Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1189040
92 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2019 Matties: PCB repair is not as sexy as other soft- ware companies. Smith: Yes, nobody wants to get into the hard- ware end of things. There are some techni- cal degrees. It probably could be an associate type of degree where those programs are more focused on putting people into that kind of a job versus just getting a degree of some sort. Of course, military-type programs resource people, but it's getting more difficult. Matties: In the civilian world, do you see repair technicians working at an EMS or an assem- bly company, or are they embedded inside the OEMs? Smith: At the OEMs, I see more of an engineer- ing-level person going into those jobs. Repair people are typically more into companies that don't manufacture anything but still do ser- vice. However, they don't necessarily make what they're working on; they're just trying to keep their production lines going for whatever they're making. We see a lot of people with more technician-level skills going into those types of jobs. Matties: Plant maintenance is probably a big issue because if you lose a card and your line is down, that's costly by the minute. Smith: Right. Versus a company that is man- ufacturing electronic circuit cards, such as a contract manufacturer. There are a lot of large companies that do that. The people that go into those types of jobs for troubleshooting are at a more engineering level because they're more concerned about process issues and some design issues. Matties: This is a part of the industry that people don't talk much about, but it's some- thing that happens all the time. Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you feel like we should include in this conver- sation? Smith: If people are interested and are good troubleshooters, I hope they'll realize that those jobs are there and they're in high demand. If you're not the kind of person who wants to go after an engineering degree or something like that, but you still like electronics and hands-on jobs, maybe a repair situation might be a good thing to look at. Matties: And I would imagine that there's pretty good money to be made in this position. Smith: Absolutely. Especially if you're good at it, you can have your pick of companies that are looking for what you do. Matties: Curtis, thank you so much for your time today. Smith: Thank you. SMT007