A Passion For Electronics

Growing up in the 60s and 70s, it was easy to feed an interest in electronics.  In those days it still held great mystique, yet for the hobbyist, resources were abundant – library shelves filled with books, stores all over town where parts could be purchased, and several monthly magazines packed with content. Even rags like Popular Mechanics ran project articles complete with schematics.  Electronics courses and instructors in junior high and high school introduced students to electronics in a hands-on way, and for avid hobbyists like myself, helped fan the flame of interest.
Sadly, much of this encouragement is gone.  Could this be contributing to the decline in US university engineering enrollment in recent years?
No matter where you live in the world, if you have a passion for electronics, please share it with your kids and take the opportunity to share your interests at local schools and other forums.  It’s an enjoyable hobby and makes a rewarding career path.  Oh, and thanks to the teams at Circuit Cellar, Elektor, Nuts and Volts, and other publications that keep the candle burning, with informative and fun electronics projects and education.
I look forward to hearing your story and thoughts on this.