Trending at Freedom CAD: New Crop of Next-Gen Designers

By Brian White | March 20, 2015

Barry Matties of I-Connect007 interviews Freedom CAD’s Scott McCurdy at IPC APEX EXPO 2015.  Read the full interview here.

Scott McCurdy, Director of Sales and Marketing at Freedom CAD Services, expresses his vision for what North America is bringing to the table in the world of circuit design. I‐Connect007 Publisher Barry Matties and McCurdy also discuss China, trends in product design, tools, and more.

Barry Matties: Tell me a little bit about Freedom CAD. What is it that the company does, exactly?

Scott McCurdy: Freedom CAD is one of the largest printed circuit design engineering service bureaus in North America. We’re primarily known for PCB layout which is where we have the largest number of our employees, with about thirty layout designers. We also go upstream as well, with electrical engineers doing hardware design. The EE guys (electrical/electronics engineers) work from the customer’s block diagram sketch to create the digital schematic; then we’ll do the layout.

..At Freedom CAD, we are grooming a crop of 20‐somethings. We’ve been doing that for about three or four years now. We’re bringing in small groups of high‐aptitude, good attitude, want‐to‐learn, puzzle‐solvers. But they don’t all make it.

To start them off we’ve got a training program that brings them up. We’ve developed some solid designers in just a few short years as apprentice journeyman. We put them under the wing of somebody who wants to help to guide them along. They come in with no baggage. We’re developing that next generation of designers ourselves. We’re doing it here in the United States.

Continue Reading at iConnect007

2 thoughts on “Trending at Freedom CAD: New Crop of Next-Gen Designers

  1. Carvey Ready

    Hi
    I think what you are doing is GREAT. I have been in the PCB design business my whole career. I started in the early 60’s with pencil and paper. I’m still working full time but will retire in October at the ripe age of 75. Glad to hear someone is helping to train the next generation of Printed Circuit Designers.

    Carvey Ready CID

    Reply
    1. Brian Post author

      Thank you Carvey and best of luck with the retirement!

      Reply

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