Advice to BSEE juniors and seniors...
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From: JosephKK on 23 Apr 2010 02:13 On Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:58:37 -0700, "Joel Koltner" <zapwireDASHgroups(a)yahoo.com> wrote: ><krw(a)att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz> wrote in message >news:03ops5l5e81o45bvk4djqautck2v9je4jr(a)4ax.com... >> On Mon, 19 Apr 2010 09:06:17 -0700, "Joel Koltner" >> <zapwireDASHgroups(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >>>I suspect that it's the large companies that go for serial employment more >>>than the little ones. >> I think you'll find it's the other way around. > >Hmm, might be, I don't really know. > >[HP using temps] > >> A lot of large companies don't hire contractors for this reason. > >Yes, HP did this -- there was one firm in town that was effectively captive to >HP. (I think they did fill positions for a few other employers as well, but >the thing was that if you wanted a temp job at HP, there was one and only one >firm where you'd sign up as a temp.) > >> IBM paid for advanced degrees and usually gave time off for engineers to >> take >> classes but there was no promise of a raise or promotion upon completion of >> a >> degree. > >That's pretty much how it was with my master's -- work paid tuition, but it >really had no impact on my salary (which was fine by me at the time). > >> There rarely was either for engineers. Tecnicians would often be >> promoted to engineer upon receiving a BSEE, though. > >Hopefully they'd promote some of the really good techs who were clearly >capable of doing engineering work to engineering positions as well, regardless >of their academic background. > >---Joel Understood, i was one of the tech's that became an engineer before i got my degree, at Hughes Aircraft no less. I passed (quite foolishly) on becoming a group leader (a supervisory position) of degreed engineers along the way (before i had completed my degree). One of the biggest missteps i have ever made.
From: Joel Koltner on 21 Apr 2010 12:06 "ehsjr" <ehsjr(a)nospamverizon.net> wrote in message news:hqlvjj$ej$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... > Joel Koltner wrote: >> P.S. -- There's some well-heeled amateur radio club where, when a kid >> passes his novice license exam, they'll buy him or her whichever handheld >> radio they'd like. Whaddaya think -- too much reward for the amount of >> effort required? Or no? > Terrible. FAR better would be a soldering iron. > And even that would be too much reward, but at least there's > the hope it would help the kid learn. :-) Yeah, I take your point there. I'd wager the percentage of hams who have soldered anything in, say, the past year is in the single digits, though -- ham radio in generally is becoming a less popular hobby, and so far the main response has been, "well, let's make it easier to get a license, that'll boost the membership!" This approach has succeeded, albeit accompanied by a cultural shift as well. Whether this is good, bad, or indifferent is often a topic of hot debate... Personally I have no qualms about them getting rid of the Morse code requirement! ---Joel
From: mpm on 21 Apr 2010 14:01 On Apr 20, 12:44 pm, Joerg <inva...(a)invalid.invalid> wrote: > Joel Koltner wrote: > > "Joerg" <inva...(a)invalid.invalid> wrote in message > >news:8363mdFv81U1(a)mid.individual.net... > >> This guy even dropped out of school, yet succeeded: > >>http://www.ltbn.com/hall_of_fame/Branson.html > > > Good example. > > > While these days most everyone is largely expected to go to college, I > > keep thinking about what John Larkin has mentioned regarding how many > > little widgets that could be created by a one-man shop would have a > > decent market and what you've said about how this is kinda the "golden > > age" of design in that so much software is now freely available and so > > much hardware is stocked up in Thief River Falls and only a few days > > away via (realtively) inexpensive mail order. > > > Maybe making it as a sole propreitor these days is easier than ever > > before? ... > > No. That is because the business climate in most areas is decidedly > hostile towards small biz. 50 years ago you just hung out a shingle and > you were in business. Nowadays they'll send the goons out and sock it to > you. Seriously, this happened to people I've met. Nonsensical laws about > zoning, licenses, ADA stuff, minimum tax, a bazillion laws that hit the > millisecond you hire someone (so I simply do not hire anyone ...). > > Ideas? Yeah, tons of them. But I don't want to stand in the crossfire of > bureaucrats so it's often best to just let those ideas go by. If you are > a big company, different thing. There you have negotiating power and the > local authorities kowtow to you because hundreds of jobs are on the line. > > ...it's just that wanting to work for a place like Tek, HP, > > > Analog Devices, Linear Tech, etc. now seems like far less of an option > > if you don't follow the traditional college route. > > I did follow the traditional ivy league route but right around finishing > my masters degree realized that big corporation work is not my turf. I > just cannot stand bureaucratic hurdles and would have busted them left > and right. In fact I had a written job offer from a fine company and > turned it down. Started at a small US company instead, and people told > me I'd be out of my mind for making those decisions. Well, I wasn't :-) > > -- > Regards, Joerg > > http://www.analogconsultants.com/ > > "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. > Use another domain or send PM.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - I was tempted earlier to re-quote Joel's observation as the "Golden Age of Bullshit", but refrained from doing so. I'm changing my mind now. :) -mpm
From: mpm on 21 Apr 2010 14:06 On Apr 20, 11:40 pm, ehsjr <eh...(a)nospamverizon.net> wrote: > Joel Koltner wrote: > > <snip> > > > > > P.S. -- There's some well-heeled amateur radio club where, when a kid > > passes his novice license exam, they'll buy him or her whichever > > handheld radio they'd like. Whaddaya think -- too much reward for the > > amount of effort required? Or no? > > Terrible. FAR better would be a soldering iron. > And even that would be too much reward, but at least there's > the hope it would help the kid learn. > > Ed A six inch piece of heavily oxidized solder then?
From: Charlie E. on 21 Apr 2010 17:14
On Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:20:33 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell(a)earthlink.net> wrote: > >Joel Koltner wrote: >> >> "Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell(a)earthlink.net> wrote in message >> news:4BCE4E3B.D388FBBA(a)earthlink.net... >> > Actually, it was 38911 bytes, without using slivers of unused memory. >> >> Good point... "64K of RAM in the machine, of which you can use... mmm... a >> skosh more than half before things become challenging..." >> >> > Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to >> > have a DD214, and a honorable discharge. >> >> Going for a Heinlein "Starship Troopers"-style policy there? :-) (And I mean >> the book version, not the movie version where they largely ripped out any of >> the social/political commentary Heinlein was exploring in favor of making an >> "action" movie.) > > > Think about it. How many lawyers would be willing to go through >basic training, and active duty for a chance to run for office? Michael, Shouldn't really be a requirement, although it should help. I know I don't have one. I was in ROTC in '75, but needed to change schools. New school advertised ROTC in its catalog. When I arrived, found that they had dropped out of the program that year! Nearest program was about 70 miles away, and I didn't have a car, so they 'discharged' me. They didn't mind. With Vietnam ending, they had more than enough butter bars coming out... Charlie |