For SMT practitioners, is it faster to succeed in technology or in management

The localization process of SMT equipment

Since the introduction of SMT production lines for mass production of color TV tuners in 1985, China's electronic manufacturing industry has been applying SMT technology for nearly 30 years. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently approximately 50,000 SMT production lines in China, with a total of over 100,000 placement machines in use. The market for automatic placement machines has accounted for 40% of the global total, making it the largest and most important SMT market in the world.

Welding, inspection and printing equipment have approached the international advanced level.

On the production line, one often comes across "technical talents" who are proud of their skills, as if departments like production quality are not as important as SMT. They are so amazing. Every time I come across such people, I am always worried about their future. In fact, in the eyes of managers, these people are usually regarded as clumsy, rough and unscrupulous, not conducive to stability and unity, and are restricted in their use, thus being fixed in relevant technical positions.

In my personal opinion, technology and management must complement each other. However, considering the domestic SMT industry environment, doing management is definitely more likely to lead to success than doing technology!

SMT technical talents with a certain technical foundation can choose whether to switch to management based on their own circumstances.

SMT managers without a technical foundation must have a comprehensive and specific understanding of the technical basics of SMT in order to make efficient and correct decisions.

SMT technicians who are passionate about technology should focus on the technical route, which is suitable for those who wish to lead a simple life. However, in the SMT industry, this is likely to be a one-way street with limited prospects. Either keep a multimeter for a lifetime; Either one day, if one is promoted by the management to take up a position due to "excellence in skills", or if one wants to start a second business, one will face a very tragic situation of being at a loss, with dark eyes and sweaty palms, and even the team or one's own company will be in a complete mess.

SMT practitioners who hope to see more scenery and have the concept and desire for comprehensive development should improve themselves as soon as possible and shift to a management path. Management is a complex discipline that greatly exercises one's interpersonal relationship handling skills, organizational skills, adaptability, decision-making skills, and so on... Wait... These will be of great help to both your current job and your future development.

The higher you stand, the farther you can see. This is the advantage of being a manager. If you are buried in maintenance, machine repair, adjustment, cable transfer and programming, you will miss out on far too many beautiful scenes.

If a SMT technology expert who has been in the field for more than five years still looks down upon the management staff and thinks they know nothing, then this expert's life is over.

Of course, the above views are only limited to the application technology of the domestic SMT industry. As for the front-end SMT basic development technical support, that is completely different and should be treated separately.