See http://www.kb6nu.com/is-amateur-radio-still-a-gateway-to-electrical-engineering/ .
At one time, amateur radio was a good gateway into an engineering career, but I have real doubts this is true today. In my younger days, when I started as a professional radio engineer nearly everyone who was any good was a radio amateur. When I left 7 years ago, I was the only person doing any amateur radio building over my lunch break. The magic is no longer there. In fact people are embarrassed to admit they are radio amateurs. We need to find what connects with the younger generation or the future of our hobby is at great risk.
I think I have mentioned on my blog before that when interviewing potential RF design engineers with good honours degrees I was appalled to find that most knew nothing about radio. I knew more as a schoolboy. This is a sad indictment of our times. It was not that I was good (I was not) but the quality of good engineers was not there any more. There was little intrinsic interest in radio - if it was in the course they might know about it. As youngsters, we were excited about radio! Where is that spark today?
Where I used to work (You know where Roger), in the early years I was there they encouraged it. They were very interested and would bend over backwards to help and would always ask about ones projects!
ReplyDeleteThat was the Old school, but when the new Whizzkids took over running the place it was a different story. They didn't want to know, they were just interested in wrecking the place taking it apart for their own personal wealth and getting every last bit of profit out of those that were left..
Todays Youth, all they are interested in is Drugs, Xboxes, the latest mobile phone, stopping in bed until 3pm and watching Netflix until the early hours, while sending Txts. I don't know any youngster interested in electronics or Amateur radio, I guess there are some but not many?
73 Steve
What amazes me (i work in a high school btw)is discrete electronics
ReplyDeleteis still taught as part of science.
Even learning colour codes and believe it or not basic rf stuff.
You wouldn't think it would be required today?
Tony
Tony, well, based on my own experience as a potential employer the universities must teach them how to forget it all then! The RAE used to be a good basic training in RF, but honestly, in my later years, most so called engineers were pretty poor. The best we employed were sandwich course students with a ham radio background. I think some of these are still there today.
ReplyDeleteAmateur radio is now basically defined as HF operation, which has very little in common with the tech used in cell networks, wi-fi, RFID, etc.
ReplyDeleteI won't say that two-way radio (FM/SSB) is "obsolete", but it's much more like the phonograph in its relevance. There are still engineers needed to design phonograph cartridges and pre-amps, but it's not cutting edge.
The hobby, at least here in the U.S, is now defined by HF and the focus is about maximising brief, meaningless contacts and minimising actual conversation. WSPR is the ultimate move in that direction -- machines communicate with other on their own and let you know how that all worked out.
Hams interested in having conversations are portrayed as naive and "not serious". It's all about how far you can reach and how "rare" your contacts are, and it's all deadly serious. Unsurprisingly, this isn't attractive to non-hams, who can communicate effortlessly and reliably around the globe already.
It's like someone who buys an expensive HDTV and spends the entire movie raving about the quality of the picture, without realising that it's a horrible B-grade movie without a plot. The radio is no longer a means to an end; it's the end itself.
This notion that most people are just too stupid or too lazy to make it in ham radio is also remarkably unhelpful, creating an elitist mentality that further drives people away. The world changes. People don't churn their own butter any more. Engineers aren't pursuing new butter-churn technology, either.
- KD0TLS
I'd say it was a gateway when the exam was written but not as the multiple choice that i did.
ReplyDeleteTony
Todd,
ReplyDeleteI think you've captured the picture pretty well.
I despair when I tune across 20m, 15m on a weekend and hear the band full of inane 59 contest exchanges. And to think that the voice behind those signals have spent perhaps over a £1000 to do so is a little sad.
I work in cellular, planning and optimising the radio networks. Amateur radio has no relevance, although it was key in getting into my first job after university. My comprehension of UHF propagation, path budgets, antenna patterns was way ahead of competing candidates.
I still enjoy building VHF radios and antennas, but I seriously question whether I should encourage my two young sons into the hobby. Ths is an insular, rather antisocial pursuit, although I belive that the ability to design circuits, and use a soldering iron to realise them, remains valuable. I suspect that perhaps I should rather encourage my boys to develop leadership skills via more social activities.
My cousin, a GP, who has no interest in amateur radio, does however recommend that I involve my boys, since it would give us a common interest to indulge, and help cement the father/son relationship.
Regards
Rhys
GW4RWR