Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1004549
JULY 2018 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 43 Whereas for the people that grew up with the tool, they might have their own crazy com- binations for copying, but it's definitely dif- ferent. It's like you said, growing up with the technologies, you get so ingrained with things that feel natural and aren't cross-platform and cross-tool. The younger crowd is expecting that. They almost feel as if they're entitled to it. If it's not, it almost feels like we're shorting them. Shaughnessy: Designers years ago called their EDA tools "job security" because they were Unix tools and no one else in the office could just jump on the tool and start designing. It's not like that anymore. LaPointe: No, in so many startups and young companies, there really isn't that job security or that guy who is trying to be the wealth of knowledge. Some of these people need to be able to pick up the tool, make their product, and get a pro- totype for their customers. They can't afford months and months of training trying to learn interfaces and technologies. They really have to be able to install this tool, get it up and running, and work on their projects immediately. Shaughnessy: Right. Among your classmates and friends your age, are any of them in this industry or any sort of electronics careers? LaPointe: Some of them are. When I ended up getting into the industry I started talking to my friends about what I do, what technolo- gies there are, and what the industry does. A few of them did take interest and ended up taking internships or positions elsewhere. They've had the same trickling effect. They've told some friends who've since applied. Word of mouth, at least for me, has seemed to be a good way to get people into the indus- try. I don't know how it works for everyone else, but it's definitely the easiest way to spread the word. Shaughnessy: Did Cadence require a college degree for your position? LaPointe: They did, a combination of experi- ence and a college degree. Obviously, with enough experience, that counters out that degree, but yes, they do. They want to see a wealth of ability and knowledge, a bit of a bal- ance, and obviously real-world experience. Shaughnessy: Where'd you go to college? LaPointe: The University of New Haven in Con- necticut. Shaughnessy: OK. You know, a designer friend of mine was out of work and he ended up finding a job, but a lot of managers told him, "You're ineligible because you don't have a college degree." It seems like they're starting to want designers to have some kind of degree now, which is a total sea change from before because most of the senior design- ers that I know have maybe six weeks of community college. LaPointe: Yes, that's defi- nitely true. The environ- ment that I was design- ing in, the majority, if not nearly all of them, had high school degrees. They didn't have a formal college edu- cation. They weren't EEs, though one or two were EEs who actually switched to design because they liked it so much. Part of it is because the pace that technology has moved creates this really big gap where if you bring on somebody without a degree, the curve to get them up to speed is almost too great. If you come on with that EE experience, you've got a basic understanding of the ter-