Jobs in the electronics industry?

[21grams]

I'm not familiar with the industry. There has to be a good deal of folks on this forum that have a career involving electronics. To you I ask, what should a new comer aim for? What position is in high demand? Also I've heard of technical schools that offer training that can get you a job as a computer technician. Is there any validity to this? Thank you for your time.

[Geek-9pm]

Short answer, NO.
Long answer,, if your are thinking about the USA and Europa, the answer is a qualified NO. Some Techs will find jobs in very narrow markets. Not to say the industry's narrow, but the jobs are very narrow. You can not get general training that prepares you  for the specific skills you will need.

This is not my speculation.  It is reality. This was published over a year ago. Still valid. It is harder than  ever to find a job that trains you as you work.
Careers Headed For The Dustbin. -Forbes
Read and weep.
But flipping burgers is still good. Wrong!

[DaveLembke]

I have worked between Electronics and Computers ( IT/MIS ) since 1994

Since 2009 I have been employed by the USPS as an Electronics Technician pay level 10 making good money. Prior to this I worked the following jobs:

1994-1995 - Allied Electronics                             - Electronics Technician
1995-2001 - Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley - Electronics Technician
2001-2003 - Geokon                                           - QC Technician & Calibrations
2003-2009 - Hanover Consumer Cooperative    - Systems Administrator ( MIS/IT + DB Admin & Programmer )

*My foot in the door to Electronics happened by luck. My wife which was my girlfriend back then decided with her girlfriend to go out on a double date. The other guy named Earl worked at Allied Electronics and so him and I got talking, started drawing on knapkins at the resturant and he suggested I apply for a job at Allied. This gave me 7 months work experience which Rockwell/Allen-Bradley accepted as work experience in the field, and when I interviewed and showed them that I could read schematics and diagnose problems and knew my way around an o-scope and both thru-hole and surface mount technology I was an instant hire. It was an interesting double date to where the women got chatting on their own subjects and we got chatting about circuits and ideas and inventions etc and how to make this or that better etc.

I am very fortunate to have the job I have today was well as the prior jobs that I held. In my area of the USA these jobs are more scarce today than in past years. There use to be a number of jobs in this area 20 years ago that I could have gotten a job at any one of them easily and today there is less than a handful and they are dying out as businesses push their manufacturing to other countries to keep manufacturing costs low and profit margins high.

Only Geokon and the Hanover Coop still exist from the places I worked at in my area, but there were many more businesses 20 years ago that manufactured and repaired electronics as well as needed IT Professionals. These days the positions are held long term until someone dies when you might get a position as was how I got my job at Geokon was because a guy died and they needed to fill it right away and I was the perfect applicant to match the requirements, or the company goes out of business or relocates. IT Jobs are just as scarce however there have been a few that are extremely specific in the employee they are looking for.

Example of this extremely specific employee that one local business was looking for was an ASP Programmer for Mobile Devices with 5 years minimum experience working with ASP and Oracle Database who also had a minimum of a BS degree, and portfolio of projects that they worked on to show their skill level in ASP and Oracle Database Administration. Salary not specified in the ad.

The problem is that the colleges in our area who have a degree program with programming focus on C++ and Visual Basic as the main languages of a computer science degree in which you specify one specific language as your main language to master as part of your degree requirements. So the person who is qualified for this position above in our area would have to be someone who probably learned ASP on their own, and worked either freelance for others or on their own developing their own software for the last 5 years who also have a BS degree.

As far as Electronics Jobs they are very scarce, and IT Jobs are at a ratio of about 10 IT jobs per 1 ET job, and there may be only 1 or 2 positions per month for IT and so you might see 1 or 2 ET jobs a year and most of which you may have to commute 1 hour away to get to the job, so your looking at like 120 miles of driving and 2 hours wasted every day to get to work and back home.

Anyone wanting a guaranteed Electronics Job I would suggest checking in with the USAF, Army, Marines, or Navy etc. I enlisted in 1992 for the USAF delayed enlistment program when in highschool at 17 years old and took asvab testing etc and was offered an Electronics job because I scored very high in math, mechanics, and electronics. Had I followed through with this I would have had it made, but I backed out because I knew that I could get a job right out of high school in electronics with my hands on knowledge in electronics from all the books read and all the kits and computers etc that I modded and fixed etc.

The better colleges for Electronics Degrees are the ones that offer Electronics Engineering Degrees which usually have connections with businesses to help place you into an apprenticeship or internship position to get the work experience that every degree should have paired with it so that your not in a situation where you have a degree with no work experience.

*Also be sure that whatever college you go with is not planning on doing away with their Electronics Degree program. I got burned badly when a college I was attending pulled the Electronics Degree 1/2 way thru my degree program. I was told to meet a woman in the office at the college because they had to cancel an electronics course. In the discussion it was brought to my attention that there are not enough interested students in the Computer Micro Electronics Degree Program and so they have done away with that degree. She then went on to tell me that because the local hospital is expanding they are adding Nursing Degree Programs, and have you ever considered becoming a Nurse? I was upset to a point that I cant express here that they could do this. I ended up switching from Electronics to Information Technology because it was the year 2000 and there were lots of jobs to be had if you had the degree and experience. So I ended up going for Computer Systems Management Degree ( IT/MIS ), but the need for IT Professionals was starting to dry up and so when I finally got my degree in 2004, I found myself stuck at a regular Systems Administrator job that wasnt paying what a job like that should pay so instead of getting like $20 an hour or more I was only getting $13 an hour in 2004.

I am very fortunate that the last 20 years have been good to me, however there were times when I had no job for 6 months and thought I was going to go bankrupt having to live off of 2 credit cards and take cash advances off of one to make the payment on the other, then land a job and have to fix the credit card debt mess.

Best of Luck if you decide to go with an Electronics Career. Hopefully some info shared here is beneficial to you.

[Geek-9pm]

DaveLembke, excellent post! 

IMHO, the OP needs to rethink his interest in Electronics. For man y it is becoming a hobby rather that a profession. The jobs available require very specific skills not covered in typical college programs.;  even as  you mentioned.

Forbes also recently posted a list of top jobs for individuals  willing to learn new skills. The kind of skills few institutions now teach.
Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/emsi/2013/03/07/americas-skilled-trades-dilemma-shortages-loom-as-most-in-demand-group-of-workers-ages/
Title: America's Skilled Trades Dilemma: Shortages Loom As Most-In-Demand Group Of Workers Ages.
Recommended read. 

[Lisa_maree]

Hi

Have you considered electronics in the military ie with aircraft or helicopters. There is still lots of jobs in the Aircraft avionics area and they are normally well paid. Also in the military if technology changes then you get retrained. if you do go for a career in electronics or computers you need to appreciate you will be studying , researching for the rest of your career often without any pay. If you doubt that have a look at some 2 year old newspapers in IT jobs and see what employers are looking for and then see what they are looking for now it's so different. I have spent 1/2 of my working time keeping up to date. Where as my husband is an Accountant only needs to spend 30 hours a year doing professional development and if he doesn't know something he charges the client to find out, not so normally in the computer industry.   

For the most profitable career I would look for something that is poorly documented, needed by many and you could learn once with the minimum future training unless I was being paid while learning. And that the consumer has insurance for.

 

[DaveLembke]

Lisa and I both suggest Military for guaranteed placement into Electronics. *Just be sure that you are agreeing to an electronics position in the military before you sign the dotted line. To be offered one of these positions a position will have to be available, and you will have to have high asvab test scores in mathematics mechanics and electronics. There are some asvab practice tests online to get a sense as to what your test will be like, but the test is always evolving and so it may be different when you take it. There are good and misleading recruiters out there. They may verbally promise something and not follow through. Have everything in writing that you are agreeing to and have a copy for yourself! The recruiter I had was a good guy, but I have had friends who went through another recruiter and they were verbally told one thing and then next they knew they couldnt back out and they were stuck as a tank mechanic etc and thats not what they wanted, but it was better than being a cook or something else.


From my post:

Anyone wanting a guaranteed Electronics Job I would suggest checking in with the USAF, Army, Marines, or Navy etc. I enlisted in 1992 for the USAF delayed enlistment program when in highschool at 17 years old and took asvab testing etc and was offered an Electronics job because I scored very high in math, mechanics, and electronics. Had I followed through with this I would have had it made, but I backed out because I knew that I could get a job right out of high school in electronics with my hands on knowledge in electronics from all the books read and all the kits and computers etc that I modded and fixed etc.

From Lisa's post:

Have you considered electronics in the military ie with aircraft or helicopters. There is still lots of jobs in the Aircraft avionics area and they are normally well paid. Also in the military if technology changes then you get retrained. if you do go for a career in electronics or computers you need to appreciate you will be studying , researching for the rest of your career often without any pay.

[soybean]

I just saw this and thought posting it here is appropriate: http://www.boston.com/jobs/2013/12/23/the-year-the-fastest-growing-jobs/GGDo2PVgihmpsurdiPGUhO/story.html?pg=7

[patio]

I'd suggest getting the job Anthony Bourdain has...

[Geek-9pm]

The Title of the link given earlier is:
IN THE YEAR 2016: THE 30 FASTEST-GROWING JOBS
SEE HERE...

Computer related jobs are in the list, however  the demand and pay scale is not what you might expect.
The problem with such a list is it is only a projection and is is not adjusted to reflect the relevancy. A high demand for 2000 new jobs should not be considered as greater that a demand for, say,  8000 new jobs. But the list is keyed on on expected growth. Somehow the 2000 is more than the 8000. Go figure. 
Here is part of the list.
1. Network systems and data communications analyst
2. Personal and home care aides
3. Home health aides
4. Computer applications software engineers
5. Veterinary technologists and technicians
6. Personal financial advisers
7. Theatrical and performance makeup artists
8. Medical assistants
9. Veterinarians
10. Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors
11. Skin care specialists
12. Financial analysts
13. Social and human service assistants
14. Gaming surveillance officers and gaming investigators
15. Physical therapist assistants
16. Pharmacy technicians
17. Forensic science technicians
18. Dental hygienists
19. Mental health counselors
20. Mental health and substance abuse

Some of these are very important fields.
Others are, IMHO, trivial.

Theatrical and performance makeup artists
Skin care specialists
Mental health counselors

Really?
My wife is one of the Home health aides. Yes, she is in demand. No lack of jobs. But the pay is at the bottom. And almost no benefits.