Opportunity Awareness: Thoughtful Reflections on Your Future #20
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Popular Electronics magazine ran a monthly series titled, "Opportunity Awareness" that addressed issues on continuing education, networking, and job performance as a means of advancing one's career. Fundamentally, nothing has changed in that aspect; however, the specialty areas for various levels of education and experience has shifted from where they were in 1971 when this chart was created. Host David Heiserman often fielded questions submitted by readers. As one who spent many nights sitting in evening college classes while working on an Associate's degree, a Bachelor's degree, and a few credits toward a Master's degree, I can relate to the guy who wrote about taking night courses in an effort to get into the electronics field. I was already working in the electronics field as a technician who wanted to be an engineer, and definitely benefitted from years of practical, hands-on experience with circuits and systems - especially when it came to performing laboratory exercises. See other installments: 3rd, 7th, 12th, 20th Opportunity Awareness: Experience Helps - Even in the Classroom
Experience Helps - Even in the Classroom I am an insurance salesman during the day and attend a two-year technical college in the evening. I get good grades in every subject except my major - electronics. I seem to be at a disadvantage because I don't have a job in electronics; the fellows who do get all the top grades. Any suggestions? • Get to work building some of the projects that appear in Popular Electronics - and that's not just a plug for the magazine. Buy some kits and put them together. Try fixing that broken radio, TV, or record player that you stored away somewhere. The idea is to get some of the experience that the other guys have. Of course, you aren't alone with this problem. A good share of the students enrolled in evening technical colleges are already working in the field of their choice. They are in school (often at their employer's expense) to upgrade their knowledge. It isn't that they are smarter or already know everything about electronics theory; but by working every day with electronics problems, they have a chance to apply what they learned the night before. All of your knowledge and experience with electronics is coming from textbooks and a few artificial situations in the laboratory. These are no substitute for practical experience. So, unless you are willing to give up your present job to take one in electronics, you'll have to create your own opportunities for applying what you are learning. Build some projects, assemble some kits, and try fixing some electronic devices. Obviously you are already very busy; but you can find the time if you think of it as a vital part of your learning process. When you suddenly find theories making more sense and see your grades inching up, you'll realize it was worth the extra trouble and expense.
Adapted from an IEEE publication, this chart
shows the education levels required for various positions in electronics. Note that
the job categories overlap on education levels. Education for Jobs in Electronics Would you please publish a complete summary of the principal jobs in electronics and the amount of education required for each? • We have received a number of requests of this type; but, since a full treatment of the subject would most likely fill an entire issue of the magazine, we've had to tackle the job piecemeal. Since a picture can say a thousand (or more) words, we've come up with a chart that gives a fairly complete idea in a small space. The chart, adapted from an IEEE bulletin entitled "Your Challenge in Electrical Engineering," shows fourteen main job classifications for technicians and engineers working in electronics today. The horizontal bars indicate the amount of education required for each job. As an example of how to use the chart, a lab technician should have at least a little bit of technical school training and, preferably, a couple of years of college. By contrast, a consultant must have at least a bachelor's degree and, preferably, some graduate training at the PhD level. Electronics-Industrial & Communications
Relative numbers of technicians working in six different areas and four kinds of jobs. I am a first-year student in a two-year technical college, majoring in electronics. Next year I have to decide whether to specialize in communications or industrial electronics. There are a number of industrial electronics firms in my home town, but I would like to know more about opportunities in communications electronics, and the difference between the two. There are some big differences between industrial and communications electronics: in the equipment, in the design problems, and, when you get right down to it, in the basic philosophies. Even though a technician may have a lot of training and years of experience in industrial electronics, for in- stance, he will most likely have to take some home study courses in communications be- fore he can qualify for a job in that field. Thus, electronics technicians have a tendency to go into either industrial or communications electronics and stay there. This means that your decision to be made next year is an important one. The two charts show the relative numbers of electronics technicians now employed in industrial and communications electronics. They also show three main areas of specialization within the two major fields; and, furthermore, they show the relative numbers of technicians working al four different kinds of jobs within each specialty. By studying the charts, which represent a fairly complete and accurate occupational profile for electronics technicians in the U.S., you may be able to get a better idea of the kind of electronics work that interests you and determine the range of opportunities available. In communications electronics, there are three main areas of specialization: consumer electronics, broadcasting, and military electronics. The first includes the whole world of electronic equipment, for the home: TV and radio receivers, audio equipment, and a host of other minor gadgets that use electronic parts and circuits. Broadcasting represents the other end of the communications link-TV and radio transmitting equipment and sound recording systems. Today, most technicians working in communications electronics have jobs somehow related to radio, radar, navigation or guidance systems for military use. Specialization in industrial electronics includes: measurement and control instruments, computers, and industrial power equipment. Most of the work in measurement and control involves sensors, activators, and logic systems for industrial automation. Computer specialization deals with digital systems for business, industry and scientific research; while the relatively new industrial power specialization includes emergency standby power systems, inverters, and many different kinds of high -power control de- vices. The four job divisions within each area of specialization give you some idea of the kind of work done. Research and development (R R: D) jobs involve planning, designing, prototyping, and testing new electronic devices and circuits. The production jobs range from assembly line work to testing and quality control. Maintenance and repair and operation are concerned with actual equipment. Although it is generally quite difficult to switch from industrial to communications electronics, most technicians find it rather easy (and often desirable) to change specializations within their field. And changing job titles within a given specialization is even easier and more desirable-the latter because it generally means more responsibility and more pay. These charts show only the popularity of different kinds of jobs in electronics-not the amount of training required or the going salaries. With the notable exception of military communications electronics, jobs in communications generally pay less than those in industrial electronics. And, because of the special skills required, R&D jobs generally pay more than the other three. Keep in mind that the charts represent the national picture-job opportunities for electronics technicians vary widely from one part of the country to another.
Posted December 10, 2018 |
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Twentieth in a Monthly Series by David L. Heiserman
