Future of Board Design Engineers

This is a question apart from Technical.

I'm currently working as a board design engineer in a firm. I have 2 years of experience now. Although i like my career, I'm bit doubtful about the future of my domain. Seeing most of the new trends happening only in VLSI and ASICs, FPGAs etc. the question that comes to my mind is, "What does the future holds for BOARD DESIGN Engineers in INDIA (or anywhere) for the next 10 Years or so? Will it be an obsolete thing, by the time I reach a good experience?

I know there are many experienced guys around here who can give clarity to me. I'm hoping for the same.

Thanks

I don't see PCBs being replaced by another technology in that time frame. I cannot think if a single electronic device that does not have a PCB.

Yes . But the developments in the Chip manufacturing is so rapid that , we fear by the time we reach some sort of good experience .. Everything will be taken care in chips , and PCB's will be a child's play . I heard it from quite a few . That's why .. !! It really made me think about a domain change !!

Multiple ICs will still be required for most products. Might an entire cell phone be built on one IC? Can one semiconductor process on one piece of silicon do power conversion, audio, memory, tactile input, display, camera, and RF? These bits and pieces are unique technologies that are made by different specialized groups. There are stacked ICs in one package but they are placed on a PCB substrate internal to the IC package. Power conversion will still require multiple components - capacitors, resistors, magnetics, and at least one IC and these will be placed on a PCB. So, I don't see PCBs going away.

However, I do envision a reduction in the number of PCB designers due to improved software. While I've yet to see an autorouter do a good job on digital circuit the thought of one designing an entire mixed-signal PCB seems fantastic. But someday... At that time the job of the PCB designer could migrate to the EE who designs the circuit.

For job stability you might consider moving up the food chain, so to speak.

Yes For now .. But in a short span .. the fab process can replace the PCB design process right ?? If ASIC development speeds up .. chips can be custom made for everything right ?? (except for power.. or may be even that .. ) .. seeing the pace of electronics industry .., nothing is impossible ... !! many of my senior engineers also recommended me to move in to VLSI or coding .. to make my career safe .. !!

. Actually I'm an EE . I design the circuits .. I'm into High speed design .. and have already done designs on MSP430, and ARM platforms and few bits in X86 .. !

My answer is no. Although the fab process is similar to the PCB process it has limitations that make a PCB a necessary part of any design.

Thanks a lot David .. Your replies helped a lot .. And finally any areas or domains you would recommend me to concentrate ... ?? Presently I'm in High speed design and I love it ... Which other domains would you recommend as an addon feature / support skill for my career .. FPGA ,Coding in C , or anything else .. as per the current industry trends ..

Unexpected or expected change will happen in near future. Tablet, mobile, laptop will change everything but Printed circuit will remain unchanged, but its upgradable tech It will be more thin and rigid body.

[User comment deleted]

I remember an article in one of the industry magazines 20-25 years ago saying that it had previously been thought that greater and greater integration would spell the end of PCBs, but that instead it has just meant that more function has been put on each board, and the PCB industry had actually been growing, despite prophecies to the contrary. I would like to see the tool-up charges come down more though, so small quantities would not be cost-prohibitive.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but I learned the trade in the eighties and have since mostly done software projects and some process automation wich was low speed microcontroller work on thru hole pcb's. Great software, simple and robust hardware.
In short I'm a bit behind on pcb design. Where might I update my knowledge, especially about high speed design and multi layered pcb's without going back to school.

Ruben, industry guru Dr. Howard Johnson has a lot of resources available on it. Start at http://www.sigcon.com/Pubs/index.htm and http://www.sigcon.com/Pubs/pubsAlpha.htm .

Johnson has a good book out called, [b]"High-Speed Digital Design: A Handbook of Black Magic"[/b] published by Prentice-Hall. His materials are generally more math-intensive than most of us on this forum need to go, but it is helpful to be aware of the effects that can cause the pitfalls he talks about.

There are more good links to ap. notes and such at the bottom of my 6502 Primer page on construction, at http://wilsonminesco.com/6502primer/construction.html .