Re: hobby electronics

On 7/2/2024 11:37 AM, boB wrote:

No, amateur radio is still alive.  Not as build it yourself as it once
was but they are still out there and experimenting.

The fact that the code test was dropped is telling.  There are lots of
things one can use to "distract oneself" so a high bar is easily avoided.

I have been part of some STEM  demonstrations and STEM science fairs
where the young people of today, the old people of tomorrow, are
impressionable and interested I think.  They REALLY like Jacob's
ladders !  They also seemed to like playing with the soldering iron
and trying to make connections which was also part of my STEM table.

We're developing a STEM curriculum to augment the public schools'.
So, I've been visiting makerspaces, robot clubs, etc.
A few observations:
- the need to "go somewhere" to engage in an activity must typically
   be offset by a social aspect of that activity -- wanting to work
   on something "together" (e.g., ASSEMBLE a robot) or have on-hand
   feedback to help evolve your design.
- the need for special tools (that can also require special *spaces*)
   disincentivizes many activities.  I am always amused that folks
   will pay $50+ monthly to *use* the tools in a makerspace (Why not
   just budget $600/yr for tools of your own?   Ans: they may not
   have the space -- or monies -- to make such an investment)
- insecurity; the need to have one's hand held.  Or, the availability
   of (near instant) feedback to get through a problem.  The need for
   independant thought and persistence rules out many activities (participants).
- knowledge deficits.  How much does it "cost" you to learn -- if your
   learning process is primarily "by mistakes"?  Can you afford the time/money
   to attempt a task twice?  thrice?  hundreds of times?
IMO, this is why folks have gravitated to programming and lego-style
module interconnect; the "hard work" has been done and *their* efforts
can proceed with little concern for additional cost (beyond the time
it takes to make and correct their mistakes -- words on a screen).
[I'm thinking back to when I was doing full customs and the stress
associated with releasing a design to the foundry.  The apprehension
over what I might have failed to test or some little error that
the DRCs weren't capable of detecting.  "What are the chances that
I'll be eating tens of kilobucks of 'crow' when the first silicon
is returned a few MONTHS hence?"]
Sadly, it prewires their brains to expect the sorts of designs that others
(module builders) have envisioned.  Their minds are molded to The Box
because they don't consider the nature of the modules as something that
can be questioned.
So, you get more uninspired "programmers" adapting to the notions of
the hardware designers behind the modules they've employed.

Yeah, it's not the same as it was when we were growing up but I think
you just have to find the right ones and mentor them.  Some might even
stay on the one job and want to learn more and actually be useful to
your/my company.

Most will likely want to move into management because engineering requires
constant learning.  After their "youthful enthusiasm" fades and the pressures
of a family settle on them, they more often just want a stable paycheck;
NOT to have to jump to unreasonable schedules IMPOSED on them (by folks
who long ago forgot how to do engineering -- assuming they ever *did*!)
[A group of us meet for offsites ~quarterly.  It is depressing to see
the defeat in the eyes of those who have left engineering for other
"income sources".  They remember the excitement of seeing (or creating)
a clever design.  Yet, struggle to understand those aspects of the designs
that we (engineers) exchange and demonstrate.]
How many employers actually put "meeting the needs of their employees"
on their list of operating criteria?  Most want to refine your skillset
so you are more effective at "doing X" -- not *diversifying* it so you
get a taste for Y and Z, as well.  And, as most employees feel strapped
to their income stream, they have little practical recourse.  (How strong
of an effort do you think that motivates them to put into "X"?)