As an Engineer, ergo, a student of science, I am always learning. But learning how to do my job is not where I draw my boundary.
I like to spend time learning about how my team mates contribute. Once I've found out the who's who of the team, I go about forming a mental list of which other roles I could potentially fill in, when the need arises. Also, putting myself in the shoes of a team lead, I realize that I would love to have a team where everyone is a jack of all trades and a master of one!
I am constantly striving to keep up this habit of interacting with engineers having diverse skill sets. My most recent job provided me with the opportunity to perform in a cross functional role, involving frequent discussions with the Mechanical, Baseband , Layout and Antenna Engineering teams.
The tech sector is dynamic. Consumer needs are ever changing and that is one of the interesting challenges an engineer has to keep up with.
We've talked about the suppliers and the OEMs and even EDA tool providers. But if we were to point out one essential contributor to the launch of a product, that would have to be the testing solution provider.
The variety of test equipment we use, as RF Engineers and the range of complexity they help us deal with is testament to how much of our success, we owe to the Instrumentation Manufacturing Industry. Time and again, I remind myself to go back to the basics of how things come together to work as one. In this quest, I consider it paramount to know my equipment inside out. Unfortunately, RF test equipment could very well cost as much as the house I aim to buy a few years down the road! I cannot simply open one up and look at what's happening.
To the best possible extent, I try to lookup the internal specifications and develop my understanding of how the cogs revolve.