I started at Tektronix as a field Application Engineer in 1987 and 28 years later I am still in that job position. I was not required to work in production, but in field sales we are working directly with engineers and technicians in their labs measuring signals on their boards, so we are very close to the hardware. In some of my customer development labs the technicians do all of the soldering and nearly all of the actual measurements using test equipment. Of course, in some small companies the engineer does everything from soldering to hardware design to software design.
I worked for a small company for 5 years then owned my own company for 5 years after college and had plenty of experience with circuit design and component level service and calibration. This experience is not as widely needed now as it was several decades ago. For example, my Yaesu FT-857D is a lot more reliable than my Heathkit SB-301/SB-401 pair, and my iPad 3rd gen is much more reliable than my Z-89 computer was 35 years ago. I see no problem with university EE students using Arduino or Raspberry Pi modules rather than laying out a board and soldering components. When I was in EE school back in the 70's we were using IC's rather than the discrete transistors used a decade before or vacuum tubes a decade before that. Our local ham group gives Boy Scout Radio and Electronics Merit Badge classes several times a year at the National Scouting Museum in the Dallas area. The kids get to use a soldering iron and build this kit: http://www.electronicsmb.com/kit_details.html We have several new hams from these classes. Learning how radios, computers, and antennas work at all levels gives kids an incredible amount of confidence, and helps them prepare for future careers and hobbies. I know university students who build complex payloads for balloon launches and they are familiar with all levels of technology, from mechanical design and soldering up to embedded software development. They are hams, and Amateur Radio and the maker movement are helping keep practical electronic and mechanical skills active. -- Bill Byrom N5BB On Wed, Nov 11, 2015, at 08:34 PM, Pete Lancashire wrote: > Tektronix (long before being a division of Danaher) up to at least the > mid > 70's would require an EE to > work in production. I understand some HP divisions did the same. All that > started to change when > 'software' engineers were showing up. > > On Wed, Nov 11, 2015 at 5:56 PM, KA2WEU--- via time-nuts > <[email protected] >> wrote: > >> I know Zoya for many years, this ham business is a good idea.Give her my >> best regards , Ulrich >> >> >> In a message dated 11/11/2015 7:00:42 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, >> [email protected] writes: >> >> The EE department at the University of Colorado has an enlightened >> professor. >> >> http://ecee.colorado.edu/faculty/popovic.html >> >> Zoya required her students to not only get a ham license, but to build a >> Norcal 40A. >> >> http://ecee.colorado.edu/~ecen2420/Files/NorCal40A_Manual.pdf >> >> >> Most of the EE students had no idea what a resistor really was, let alone >> have any experience in soldering a resistor or capacitor on a PC board. >> One >> student stuffed the PC board, bent all the leads 90 degrees without >> cutting any of them off, and then in effect flow soldered the whole >> bottom of the >> PC board! >> >> One wonders how EE grads today can actually get a job and be productive >> with so little hands-on experience. >> >> Zoya belongs to the Boulder (Colorado) Amateur Radio Club, and our monthly >> meetings are in the EE department. It is too bad this is likely an unusual >> example of what happens on campuses today. >> >> Rob >> NC0B _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
