If you're not involved in some form of continuing education, then you are doomed to suffer the consequences of ignorance, peer contempt, technological obsolescence, and eventual obscurity—and then you retire. Well, okay, maybe it's not that bad, but in general that has been the prevailing opinion of many in the engineering community. Yet while most engineers see the need for continuing education, they're not preoccupied with it. Usually they only go that route when it becomes absolutely necessary.
As you know, your college education provided only a base of knowledge. It didn't actually prepare you for the highly competitive, fast-paced industry that burns through new concepts and products faster than the dot-com companies burned through venture funding. If nothing else, though, you at least learned how to learn in college, and that's generally all you need to stay in the electronics game. But only if you do it! The kind of continuing education you will need is strictly a function of your situation, and you have options.
WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?
Learning is a time-consuming and usually expensive process. The first question is if you really need it. If so, what do you need, where will you get it, and what will it cost in dollars and time?
Most of the time, you must learn new things to do a competent job. New knowledge may let you excel at your job, do it faster, or introduce knowledge and results that bring you or your company a competitive edge. That kind of continuing education is worth going after. The key is to be aware of what you need, then go get it.
Another common benefit is learning what will prepare you for a new or better job. One engineer told me recently that if he did not learn wireless basics, he could just begin looking for a new job. Knowledge of what's going on in your company is essential to determining what you need to learn. If one set of skills is on its way out and another is coming in, you either need to learn the new skills or those with the know-how will ultimately take your place. Continuing education for survival is as good a justification as any other reason.
You may also have your eye on a whole new career path that requires some new knowledge and skills. It could also eventually lead to a better job. Most education tends to open up new opportunities.
Personal satisfaction is another often quoted reason for learning. Engineers usually love the challenge of learning something new, even if it's just for the mental exercise, let alone the potential benefits of its application.
While participation in any form of continuing education is usually beneficial, it's no guarantee that you will hold on to your current job or find a better one. It certainly helps in both instances, but today's struggling economy continues to see companies laying off workers and resorting to whatever measures will get their engineering done faster and/or cheaper.
Using the H1B and other visas, employers can bring in qualified engineers for less money. You may be smarter, but as some employers see it, you make too much money (including the burden of benefits) regardless of what you know. Outsourcing is also quickly becoming popular. By sending the design work off to Russia, India, and other places where highly qualified talent is readily available, companies save tons of dough.
Yet you can't just roll over and die. In general, the more you learn, the more you earn... up to a point. You just have to factor in the timing, the opportunity, the competition, and the economy, as well as what you know and can do.
You should plan to identify needed knowledge, learn it, and then act on it. Make something happen, if no more than getting your boss or the management to recognize what you know. Promotion may be tough in today's environment, but your knowledge could help you hang on to what you have.
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