From: bill.sloman@ieee.org
On 30/11/2025 8:13 am, Joerg wrote:
> On 11/26/25 7:01 PM, Edward Rawde wrote:
>> "Don Y" wrote in message
>> news:10g8a9c$vrte$1@dont-email.me...
>
> [...]
>
>
>>>>>> There's also a difference between what is taught and what is
>>>>>> needed in a workplace.
>>>>>> I could use a soldering iron when I got my degree, but most other
>>>>>> graduates couldn't.
>>>>>
>>>>> I disagree. Skills are easy to pick up -- how long do you think it
>>>>> would take
>>>>> to teach someone how to make a reliable solder joint?
>
>
> Many skills are not easy to pick up. For example, trying to figure out
> what's wrong with a complicated piece of electronics where the
> manufacturer is unwilling to furnish schematics. This is a highly
> valuable skill later in the job because there you usually get schematics
> but then are way faster in diagnosing than others. Or maybe the only one
> able to do it which can result in guru status, along with a commensurate
> income.
>
> One example, years ago: Discussion with a client, big meeting. The
> problem was likely in a circuit with a very large tube. One manager
> exclaimed "Well, good luck, nobody knows tubes anymore" ... raising hand> ... "Ahm, I've built some stuff with tubes when I was a
> teenager because we could get those for free" ... "WHAT?!" ... and we
> fixed it. No course work involved here, this was all self-taught. Had to.
>
>>>>
>>>> As far as making a reliable solder joint is concerned I've seen many
>>>> outcomes.
>>>> This is from prototype testing not production.
>>>> Here are some possible outcomes.
>>>>
>>>> 1. Perfect joint.
>>>>
>
> Don't let that person walk to the parking lot without an offer letter in
> hand.
>
>
>>>> 2. Perfect joint after being shown that keeping your wrist on the
>>>> bench while you
>>>> make the joint will keep your hand steady.
>>>>
>
> Maybe ok to hire unless there is a #1.
>
>>>> 3. Good effort but here's how to remove grime and oxide film from
>>>> the resistor's
>>>> legs before you solder it.
>>>>
>
> Not a good candidate.
>
>>>> 4. Deliberately poor joint because "I shouldn't have to do this".
>
> Don't hire.
>
>>>
>>> So, put a number on how many HOURS it would take you to learn this.
>
>
> You don't have to because it isn't done during lecture time.
>
>
>>> Then, decide which hours of coursework you would forego to learn
>>> this skill in school.
>
>
> No need to.
>
>>
>> None. But plenty of present day students seem to have to have a job as
>> well as school.
>> In my case I did partially have a job while at school because although
>> my father didn't
>> specifically offer equipment repair to people off the street, I would
>> often find a
>> non functional piece of electronics waiting for me to find out what
>> was wrong with it.
>>
>
> Exactly. Either that or have an electronics hobby. In my case that was
> ham radio but I also repaired lots of radios and TVs. The point is, if
> someone isn't doing any of this and thus hasn't acquired basic skills
> such as soldering or trying to figure out how a circuit is supposed to
> work but doesn't, maybe he or she should not head into an engineering
> career.
Graduate students learn this kind of practical stuff later than
hobbyists, but there's no reason why they wouldn't learn it just as
well. I certainly did. A big chunk of my Ph.D. thesis documents the
electronics I put together myself to let me do my research. None of it
is particularly good, but it all worked. And I do cite the sources that
I got the basic designs from - and the text-books I used to clean them
up a bit. Win Hill moved from a Ph.D. in chemical physics to a Masters
in Electronics at MIT in much the same period.
--
Bill Sloman, Sydney
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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