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38 The PCB Design Magazine • March 2014 What is the state of PCB designer education in 2014 and where is it going? Where should it be going? My new column will focus on PCB design, design processes, education and a host of topics that are important to PCB designers. As such, I would like to hear from PCB design- ers and their managers about where their minds and dollars are headed regarding staying at the head of our industry. Let's get started! Solve this equation: Eq. 1 The average time to solve this is three min- utes. For those of you who remember differen- tial equations, have fun. For the rest of you who are resolved not to attempt this problem and are now feeling your blood pressure going down, I would like to explore the state of formal and in- formal PCB designer education. Before I attack the problem in this new col- umn, I am dividing my thanks (historically) to four distinct groups of formal and informal edu- cators in the PCB educator community. First, I'd like to thank all of the PCB design educators who have tirelessly taught around the globe and written articles and books to of- fer their insights. For those who are unfamiliar with the educator's rule of "class preparation time," as a minimum, one minute of class lec- ture or lab requires a minimum of five hours of research and preparation. If the assembled stu- dents ever cared to realize why many teachers look tired but feel enthusiastic during these for- mal courses, it is because these same educators live for the "Aha!" moment of joy they see on their students' faces. There is no dollar amount that can equal this moment that educators live to see. Second, a big thank you goes to those who have participated in industry and company- specific design standards and practices. These participants collectively put in the range of in- by Dan Smith rAYTheon Missile sYsTeMs THE TOWN CRIER Differential Education 101 for PCB Designers column