Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1517130
10 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2024 You may have noticed that many designer friends are eyeing the exit door. Not only that, many of the best design instructors are well into their 70s—just when things are getting interesting. Where will we find new designers and design instructors to replace the soon-to-be-retired? e I-Connect007 Editorial Team put that question to John Watson, CID, a Design007 columnist and professor at Palomar College. John teaches one of the most thorough PCB design courses, and likely the only one of its kind at a college or university. In this interview, John shares his thoughts on what is needed to attract more people to the design field, how to become a great PCB designer, and which trends and challenges are driving PCB design right now. Great Opportunities and Challenges in PCB Design Andy Shaughnessy: John, we've talked before about the stream of designers and design instructors retiring from the industry. We need experienced designers more than ever as silicon continues to shrink and signal speeds and rise times increase. It's almost a perfect storm. As a design instructor, what do you see happening? John Watson: I'll give a plug for my design class at Palomar College in San Marcos, Cali- fornia. It's a 32-week program with basic and advanced PCB design. It's one of the longest courses available on PCB design in a college setting, so it's pretty exciting. In my upcoming book, I talk about how we are quickly falling behind in providing good talent for PCB design. It's gone full circle. In 2008, we saw a definite downturn, a huge Feature Interview by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team