I’m looking for some honest advice from people in the electronics/PCB field.
I don’t have a degree or formal education in electronics, only basic high school experience with electronics concepts. Recently, I started experimenting with PCB design in KiCad, and I’ve been enjoying it a lot. Specifically, I really like the “logistics puzzle” aspect of placing components, routing tracks, organizing the board efficiently in 2D.
What I don’t enjoy is doing a lot of circuit math or designing the schematic from scratch (figuring out resistor values, exact electrical calculations, etc.). I understand the basics of electricity, but I’m much more into the physical layout side than the deep theory/design side.
So my questions are:
Is it realistic to get a job in PCB layout only (without formal education or prior industry experience)? i was hoping to at least get my foot in the door with a CID or CID+ certificate and a portfolio of projects
Are there entry-level positions where you can focus mostly on layout, while someone else does the circuit/electrical design?
How viable is this as a long-term career path? Is PCB layout something that’s likely to be automated or replaced by AI in the near future? what kind of pay should i expect in the near future and long term? i live in germany if thats important
i heard that a lot of it is outsouced to poorer countries is that true and problematic?
i know this is a lot of questions that i could also ask ai so sorry about that, but i was hoping for some real human experiences in the field
Thanks in advance