When you find your work fun, it is not as hard to end up being paid very well for it.

A teacher I once had told me, "Make sure you love what you work at to make a living".
While that is great advice, I could never make that happen to support a family.
It always came down to "make money to pay the bills". Love of the work was secondary.
I ended up doing QC inspection of metal & plastic parts, which I did not like that much, but
which payed better than electronics, had lots of available jobs in aerospace and demanded
less math or physics, but more paperwork.
Now I'm older and am examining electronics again, since I took a few basic classes way back
when I was young, to see if I can salvage what I know & make some money with what education
I have or maybe take a few more classes. Or even maybe just forget about it except as maybe
a hobby if I find the time which I don't have much of.

 

I agree.

I'm just trying to gage the electronics jobs available, even though I probably don't qualify for them, except maybe
at a lower level.
Actually Astronomers have an even worse situation. They have to know all the highest math and physics have a PhD
to actually work at real astronomy (not as a teacher or tour guide), yet have a hard time finding jobs due to supply and demand.
I see a lot of ads for machinists but hardly any for electronics. I do see that there is a thriving electronics job pool in India however
probably because they are paid less for high skills....(just guessing)

Consumer electronics repair is a less needed skill here (we throw things away here while they are repaired in India at the most basic level) but there is still a huge demand for commercial/industrial electronic techs where the life-cycle for very expensive tools is measured in decades.

Basic electronic/electric skills are easy to learn when the alternative is working next to a blast furnace with sandals on and no safety equipment. The key is motivation, I've seen lots of farm boys in the military get good paying skills by hard work because the alternative was spreading manure for the rest of their lives.

 

Consumer electronics repair is a less needed skill here (we throw things away here while they are repaired in India at the most basic level) but there is still a huge demand for commercial/industrial electronic techs where the life-cycle for very expensive tools is measured in decades.

Basic electronic/electric skills are easy to learn when the alternative is working next to a blast furnace with sandals on and no safety equipment. The key is motivation, I've seen lots of farm boys in the military get good paying skills by hard work because the alternative was spreading manure for the rest of their lives.

On throwing electronics away like trash. True that is probably a significant factor with electonics job here in the USA.
Have you ever seen this guys videos? He is kind of laid back and slow but he makes the point very well about throw away electronics..

 

About as hard as it gets is a little basic Trig oncassionally to measure angles. The machines do all the work, especially the newer CNC machines.

Ha.

A machinist is a highly skilled individual. And good ones are invaluable.

The best are called Tool Makers. They make the machines that do all the work.

 

Ha.

A machinist is a highly skilled individual. And good ones are invaluable.

The best are called Tool Makers. They make the machines that do all the work.

I worked with Tool Makers. They are usually intuitive about their precision like an art.
A Tool Maker once told me this, "A tool Maker is a Slow Machinist"..

I've had to check parts myself at +/- 0.0001 or less where it is more of a "feel" you go by rather than numbers.

Regardless, it seems that it takes more knowledge and technical scientific skill to be an engineering electronics tech.

 

When you find your work fun, it is not as hard to end up being paid very well for it.

I have done pretty good, financially speaking and enjoyed the journey, as I have often said, I have never 'worked' a day in my life.

 

A teacher I once had told me, "Make sure you love what you work at to make a living".
While that is great advice, I could never make that happen to support a family.
It always came down to "make money to pay the bills". Love of the work was secondary.
I ended up doing QC inspection of metal & plastic parts, which I did not like that much, but
which payed better than electronics, had lots of available jobs in aerospace and demanded
less math or physics, but more paperwork.
Now I'm older and am examining electronics again, since I took a few basic classes way back
when I was young, to see if I can salvage what I know & make some money with what education
I have or maybe take a few more classes. Or even maybe just forget about it except as maybe
a hobby if I find the time which I don't have much of.

If you've always wanted to work with electronics but were never able to, then I would like to encourage you to just "go for it." Better late than never, and so what if the pay isn't what it ought to be? You speak about raising a family in the past tense so I assume your nest is empty or getting close. There will still be practical considerations; you still have to support yourself, maybe a spouse, but it sounds like you are at a point in life where you can elevate your own happiness and fulfillment to a higher priority than being a money generation machine. It would be tragic to go to the grave having never taken a step in the direction that you wanted.

You don't have to do anything radical if you can't swing it. You don't have to quit your job and go full time to a university. You can go to school part time or work part time, however you find a workable solution. Or you can teach yourself, find a niche, make/repair gadgets at home. However you go about it, if you are passionate about it then with some determination you will (eventually) succeed. It won't be easy, but rewarding endeavors are never easy.

 

The only thing that's not fun anymore is the physical activity, getting old sucks.

Indeed. I've had back issues since I was in my early 20s so I don't even think to complain about that any more but what my body has started protesting is heat. Half of my work is done on the floor of any of dozens of Houston manufacturing plants and I used to be able to ignore it but not anymore. Some of these plants are full of extrusion equipment pumping hundreds of kW of heat into my work space which would otherwise be "only" 100f. Working in that environment I have to take frequent breaks because the feedback I get from my body indicates that to do otherwise could have serious consequences.

I have started scheduling what work I can, to be on the night shift. Less interruption to production, less heat. Less sleep too, but I have always been able to run on 5-6 hours per night and that hasn't changed much. I used to be able to run indefinitely (but not comfortably) on 3-4hrs/night but now I can only do that for a week or so before I crash. I did it last month out of state for 10 days and when I got back I went into Dracula mode for 3 days.

 

Back to this money (income) in electronics subject again:

Besides a hobby level, is there any type of job skill in electronics that you can do from your garage and you don't have to go
to a 9-5 company position like a regular job? I know that used to be TV repair man but those jobs (businesses) are obsolete
now with the flat screen TVs and throwaway, "just buy a new one" approach to electronics devices.
Same with cellphones. You just get rid of your old one and get a new one. Some privileged people even get free phones.

The reason I ask is because I am within the retirement phase of my life and although I do have some retirement funds coming
in, I need more extra money to make it. Maybe some electronics tasks, repair or whatever, could bring in that money and
"maybe not" , since I am approaching this without career experience working in the electronics industry like most people here are.
Also my skills are very basic in electronics AC-DC-Digital-Boolean- fundamental microprocessor theory & basic understanding
of tubes (valves), although I can learn the skills fast enough, and maybe even take some related electronics class at some school.
I was certified as a NASA level solder and wiring QC inspector to visually inspect circuit boards in defense equipment and I know
how to solder pretty well. I guess I am talking about a home based business sort of part time unless it would expand beyond that.
I really don't want to get back into the 9-5 Rat Race again. Been there, done that.

Thanks for indulging my late bloomer aspirations

 

Work from your garage, that sounds nice.

I know a couple of guys ...

 

Work from your garage, that sounds nice.
View attachment 305379
I know a couple of guys ...

OnlyFans is more legal.

 

OnlyFans is more legal.

Not in Oregon.