Bill,
Please seek my reply below... interspersed within your comments...
> Things have been changing, James...
>
> I want you to notice, The most vociferous responses to my comments are
from
> NON-CID designers. Perhaps they are trying very hard to justify why they
> aren't stepping up to the challenge...
I don't think this is it at all. You are already getting responses along the
lines of...
"My company refuses to pay for my certification..."
This indicates to ME that there are STILL companies that do NOT accept the
IPC or their C.I.D. certifications.
<shrug>
> Regardless of whether or not the CID is and exact 'equivalent' to a PE, it
> serves the purpose for designers, and all PCB designers have had very few
> good sources for well documented design education or any measure of that
in
> degree or certificate form from any college or training facility... we
> gleaned what we could from the Mil specs, and Bishop graphics - and PCB
> magazine. I would like to see the CID approach the equivalent of a PE...
> with a real college level study course.
RE: documentation...
From my experience... much of the initial IPC documentation was almost a
direct re-write of NASA or Mil-Spec documents. Or perhaps the military
'ripped off' the IPC. (Yeah, right.)
> You prove my point though, the testing they were doing at the facility
where
> you were applying is and was a standard way of screening candidates. This
is
> changing... I have seen many job requirements in the last few years that
had
> a request for the CID as a 'plus' to any designer's qualifications... and
as
> 'preferred' in a few instances. It is known now... it is respected now...
> (albeit not by certain old fossil designers that don't want to be a part
of
> ANY organization, except maybe the AARP... ) and it IS the future of this
> profession.
RE: the company that I am referring to - is STILL doing things their way.
In fact - during the 2 or 3 days of instruction prior to the CID exam, there
were 'experts' in the class that were extolling the benefits of how they do
things.
The instructor handled them very well by saying "If you want to pass the
test, you will answer it this way..."
There were STILL fellas that failed the exam.
> Designers that want to advance their careers need education, training, and
> certification to tackle the design challenges ahead. That's why you see so
> many designers doing the workshops and taking the tests. That's the
> future... especially for those that do not want to be left behind.
>
> Not all designers will get it... not all designers feel they need it...
but
> most of those designers will be retired in the next 10 years. The rest of
us
> will be certified. What about the ones who are in their 20's and 30's?
They
> are going to be dealing with the next generation boards that will no doubt
> make what we are doing today look like child's play.
>
> The IPC DC and its chapter organizations are building the roads that those
> designers will follow to get there. Is there a chapter in your area? If
not,
> look into starting one. The IPC DC has guidelines on how to set up a
chapter
> on-line and willing helpers to assist you in getting it going. You can
make
> a difference in your area.
RE: IPC DC chapters -
Don't preach to ME about this. I tried - in vain - to establish one here in
San Antonio, TX a few years ago.
Now... this city has well near 100 P.C. Designers all about the city and
neighboring small towns.
Out of those potential 100 members, all that could find the 'time' to attend
once a month were a handful... like 10 to 12.
I told the group that if we couldn't get the numbers up to over 20 within 6
months or so, I was gonna walk away from that idea... and did so - as the
numbers went from 10 to 12 to less than 6 within a few months.
Yes... we got the information packet from the IPC on how to set up the local
chapter... sparse information, and if I hadn't had experience with starting
user groups prior to this, I - and the others who helped me - would have
been pretty much lost.
> Guys like the ones who are knocking the certification program should be in
> here helping to make it better, adding content to the education materials
> and making sure the next generation of board designers has the collective
> benefit of the knowledge that we all have collected of the past 50 years.
>
> Critics are everywhere... what's needed are volunteers to help make it
> better. Are you helping at the DC local chapter level? Are you one of the
> few who are pitching in to make sure your knowledge doesn't disappear with
> this generation? I know and admire all of the volunteers who are making it
> happen in the face of all the obstacles. I recommend it highly to any
other
> designer who would like to make a difference too. Pitch in and help. We
need
> you.
As for volunteering and helping out... I tried that route also.
I helped initially with proof-reading one of the IPC specs - finding many
mistakes and correcting them.
I then got the latest IPC-D-356B spec, and it TOO is woefully lacking in
being considered 'good documentation' as you call it.
I started making corrections and sending them in to the committee chairman -
who then got irritated with me and pretty much blew me off.
It appears that they don't want to make changes to the documentation now, as
it might mean that they have to re-write it to correct it and make callouts
refer to the correct figures, etc.
It's pretty sad documentation, really. Difficult to follow, and contradicts
itself in many places.
Personally, what _I_ would like to see - is more support of the PCB Trade
journals. Their article content has dwindled in the recent years.
Articles that address 'basics' for those new designers that you talk about
would be good. Articles like...
How to name Pads in PCB.
How to set up a Library - and naming conventions for Patterns - Components -
etc.
How to Draw Schematics - to make sense - etc.
How to estimate time for doing layouts (it _can_ be done)
There are a lot of things that I do, that I learned waaaay back that I take
for granted. Things like this should be addressed in national magazines that
most if not all designers have access to.
> P.S. I am planning on taking the CID+ exam in the near future, too.
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> Bill Brooks
> PCB Design Engineer , C.I.D., C.I.I.
> Tel: (760)597-1500 Ext 3772 Fax: (760)597-1510
> http://pcbwizards.com
>
Of course... your experiences may vary.
Regards,
James Jackson
Oztronics
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DesignerCouncil Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d
To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in
the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF DesignerCouncil.
To set a vacation stop for delivery of DesignerCouncil send: SET DesignerCouncil NOMAIL
Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives
Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
