Some of the very best circuit designers do not have a Phd or even a college degree. They simply had a feel and intuition for how a circuit behaves and what the parts needs to do on a deep intuitive level. Jim William (Linear Technology) and John Kobbe (Tektronix) comes to mind at the moment.
What matters most for any circuit designer to be good is creativity and passion for all this electronics stuff. The very best circuit designers are very much artist using electronics as their means of expression.
It is often forgotten those who put the work into creating the foundations for what is commonly used today in the technology world. If not for the efforts and good work done by previous individuals, none of what many take for granted daily.
As for being too old to doing or pursuing a career in electronics, No, simply No.
What really matters is passion and interest in doing electronics daily. GO FOR IT..
Bernice
I would not called it 'Tragic' myself, it's more like 'progress'. Look how software coding has evolved over the years. In the early days you needed to be a computer scientist to get a computer to do something you want. Today we have Python, HTML, and a slew of other high-level ways to get a computer steered in the right direction. It does not matter that the programmer has no idea what is happening under the hood. If all programs had to be developed in assembly, computers would have a fraction of the use they do today. The low-skill level programmers use high level languages. When they run out of power or functionality they look to the higher-skill level programmers for a tool.
In EE, there is still a need for the PhD level people developing analog circuits on silicon. The field is just being divided more and more. Not everyone can understand everything since the field is so massive. To make compelling and small devices with high-performance and low power requires huge teams of people and a large market. The trend toward 'cookie-cutter' designs enables a business like mine. A one man band essentially that can put together a sophisticated blend of technologies into a tiny space and sell relatively tiny volumes at a profit. If I had to design multiple SMPS's from discreet components, AD converters, LCD drivers, current sense amplifiers, etc.... it would not be possible. I use the datasheets and the demo boards to get familiar with a device the same way I would a discreet component. I still have to design the glue circuits that hold it all together.
This way of working is not tragic at all. This is leveraging the intelligence of others so that I can put a whole bunch of tricks into one hat. I never wanted to be cornered into a specific discipline of EE.