Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1400005
AUGUST 2021 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 21 Holden: I give free online lectures on PCB design at Michigan Tech. It's a semester course. You're welcome to attend. Just email Marc Carter. He's been covering the development of PCB courses at MTU and elsewhere in his PCB007 column. Webb: I would be interested in attending those classes. I'm still working full-time, so I don't know how oen I can attend them, but thank you. Shaughnessy: Susy, do you have any advice for a new designer starting out? As they're leaving your class, what do you tell them? Webb: For the seasoned designer, be sure that you keep your mind open to many possibili- ties, because you may not always be with your current company, and other companies may do things very differently. When/if you go some- place else, you may be required to do other things, and it's important to be well-rounded. It helps a person be more valuable and land that new job. e reason I bring that up is because I've interviewed designers who had been laid off, but they felt that the way things were done at their previous company was the only way to do things, and they did not want to change that. I believe an open mind is a good tool to have. For the new designer, or the engineer design- ing boards, I would say to develop a passion for the profession so that their natural inquisitive- ness leads them to always want to understand more. Shaughnessy: Beware tribal knowledge, right? Webb: Yes. Many companies have rigid pro- cesses that work for them, but other skills may be needed at another company. ere are thou- sands of ways to do these things, so a designer needs to be flexible and be able to think for themselves and make decisions within the con- fines of the company processes. Shaughnessy: Great. is has been really good. ank you for talking with us. I hope we can get together in person this year. Webb: ank you, Andy. I enjoyed it. DESIGN007 To contact Marc Carter about his work with PCB curriculum at Michigan Tech, click here. Susy Webb is a senior PCB designer at Design Science PCB in the greater Houston area.