i don’t know how you guys do it now

.... keep up on the latest digital systems inherent in mobile electronics.

When I made my living doing this stuff, it was pretty much completely analog. We're talking 1991-1993. About the most complicated thing you'd come across would be an Invisibeam field disturbance sensor and alarm system installed into a foreign car (Mercedes Benz, BMW, both of which were just coming out with the CANBUS on select models). Other than that it was pretty straightforward- relays, switches, and PIR if you wanted to get really fancy. Maybe a CM PASSKEY system if you were doing a new Vette or Camaro- and that was supposed to be insurmountable when they first came out.

Now cars have tons of overly-complicated electronic crap in them-- and you're talking to a professional techy! I'm a network engineer and you'd think I'd be all for my field extending into another area. But I just don't see any need for my car to park itself, continuously upload information to a server, have steer-by-wire systems (so there's no actual connection between the wheels and the steering wheel, but of course "there's failsafes in place"). I've been an engineer long enough to know that sometimes systems fail in spectacular fashion and that can easily mean a total system failure- such that even the "fail safes" don't fail.... safely.

But what really makes me glad I am not in the mobile electronics field anymore (and makes me respectful of the highly skilled amongst you.. while even more wary of the "kid out of high school working his first job, yo" (hey, I WAS that kid- so yes I get to pick on them!), is such overly-complicated things as multiplexed door locks. While not the norm, I am seeing while looking back into the field that apparently there are instances of complicated air-over-electric systems which are actuated by a multiplexed signal on one wire... just to unlock a damn door!

It's becoming apparent to me that there are far too many engineers, with far too few real problems... and so they build complicated Goldbergian systems to accomplish menial tasks.

.. but then again, maybe I'm just a crochety old mustard, too set in my ways. ;)

Anyway- I am amazed at the work some of you do. I can't imagine the continuing education that has to go into keeping the edge on your skills- and I thought my field had it hard!

You are correct, it is an entirely different ball game than it was in the 80s. Had you stayed in the industry, it has been a constant but steady transformation from then to now.