3 ms·
I did mean chip design in my question. I‘ll (partly) admit to being a helicopter parent, so I am just curious about various career paths for a kid who shows int
by xattt 5y ago
I did mean chip design in my question. I‘ll (partly) admit to being a helicopter parent, so I am just curious about various career paths for a kid who shows interest in electronics, and what one particular career path (i.e. chip design) entails these days.
I’m also very aware the epicentres of “top schools” will likely shift in the next 15-20 years, that kids’ interests and talents are labile, and that true self-determination is the key to a successful and happy life.
- baybal2 5y agoI am conflicted on this myself. Even most basic coding keeps being more profitable than EE. I went to live, and make money in the mainland China for a few years. It was a hard bargain with the conscience. I simply cannot fathom how the industry can be done in the West now, and the labour price has nothing to do with that for the reason it's higher in China for actual, non-software engineering.
- trevyn 5y agoGot it. Somewhat non-intuitively from the outside, hardware is far less glamorous and lucrative than software. If you really like hardware, then software that drives hardware is the place to be — you still get to play with and learn about the hardware, but you’re not in the mines, as it were. And — big one — your skills largely transfer. At any rate, if it’s not common knowledge these days, get the kid a cheap second-hand bench-top oscilloscope. As long as the basic functions work, it doesn’t matter if it’s from the 1980s. But that thing is your eyes. And the knobs are fun.
- xattt 5y agoThanks for your take on this! Your comment triggered warm memories of playing with my grandfather’s Soviet oscilloscope as a kid. It had knobs so clicky that you’d feel them your knuckles! :)