PCB Designers: Here’s Why You Should Attend a Design Conference This Year

Featured article by Emily Roberts, Independent Technology Author

It doesn’t matter how experienced you are as a PCB designer – there’s always something to learn and develop your skills further. While most PCB designers don’t attend conferences, there are multiple reasons why it’s a good idea, especially if you’re one yourself and you’re looking to improve your skillset.

Here are a few of the reasons you should strongly consider putting your name down for a conference taking place this year.

Get Tips from the Professionals

Whether you’re a newbie or professional designer yourself, you can and will benefit from mingling with some of the leading professionals in the industry.

Professionals are always around at such conferences to give their views on some of the daily challenges they’re faced with when it comes to PCB design. They’ll also be more than happy to give you a few pointers to help improve your own skills.

Take Advantage of the Short Courses

PCB designers attending a conference will often have multiple short courses they can take advantage of to test their knowledge. Such courses are designed to be short but informative, so you can ensure you’re not wasting your time.

Even the top circuit board designers in the world have room for improvement during the design process, and these short courses will almost certainly help you learn something new. The great benefit of going to a conference is that many leading professionals will offer these short courses for free or at a fraction of the cost, so they’re always worth attending for that specific reason alone.

What Conference Should You Take the Time to Visit?

If you want to increase your knowledge on everything related to PCB design, choosing the right conference for you is important. For example, if you already have a basic understanding, you don’t want to attend a conference that’s too amateur, or else it’ll end up being a waste of valuable time.

A possibility for some, would be to combine the conference with a short weekend break. It’s the perfect way to visit another city, improve your business connections and develop your skills further, all at the same time. For example, this October, AltiumLive (one of the leading conferences happening between now and the end of the year), happens to be taking place in Munich.

You should definitely consider getting your name down if you’re serious about improving, and have the added treat of visiting the beautiful city of Munich. The more conferences you visit, the more you’re going to learn. Granted, such conferences can be expensive if you’re traveling long-distance, but they’re worth their weight in gold if you want to develop your skills.

Build Your Relationships

Once you’re at a conference, the world is your oyster when it comes to building new relationships. Such relationships can be taken away from the conference to build partnerships that could help develop new products and inventions. It’s also very possible to meet and attract investors at conferences if you have an idea for a new electronic product. Conferences give you a chance to go face to face with the market leaders to give you and your design skills more of a chance of being a success in the future.

The benefits to attending a conference as a PCB designer are endless. They help you to build new relationships, develop skills, and get tips from some of the biggest names in the PCB game. If you’re still sitting on the fence about putting your name down for a conference in the future, just remember that the above benefits are guaranteed to have a positive impact on your ventures.