[Answer] I’m a fresh graduate in Electrical Engineering and Automation. What are the prospects of becoming a PCB engineer? I’m female.

[Answer] I’m a fresh graduate in Electrical Engineering and Automation. What are the prospects of becoming a PCB engineer? I’m female?

There is still a bit of a gap between Electrical Engineering and Automation and PCB work, but it is a gap that can absolutely be closed with effort.

Strictly speaking, a PCB engineer is not just one specific job title, but part of an entire industrial chain that includes schematic design, PCB layout, fabrication, and testing. In a small team, one or two people may handle all of these stages, while in a larger organization they may be split across different departments.

Overall, circuit boards have already become an indispensable part of today’s economy. They are found in everything from space shuttles to children’s toys, though of course the complexity of the boards involved is on a completely different level. This also reflects the wide variation within the PCB industry in terms of technical difficulty and skill level.

So the general direction is good. But if possible, try your best to improve your technical skills and competitiveness, and aim to secure a place in the high-end, upstream part of the industry.

One more point: even children’s toys can have impressive highlights. LEGO, for example, successfully used programmable robotic toys to transform itself from a toy manufacturer into a player in children’s education and the intelligent robotics industry.