Is hobby electronics "as a profession" dying? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 12:50:09 am
content: There's a bit maker fad that's appeared over the past ~5 years. Projects such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc, etc.However I asked my lecturer for Digital Electronics and Microcontrollers if anyone else is doing electronics as a hobby as well as a subject.The final count: One other student in year 3. So me, and this other student, out of approx ~500 students in the school.Will you be a good engineer without enjoying electronics as a hobby? Possibly. Will you be happy in your job? I'm not so sure. Will you develop skills outside of uni? Unlikely.Maybe I'm unlucky in Leeds. It is positioned high on league tables, so maybe it's a more academic environment than I expected.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 01:14:25 am
content: Quote from: tom66 on October 30, 2012, 12:50:09 amThat figure aligns with my experience at various places I've studied at. Mind you, that was late 80's, early 90's.Dave.

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 01:59:03 am
content: also experienced a similar thing at my high-school, we where lucky enough to actually have an electronics class as an elective, about 15 people in the class, 11 of them doing it simply because they treated it like art, in that your unlikely to fail,sadly even though it was a 2 year elective, (2 hours a week) we only where basically introduced to transistors and logic chips...so without my hobby, i probably would still look at them as magical devices beyond my comprehension,

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 02:49:50 am
content: Hobby(definition in the australian bush dictionary) ,Something one does when there is nothing better to do!Profession(definition in the australian bush dictionary) ,To profess and solely earn money and or Fame ...IMO.

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 03:11:56 am
content: Perhaps once you get into the field you might really start to like it...but I agree, so many kids I know going into engineering, and it seems their main motive is "I want a good job that pays nicely". Not that money is a bad motive...but I think people who genuinely like what they do have more success.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 06:34:10 am
content: that figure is about right here too. there's one guy i know in my batch thats happy to quit engineering profession and doing it only as hobby. others they are happy to get engineering career and live in it forever. and correction, hobby is not profession, profession is not a hobby, though one may upgrade or downgrade to the other, ie hobby may upgrade to profession, and profession may downgrade to hobby, like i am. if its profession you wont have much time chatting.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 07:55:26 am
content: Quote from: Rerouter on October 30, 2012, 01:59:03 amCareful you don't insult any real artists among us who might be offended that you suggest all practitioners of art can produce a win-win result; the majority of all art teachers today don't know their arse from a paintbrush! ;-)

author: JuKu
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 08:19:08 am
content: Quote from: GEuser on October 30, 2012, 02:49:50 amAmateur (from latin amatorem= lover). Does something for loveProfessional= Does something for profitGood amateurs can be better than good professionals, because of the attitude.

author: aluck
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 08:28:29 am
content: Quote from: FenderBender on October 30, 2012, 03:11:56 amA lot of different motives. My Ex once told me that she got into engineering speciality just because "It is much easier to find a good husband". Well, she did.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 09:00:11 am
content: Quote from: aluck on October 30, 2012, 08:28:29 amyes different motive different perception. one girl i know wished to get a "Degreed" or "engineering" husband, she thought it was a good idea maybe since the guy will get good income, security or such. well, she got a person who love to 24/7 in the lab and treat engineering as a hobby not profession. she got what she wished but not what she want sigh

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 09:13:54 am
content: Studying a subject could certainly lead to more interest in it. Or you might choose to study something because it looks interesting, even though you have never done it as a hobby.You don't really need to do something as a hobby to be good at or enjoy the job. For example, I really liked my old 'facilities maintenance' job, but I did not scrub toilets for a hobby.Re Is hobby electronics "as a profession" dying? Personally, I would say so, yes.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 09:55:40 am
content: What about other professions: doctor, lawyer, architect etc? Do you think any of them do it as a hobby first?It's possible to be interested in something and study it without practising it as a hobby and be very good at it.

author: McMonster
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 03:20:48 pm
content: Quote from: jucole on October 30, 2012, 07:55:26 amWith the current state of "art" I've started thinking that the global trend is to actually produce this "art" in a way that totally confuses as many people as possible. In effect they won't be able to tell the difference between art and shit (prime example - google "artist's shit") and the "artists" can actually pretend that they produced another masterpiece. My ability to understand and appreciate art reaches no further than ancient Greek and Roman cultures with maybe a small exception for Leonardo da Vinci's and renaissance works.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 04:23:36 pm
content: Quote from: FenderBender on October 30, 2012, 03:11:56 ambwahahaa. wrong profession.become a lawyer. you can bullshit ll day long and rake in heaps of money. That or become a plastic surgeon ( if you don't mind some blood and gore)You know how grown ups always ask little kids : And what do you want to be when you grow up ?If i ever have kids i will teach them to answer : Rich , because working is for losers.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 04:44:35 pm
content: Quote from: FenderBender on October 30, 2012, 03:11:56 amI work with plenty of assholes that fancied themselves as engineers, pity the company believed them....

author: Alana
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 05:11:49 pm
content: From my personal experience - from this moment you are expected by someone else to give results [a working device for example] electronics and many other things stops being a hobby, starts being a job.This changes allot, because you change your attitude. You stop treating what you do with love, you start doing what is expected from you [or what you get payed for], and not a thing more. I have seen it in myself "too many times". When i was learning electronics i loved to make new modules, test them, tweak them. Now i do only stuff i need, and if i can buy it from a shop - i buy. Its not "time is money" but "I've lost interest in building this psu, i just need a psu so its better to get one ready for work."In computers i fixed for years it was - to salvage as much as possible, even if i had to stay all night. Now if it does not work it gets trown away into "scrap bin" for further repairs and customer is told to get a new part. Even if this may be a simple malfunctioning mosfet...I think this eventually may kill electronics as hobby - if you get to get professional - you lose. If you don't - you lose too, because you don't have time because of some other job.Life of an adult suxx...

author: McMonster
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 05:47:01 pm
content: Quote from: Alana on October 30, 2012, 05:11:49 pmI absolutely agree. I'm studying computer science (and most likely will be pursuing PhD) and started dabbling in electronics as a hobby just over two years ago just to understand how the hell all those electronic devices work (devil was throwing electrons across the circuits as far as I was concerned then). I've decided Iwon'tattempt to do any kind of professional work directly related to this hobby.Why?I always loved computer science since the days of my Commodore C64. But when I got to the university and took my first job it started to loose its attractivness. I found myself doing a lot of things I didn't directly enjoy or things I openly hated for the work and my studies. I couldn't do only what I liked at the moment anymore. I still think what I'm doing now is what I want to do in the future, but the magic was mostly replaced with harsh reality. Electronics is still new and fascinating, nobody tells me what to do and I want to make it stay that way so I have something to run away to.

author: DavidDLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 06:42:33 pm
content: I have to be somehow thankful that not everybody has electronics as a hobby as I do in my company. I have been recognized and promoted thanks to the knowledge and experience that increases by having this hobby, those little tricks that you learn by doing projects and also the lessons learned that you read here in the forums (very valuable).David.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 06:51:39 pm
content: Quote from: DavidDLC on October 30, 2012, 06:42:33 pmSame here, I was officially asked today (after being half way though a project I'd been asked to work on) if I want to take on electronics design for them as they are aware of my abilities, I'm yet to see much money rolling my way though.....

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 07:10:37 pm
content: Quote from: Alana on October 30, 2012, 05:11:49 pmthat depends. My job is creating new things. See if you can make this thing better / faster. So you need to be creative like hell and explore many routes. There is no spec , no definition no nothing. Take the drive and make it behave faster and cram more data on it. how ? you figure it out.Same goes with other projects. Go and explore see if you can make something that does this an is attractive to potential users.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 07:42:27 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on October 30, 2012, 07:10:37 pmFor those that have access to this type of position, that's great.Unfortunately, not everyone is however, and their actual workload may be monotonous at best.Had both, and I found myself far happier when designing something rather than pushing paperwork or writting software. Now I'm working in IT due to a total lack of an electronics industry in my location, and rebuilding a hobby lab to keep myself happier (relocating ATM isn't possible). Not that IT isn't enjoyable under certain circumstances, but primarily it's a means to pay the bills.

author: Alana
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2012, 08:16:08 pm
content: Well some time ago a contractor team came to replace windows in my family's apartment. From what they told me one of the guys was IT or EE engineer who was so fed up with "there is no love, there is no magic" that he became construction worker.Back then i did not understood this, now i do, because if it comes to "i need means to pay bills" i may do exactly what he did. Especially with what had happened recently because of my now ex-boss.