S04-E10 Josh is a Technician at Analog Devices

In this episode of Talking Technicians, you’ll meet Josh, a technician at Analog Devices in San Jose, California. Hear about Josh's background, his experience working at Analog Devices, and the opportunities for growth and benefits in the industry. Josh shares his journey from starting in an automotive shop to working in the microelectronics industry, and how his education at a community college prepared him for his career. Josh emphasizes the importance of hands-on skills and communication in the field of electronics. The episode concludes with Josh's advice for students and those looking to transition into a career as a technician.

The Talking Technicians podcast is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, through financial support from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education grant program.

Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation.

Join the conversation. If you are a working technician or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org.

Links from the show:

Episode Web Page: https://micronanoeducation.org/students-parents/talking-technicians-podcast/

Analog Devices: https://www.analog.com/en/index.html

Transcript

Peter Kazarinoff  0:03  
From MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, this is Talking Technicians. The podcast about technicians: who they are, what they do, and where they come from. I'm your host, Peter Kazarinoff. I teach technicians and engineers at Portland Community College. In each episode, you'll meet a working technician and hear their story. That means real interviews, with real technicians, about real jobs. At the end of each episode, you'll hear actions you can take if you want to be a technician too.

In this episode, you'll meet Josh. Josh works at Analog Devices in San Jose, California. Josh, welcome to Talking technicians.

Josh  0:49  
Thank you, Peter. It's great to be here.

Peter Kazarinoff  0:51  
Josh, tell me a little bit about yourself. Analog Devices is in San Jose, California. Where do you live and how long you've been there for?

Josh  1:00  
So I currently live in Castro Valley. It's actually close to Fremont, not not too far from there. I've lived here my whole life. And Analog Devices is actually a worldwide company as well. So we have our actually corporate is on the east coast, in Massachusetts and and we have satellite centers and design centers all across the globe. 

Peter Kazarinoff  1:21  
So Josh, tell me a little bit more about Analog Devices. What kind of things do they do? And then also, where did you work before analog?

Josh  1:32  
Sure, yes. Analog Devices is a pretty well known integrated circuit company has been around for quite some time. So so we make anything from, you know, data converters, to power products to, we're in all kinds even, there's even some sensors and other things that we're coming out with as well. So we're really got our hands on a lot of any, anything that's mainly high performance. I'd say, where we we we put our name on it.

Peter Kazarinoff  1:59  
And Josh, before you worked at Analog Devices, where else have you worked? 

Josh  2:04  
Oh, Peter, Iv'e - I've worked at a few different places, not as many as most people, I would say, here in Silicon Valley. But, you know, I kind of started my my current, well, I wouldn't say career, but I started working, actually, in the automotive shop. That's kind of where I was in high school. I was the shop boy, and I like to get my hands dirty. And boy, did I get my hands dirty there. So I spent a lot of time, you know, cleaning up and tinkering on things there as well. And then, you know, I kind of always knew that I wanted to get into electronics. So as I was going to the local community school there, going through the associates program and electronic technology, I found my way into a small pressure sensor company. Well, it's more than that. It was actually, you know, they did pressure sensors, accelerometers and other things, but it was really kind of a mom and pop type atmosphere there, and I did a lot of learning, because I had to wear many hats being a small company, you know, things from, you know, writing test programs to bread board circuit design and all kinds of little things there. So I really got to get dirty there for a little while, but, but then later, after that, then I kind of saw the need, that I needed something a little bit more, and I kind of wanted a little bit more. And I kind of went over towards Linear Technology, which was a fascinating company in itself, and I did a lot of learning there also. 

Peter Kazarinoff  3:21  
And Josh, what does Linear Technology do? What did you do for them?

Josh  3:26  
Yeah, so Linear Technology was, you know, at the time, a smaller, you know, smaller than, say, analog devices or the other one that we know, Texas Instruments. But they had their own little niche, you know, as far in performance and specifically in power, they had a lot of power ICS that they were putting out. And I would actually kind of fell into the data converter side of things. So I was working on DAX for the most part when I started as a technician there to start my first so to start, I would say the first thing that I was doing was a lot of automation of their their testing in the lab environment, which they didn't quite have at that time. So they were starting to develop, but with the complexity of parts, you know, arising at that time, the need was found that, you know, we can no longer hand test a lot of these things inside of lab environments. We started the automation process. It there.

Peter Kazarinoff  4:21  
And Josh, when you mentioned DAX, for folks that don't know, what is a DAC, what does that do?

Josh  4:27  
Yeah, so a DAC would be a digital to analog converter, and what it basically does is it takes our digital signals that we have and changes it into the analog domain, which we all work and function. And so I know we all like to think digital is king, but, but really, analog is where we're at.

Peter Kazarinoff  4:43  
So Josh, now you're at analog. How would you describe your current job title, and what do you do day to day at work in analog devices?

Josh  4:52  
So after the acquisition, a lot changed for me. So, so during the Linear Technology days coming as a technician, i. I had some room for advancement, as there was as well. I kind of climbed the ranks of from beginning technicians to senior technician level, moving on to associate engineering position. And then kind of was, was held there for a while. And then, you know, once analog came up, there was more opportunity, I would say, to grow in there. And, you know, I worked my way through some some evaluation engineering roles, and then now I actually lead a small but growing team here of design evaluation engineers.

Peter Kazarinoff  5:30  
So Josh, would you say there are opportunities for professional growth at analog, like the things that you took avail advantage of?

Josh  5:38  
Absolutely, Peter, I think analog is a great place to grow. There's plenty of opportunities there and openings all over the place. So that's that's one thing that I've definitely found throughout this this company, is that they, they encourage growth a lot more than any other place that I've ever been at.

Peter Kazarinoff  5:57  
And Josh, in addition to professional growth, are there other things that come along with your job, things like benefits, health care, retirement packages, stuff like that?

Josh  6:09  
Absolutely, there's, there's a ton of different benefits that are offered throughout the company and throughout the industry. I think would say it's a standard where, where we have, you know, pretty, pretty good health care plans. And, you know, 401, KS, you can also some find companies that would be offering, say, stock options or not so much options, as much as stock awards is, is more going around nowadays, but yeah, there's, there's a lot of, and, you know, discounts for certain places, for being involved with companies, there's, there's all kinds of benefits associated with with working in the industry, I would say.

Peter Kazarinoff  6:43  
So Josh, it sounds like this isn't just a job, that working at analog, this is a career, and that you can grow and be supported during it. So Josh, tell me, what was it like your very first day of work? How did you feel going into work for the first time?

Josh  6:58  
Yeah, that's a good question. So I would say I was definitely, definitely nervous, but excited. You know, it was like, it felt like, you know, I was fairly young. I was probably, I would say, I think I was 19 or 20 when I first started as a technician at the sensor company. And it was like, the first day, you know, put on your big boy pants and get out there and and be in the real world, because I knew, you know, this, this was going to be a career, this, this, I wasn't getting into the path just as you know, to try it out. I'm a guy that kind of, I do my homework a little bit beforehand. I find something I like, and I stick with it. And I knew, you know, the day I stepped in, that this is for the rest of my life type of thing. So it was exciting, definitely. And a lot, lot to learn that I had on there is, it was a great opportunity.

Peter Kazarinoff  7:48  
And, Josh, how does it feel now? How is it different that you've been working for a while at Analog?

Josh  7:53  
Oh, lots changed since my first day that, that's for sure. Peter, I mean, you know, I, I, I like to say I missed the good old days a lot, but, but at the same time, I mean, the the opportunities that I had and the learnings that I've taken advantage of the people and the relationships that I've built in the industry has just been fantastic and life altering to me. So I'm, you know, now my day to day tasks have changed quite quite a bit, being, you know, more in a managerial role than a technician level, but at the same time, I really get the smile and the passion back when I step back into that lab and I get to get my hands on a board or something like that.

Peter Kazarinoff  8:32  
So Josh, let's talk a little bit about what we call the career path, or how you got to where you were now. You mentioned that you got an associate's degree at a community college. Can you tell me what community college you went to and what kind of degree you earned?

Josh  8:47  
Yeah, absolutely. So locally, here in Fremont, we had Ohlone College was kind of the community college that we had around, and at the time they were offering quite a good electronics program that was kind of highly well taken by by the industry. So I was really excited to get in there and kind of pursue that path. And it was, it was an associate, associate Science degree in electronic technologies, what I walked out there with. And, you know, I mean, it was, it was great life changing experience for me. I always planned on moving on and getting my four year degree. That was, that was, that was going to be the plan. But once I kind of fell into the industry, and I kind of started to evolve in the place, I didn't see the need anymore at that point in time, it seemed like, you know, I I can develop more efficiently here than I would be able to in a academic environment, I think. And that's kind of the path I took in it. It definitely played off well for me.

Peter Kazarinoff  9:48  
So Josh, what was the most difficult part of school? What was the hardest part of going through that community college education?

Josh  9:56  
Oh, just have to, having to take all those classes that I didn't care about. Right? Peter, it. It's, it's taking the the English classes and the history classes and the it's, it's, it's, it was, it was kind of going through there, because my passion was working with circuits and learning about circuits. I just wanted to be in those classes all the time. So having to spend and dedicate time throughout those portions out that, would I say, definitely be the the hardest struggle.

Peter Kazarinoff  10:19  
Josh, how did the community college classes that were related to technical aspects of your jobs, circuit classes, things like that. How did that prepare you for where you are now at analog

Josh  10:30  
 It prepared me quite well, like so I would say the great thing about the community college that I had was 50% of the time we spent in the lab, I would say, out of the technical classes. So every single class that we had a lecture on, we would also go into the lab. And to me, that that's seems to be a missing component these days for, you know, a lot of the new college grads that I bring in, I would say it seems like they didn't have quite the same amount of emphasis on the lab time. So to me, that that was a great benefit. That's really where all my learning took place, right? It was, you know, blowing up circuits. That's, that's how you learn. It's, it's, it's great to get the understanding in a lecture, but really getting your hands dirty is really where you get the learning experience.

Peter Kazarinoff  11:17  
So Josh, we've talked a little bit about those hands on skills, things that you did that included building testing apparatus or building in automated electronics testing. What about interpersonal skills at work? You mentioned now that you work with a lot of people, we sometimes call these soft skills. How do you use these interpersonal skills at work?

Josh  11:41  
Now, it's so important, Peter, it's so important. So this is something that's often overlooked as well. But communication is king. Like you really have to be able to communicate with team members, is this, there's no one, one person that's doing everything. So communication is really, really under appreciated skill set, I would think, and especially in our technical field, you know, like that. That's something that a community communication isn't emphasized at all with within us. It's all about technical skill, but you can't get those technical skills out if you can't communicate. So, you know, being, you know, coming through the community college, and you know, just having an understanding of how to talk to people. And you know, it seemed like the atmosphere in a community college, maybe little more lax and just and and conversations take place in different ways and whatnot. I think in the pressure, I think as well, was was much less to me, that allowed me to really grow and to come out of my shell, because I'm an introvert by heart, you know, just that's just who I am, but really it allowed me to kind of come out and communicate with people in a much better fashion. I would say.

Peter Kazarinoff  12:47  
Josh, what's something unexpected about working as a technician that you only learned after you started you mentioned that you started out working in an automotive shop and then you went into the micro electronics industry. What was something unexpected about working as a technician in that micro electronics industry?

Josh  13:05  
Oh, man, there's so many things, so many things that were were unexpected, just the whole process flow, I would say, of like new product development and just learning just how much is involved within there. I mean, it's not just about testing circuits. Like, sure you can, you can put yourself on a tester and sit there and test the same parameters day after day, but really getting involved and just learning how much goes into the logistics of taking a circuit from conceptual state all the way through to releasing it as an actual product.

Peter Kazarinoff  13:36  
Josh, how did your life change when you became a technician? What's different now compared to when you're a student at the community college.

Josh  13:44  
Oh well. So when I became, like I mentioned before, when I became a technician, that I was a very, very early adulthood. So a lot was changing within my life. It was it was it was, you know, I was becoming a new father, at the time, very young father. So there was so much changing that it was just, it just being in an industry that was moving so fast, it was just, it was mind blowing to me, but it really allowed me to be pliable and understand look like you can't force your will in places. You have to be able to to move and interpret things and become agile in an environment that you're at, but the same time you have to remain focused on the tasks that you're doing.

Peter Kazarinoff  14:26  
And Josh, you mentioned that you were a young parent when you were working as a technician. How amiable it is? Is it working in the micro electronics industry and being a young parent at the same time? How'd you navigate that?

Josh  14:41  
You know, when you're a young parent, you just, you just do what you have to do, right? And and I was blessed in the fact that, yes, you know, I was a young parent at the time, but I was also pursuing my passion as well. So this wasn't just like, oh, you know, I'm a parent. I need to put, you know, food on the table for my family. This was me being able to. Explore my passion, you know, and at the same time provide for my family.

Peter Kazarinoff  15:04  
Josh, what advice would you give current students or people who want to transition their careers and work at a place like analog like you do?

Josh  15:14  
So I would say that, you know, well, the electronic technician field, it's a very broad field, right? So there's many opportunities out there. I see many technicians into the field as kind of a starting position. They come in and, you know, they gain their experience, and maybe they want to move on to different career paths. But at the same time, I've worked with plenty of amazing technicians that's been been there for 30 plus years, and, you know, all the way through to retirement. So I think it's a great place to come in. I think it's a great position. I think it's often an overlooked position, and I think it's a position that we're always going to need within the field.

Peter Kazarinoff  15:50  
Josh, do you have a final call to action for students or people who want to transition their careers and work as a technician like you did?

Josh  15:59  
Sure, yeah. Peter, so I would say, so the technical skills is definitely an emphasis and and, you know, there's we can go to school, you know, for 246, or even longer years and obtain a high level degree, but that doesn't guarantee the knowledge or the skills for for within the technical field. So really, where it's developed is by being presented an opportunity and having a passion for it. So I would say, you know this, this field, have passion about it. If you're not passionate about it, then what are you doing? Like you could find something else. There's plenty of other things out there, but develop that passion, that love for it and and really ride or die with it.

Peter Kazarinoff  16:38  
Well, Josh, thank you so much for sharing your story with me and being on talking technicians.

Josh  16:44  
Thank you very much, Peter, this was fun. 

Peter Kazarinoff  16:46  
Please keep in touch.

Josh  16:47  
All right. Will do

Peter Kazarinoff  16:52  
Talking Technicians is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center through financial support from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education grant program. Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation. Join the conversation: If you are a working technician, or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org. We're always looking out for great guests to share more stories with you.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai