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To specialize or not to specialize, that is the question.

dougw

Electronics and software are gigantic fields that are expanding at an exponential rate with far more new information every day than it is possible to assimilate. How do you deal with it? How should you deal with it? You want to stay relevant and contribute without becoming obsolete. Managing your time in such an environment is crucial to being able to remain an effective contributor. Especially if you want a "balanced" life that includes both technical and non-technical endeavors.

  1. Do you decide to focus on a niche where you can hope to stay informed of the latest developments?
  2. Do you try to track the major new developments at a high level and just dive in a bit when something catches your interest?
  3. Do you do a deep dive learning sprint whenever a new project demands it?
  4. Do you only perk up and put it in gear when something really interesting crosses your radar?
  5. Do you just rely on Google when you perceive a need for information?
  6. Do you give up and go into management?
  7. Do you just coast along doing interesting things that are in your comfort zone?
  8. Do you hang out on element14 as a compromise between information overload and enjoying the ride?
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  • I don’t have an electronics background but I spent 4 years straight out of university writing FORTRAN code for an industrial process simulator with company support and training and then 4 more years in the field proving and applying it in operations mostly on my own. That pretty much made me an expert in that area and I wanted to go back to the research organization and expand on the specialty I was in. But they made me an engineering supervisor responsible for general operations. And then an engineering manager and eventually even a project manager for quite a few years. That gave exposure to lots of things including electronics and instrumentation / control with some  freedom to poke around. If anything, being a project manager took more of a toll on life balance than being a technical specialist but I wouldn’t trade the time spent in either.

    I say take advantage of the opportunities that come your way and do what you enjoy. That might mean doing any of the things in the list above. Right now I am on a 4 week sabbatical away from my normal job of being retired. 

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  • I don’t have an electronics background but I spent 4 years straight out of university writing FORTRAN code for an industrial process simulator with company support and training and then 4 more years in the field proving and applying it in operations mostly on my own. That pretty much made me an expert in that area and I wanted to go back to the research organization and expand on the specialty I was in. But they made me an engineering supervisor responsible for general operations. And then an engineering manager and eventually even a project manager for quite a few years. That gave exposure to lots of things including electronics and instrumentation / control with some  freedom to poke around. If anything, being a project manager took more of a toll on life balance than being a technical specialist but I wouldn’t trade the time spent in either.

    I say take advantage of the opportunities that come your way and do what you enjoy. That might mean doing any of the things in the list above. Right now I am on a 4 week sabbatical away from my normal job of being retired. 

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