There's a difference between being a taxi driver and a taxi customer. Both "drive" a taxi.
The same in technics. Choose what side you will be.
There's also the cash side: Choose if you spend or earn money in a specific field.
Much is decided by the personal definition of "hobby". Making pictures of PCB's is a hobby too.
Absolutely this!
If you are a hobbyist, it depends on what you want do as part of your hobby.
Your hobbies should be something you enjoy. If all you want is plugging some shields onto an Arduino and program some code in the Arduino IDE, no need to worry about the basics of electronics -- just don't make the mistake of calling yourself an
electronics hobbyist then...
![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xwink.gif.pagespeed.ic.cldandycH0.png)
Don't listen to the internet voices that tell you: "But if you slap some Arduino or RaspPi stuff together, you should really know about the basics of electronics". Erm, no, not necessarily... Since ages people assemble and troubleshoot PCs without knowing the basics of electronics -- pretty much like slapping a hat onto a Rasp-Pi. Imagine someone telling PC enthusiasts that they should need to know the basics of electronics if they are going to assemble an PC with purchased 'ready-to-work' components... Silly, isn't it?
Most likely for a hobbyist the answer is already written in the sky before finishing articulating the question "Do i need to learn basics of electronics?". If you are curious and you desire to know about or build and poke around some electronic circuits (like building a shield or hat by yourself) then in all likelihood you will learn about the basics of electronics
voluntarily without even thinking about that question. There is no "you need" and no "you must" involved. If you don't like to learn about it, don't do it. Fill your free time with something you enjoy. That said, learning something is never a waste. Whether you want to learn basics about electronics, or some basics about programming, something about both or something entirely else is your choice -- there is no right choice and no wrong choice.
If your desire to make a career in whatever field of interest you like (such as something related to electronics perhaps), then ofcourse there is a need for you to know the basics of that particular field. But then we are not talking about a hobby anymore.
On the other hand, since this is an EE forum: Whatever the case, of course you
need to learn about the basics of electronics
![Evil >:D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xevil.gif.pagespeed.ic.tdrs7Uj5gu.png)