Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1522641
42 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2024 a good job. No one ever said, "ere are really good opportunities in manufacturing." Is it a marketing or perception issue? Many believe that's true, but I have a hard time buy- ing into this narrative. I spent a lot of time over the past couple of decades doing career fairs for kids. When we talked about manufactur- ing, whether it was welding or electronics, those were the easiest jobs to sell to kids. You'd say, "Hey kids, you can work in electronics and help send the next generation of astronauts to Mars, help design the supercomputers in your pockets, or even design the technology that will help solve climate change." ey were on board. I used to joke that welding was the easi- est job I've ever had to sell a kid: "Do you want to get paid to melt metal with lightning?" Every kid in America says, "Yes!" You are so right. So, it is partly a marketing or perception issue. Yes, but this goes deeper than just manufacturing. is is a broader STEM issue. We have normal- ized the incredible technol- ogy we surround ourselves with so much that we are no longer awed by it. Go to the moon? We did that 50 years ago; therefore, I no longer care that we're launching rockets every week. I live 45 minutes from where companies like SpaceX are launching rockets weekly and I still watch every launch. It's absolutely incredible, and yet it's so "normal" that to many, it is not impres- sive anymore. But if you take a step back and acknowledge that you really do carry the sum of all human knowledge in your pocket every day, it changes the dynamic of that conversation. My advice is always not to sell the job but to sell the career. e career is part of something bigger than the individual. When Google hires an engineer, they don't say, "Come join us here. You'll write code in a cubicle for 12 hours a day that will end up on a website." No, they say, "Come and be part of Google. We're connecting the world. We're doing amazing things. Your small part is con- tributing to something that will change the world." We don't do that enough with manu- facturing. Awareness is key, so how do you approach that? e IPC Education Foundation is working to build awareness through a variety of different programs. We have the Careers in Electronics website, which provides snapshots of over 65 careers in electronics man- ufacturing. e Foundation also has career webinars that expose existing students to different roles in the indus- try from the people cur- rently performing those roles. We're showing young people that these careers are not dark, dirty, and dan- gerous, but really exciting, high-tech, and valuable. IPC can't do this on its own, and neither can our education foundation. e industry needs a broader coalition. IPC is committed to addressing these workforce challenges. Now we need the indus- try to step up and get involved. is needs to be a collective effort. is is the only way we can address the problems at scale. First, we must make people aware that there are careers, then provide them the information needed to make the decision to go into man- ufacturing. People want to know how much they will get paid, what growth opportunities exist, and what an average workday will look like. ese factors play a pivotal role in the decision-making process. But information is not enough. People need