB design education career plan, and the need to stay on top of your game as a PCB designer.
Andy Shaughnessy: You’ve had experience teaching PCB design at the college level, as well as decades of industry experience. When you were teaching, how did you help your students plan their educational objectives?
Bill Brooks: When I was teaching at Palomar College, each student wanted something different out of the education and curriculum. Some students were looking to enhance their existing experience by adding PCB design to their electronics knowledge base. Some were trying to gain the necessary skills to get a specific job designing PCBs in the electronics industry, and some were taking my classes to fill out a degree program at the college without ever using the knowledge in our industry.
We helped them define their personal objectives by asking questions about their personal goals. Then we offered the entire class the goal of achieving certification though the IPC Designers Council. Before you start a journey, it’s a good idea to know where you want to go, develop a plan to get there, execute that plan, evaluate your progress, and make any adjustments make along the way.
Shaughnessy: What would you advise to PCB designers who want to set up their own strategic learning plans and educational objectives?
Brooks: Understand where the industry is headed and prepare for the skills you will need to place yourself as an asset in the industry. Ask questions of the experts in the field, connect with others who are going the same direction. Never stop learning; be curious.
Shaughnessy: What criteria should designers keep in mind when evaluating their educational needs to stay on top of their game in the industry?
Brooks: Printed circuit design methods and knowledge are not static. Learn about the resources available from authors, industry experts, manufacturers, and assembly houses. Help educate yourself and then stay connected.
Shaughnessy: When I first started covering PCB design in the late ‘90s, there were no “critical paths” to becoming a designer. Is an engineering degree becoming the critical path for future designers?
Brooks: No. Though many aspects of PCB design are engineering tasks, an engineering degree is not required for much of what we do. There are good tools out there to help and having an interest in solving puzzles is more useful than knowing transistor theory.
Shaughnessy: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Brooks: Get to work.
Shaughnessy: Good advice. Thanks, Bill.
Brooks: Thank you, Andy.
This conversation originally appeared in the March 2022 issue of Design007 Magazine.
Suggested Items
Altium to Unveil Groundbreaking Industry Solution at Electronica 2024
10/25/2024 | AltiumAltium, a global leader in electronics design and lifecycle management, is set to introduce three transformative product offerings at the upcoming Electronica 2024 conference in Munich, Germany.
2024 IPC CEMAC China Electronics Manufacturing Annual Conference Focuses on the Electronics Industry’s Future
10/24/2024 | IPCThe 2024 IPC CEMAC China Electronics Manufacturing Annual Conference, co-organized by IPC and the Shanghai Pudong New Area Quality Technology Association, kicked off with a grand opening ceremony in Shanghai. Themed "Making Your Imagination Reality," the event has brought together leaders, technical experts, and corporate representatives from the global electronics manufacturing industry to explore future trends and opportunities.
iNEMI Connector Footprint Tolerance End-of-Project Webinar
10/24/2024 | iNEMIiNEMI’s PCB Connector Footprint Tolerance Project investigated industry capability, risks and mitigation strategies associated with high-bandwidth I/O connector footprints.
Test Research, Inc. (TRI) to Exhibit at SMTA Space Coast Expo & Tech Forum 2024
10/24/2024 | Test Research Inc.Test Research, Inc. (TRI), the leading provider of test and inspection systems for the electronics manufacturing industry, will participate in the SMTA Space Coast Expo & Tech Forum 2024.
Highlights of the ICT 50th Anniversary Symposium
10/24/2024 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007Why does it always rain when I attend these events? Temperatures were dropping, daylight was shrinking, and there were seasonal colour changes in wet hedgerows as I travelled to Gloucestershire for the 50th Anniversary Symposium of the Institute of Circuit Technology at Puckrup Hall near Tewkesbury in mid-October. It was a memorable occasion: Nostalgic for my contemporaries who remembered our industry at its most prosperous, technically outstanding in the quality and significance of presentations to an attentive audience of printed circuit professionals, and complemented by the sharing of ideas, information, and trade gossip within a friendly community at the evening gathering.