Thanks for this constructive criticism. I do kind of feel like I am making excuses to myself and need to admit that to move forward.
I just felt like working on software and integrated circuits in the 1980's would have been so easy compared to the highly specialized environment today.
But at the same time someone pointed out that it probably seemed pretty difficult to them. Also that in 25 years students will likely laugh about how easy some of the work we are doing today was.
(edit weird that that my second post showed up so late. I wrote it as an add-on. Been having issues with posting.)
Now that I think about it, mainly it seemed like it was easier to get into hardware back then, and today the entrepreneurial boom is really all about software and lots of money or expertise needed to get into hardware development. (as a startup.)
You didn't miss any "good ol' days" because you create your own through sheer effort and persistence.
There are plenty of ways to dive in to whatever you want to accomplish, so stop making excuses and just do it.