I work for a large semiconductor company and during the pandemic the test engineers in the lab and IT staff were the only ones allowed into the office for the first year. Even the test engineers were allowed to take a lot of lab equipment home with them. The CEO did an all hands where he shared pics of all the lab people testing and evaluating chips at home.
In my case it is hobby fun rapidly turning professional. The way to fund hobby / new work is to get your investment at home to pay for itself. Free tools and gear essentially.
Early on, as I picked up skills and scored deals on equipment, I ended up able to take side gigs and or take on special projects. Sometimes I would do these on a "keep the gear" basis. No money changes hands. Recommended.
Pros:
Picking up new skills
Research on ones interest and terms
Flex time working is possible
Reduced commute
Work when ideation is high tide, so to speak
Cons:
It can be expected to work more
Personal / company boundaries are less clear (IP and overwork)
Can be expensive
Need space
Summary:
Personally, I have always had a lab at home, and I rarely take company gear home. Sometimes I have, but I try to buy my own, or the gear from the company.
I have had to make a few career jumps and the next one has pretty much been made possible by what I had at home and what I could do with it.
Be very careful about IP. The reward for that caution can be a real opportunity for you.
It can be the place where you show young people stuff they would never see otherwise and or, until much later. This happened for me as a teen and it was a huge boost! And it was where home lab started for me. My bedroom was my shop.
Of course, you gotta sort this for your scene too. The CEO letting people take gear home is nice and maybe a non issue for people. Depends on what one is doing and or plans to do.
