Last year I realized that I worked myself out of a job by building certain
products and organizations.
1. Bid transportable computer: Osborne 2 and built plug ins for IBM PC's,
part of making PC's ubiquitous
2. Built large water cooled Mainframes for IBM, beefed up computer
infrastructure
3. Built hybrid fiber coax systems for Ireland, Australia, US, Poland and
other countries, part of internet distribution
4. Built servers, terabit routers for internet and other backbone products
for internet
5. Work with OEM's to outsource production, first across the street to
prove it could be done. Later it was easier to move across the border
because it was question of how much, not how do you make it.
8. Built factories and trained sites how to produce products in 5 countries
Now communication network is in place to send information to anyone,
anywhere at anytime and have real time meetings.
There are standards in place to determine how good good is.
There is someone, not local that can make the product.
Don't require many local folks to make product.
Shrinkage of industry destroys path for development of follow on engineers
and creates surplus of experienced engineers available at bargain prices.
Looking for the next good project that pays a good wage.
On Tue, Aug 13, 2013 at 12:53 PM, Steven Creswick <[log in to unmask]
> wrote:
> Phil,
>
> Your comment on the "limited pool of young talent" jogged my memory of a
> lament from an HR person, almost to the same topic.
>
> This person was lamenting that a very large number of those in the work
> force [like 70%] were just sliding by on a day to day basis. Performing to
> the minimum requirements necessary, and since the job market is so pathetic
> they were not likely to move on. From an engineering point of view, it
> seemed to have been pretty poorly thought out...
>
> Being somewhat crusty at times as well, my rebuttal was that it appeared
> that not only were the employees slackers, but so was management for
> allowing them to smudge the bottom line like that. I suggested that they
> get rid of the non-producers from the top down, and hire/re-hire some of
> the
> older, more experienced individuals and get the company turned around.
>
> Didn't get a response!
>
> Oops!
>
> Yes, we've dumbed down education. Badly!
>
> The switch from Assoc Degree to a BA means more money in someone's pockets
> -
> not necessarily the person getting the degree.
>
> Employers don't want to hire people, they want to make a profit! Cheap
> labor is great [on the books] if you are making jelly bean parts. It
> comes
> back to bite you at some point.
>
> Yes, other companies complain about the lack of talented employees
> available, but what they don't say is that they wish to pay them
> practically
> nothing. And if you are >50, it doesn't matter how much experience you
> have, and how little you are willing to work for, you are "over-qualified",
> aka - 'over-old'
>
> Being a consumer or service economy is okay so long as you are PRODUCING
> something. If companies are not Producing, no one has the money to be a
> Consumer, or have a Service provided for, and the whole thing spirals down
> the toilet.
>
> As they say, Ignorance is Bliss - until the sledgehammer smacks you up
> against the side of the head!
>
> I could really go on as well!!
>
>
> Steve Creswick
> Sr Associate - Balanced Enterprise Solutions
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevencreswick
> 616 834 1883
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nutting, Phil
> Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2013 1:11 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [TN] Refreshment (NTC rant)
>
> Dewey, love your five sayings!
>
> Ok, this thread has struck a nerve.
>
> I have several "signs" that there is a very limited pool of young talent to
> replace those of us who have grown up with technology as it too grew up.
>
> Our local high school dropped Shop and HomEcc many years ago. I worked as
> an industry advisor to two high school technical programs. It was sad the
> lack of knowledge these kids had about simple tools or how things worked.
>
> My alma mater has decided to shift away from all the excellent hands on
> Associates degree programs (where many of my peers got their start and
> spark) in favor of four years Bachelor of Technology programs. Now they
> want to shift all these to full Bachelors. So my son will be the last
> graduating class in Mechanical Engineering Technology. The school has
> decided to only offer Mechanical Engineering. They seem to be reaching to
> being a University rather than the Institute or Institute of Technology
> that
> got them to where they are now and the $$$ they can charge. Are they
> really
> that blind to what is really going on?
>
> I was mentioning this change in our society to my boss some time ago and he
> thought everything would be ok with global outsourcing and we would become
> a
> service economy. There are only so many folks needed to ask if "you want
> fries with that order".
>
> So now we are waking up to the fact that offshoring may not be as
> economically practical anymore and then reshoring the manufacturing here.
> With what work force? The Baby Boomers (most of us on Technet) are
> reaching
> or have reached retirement age. With offshoring kids weren't directed into
> manufacturing (it was "dirty, unexciting, had no future"), so there were no
> new technicians and young engineers to carry the torch. Now we want every
> kid to go to college... for what, to get a Bachelors Degree and then
> struggle to find a job in their "field of study". So they mooch of Mom and
> Dad and maybe take a job at next to minimum wage and can't afford to spread
> their wings, move out and buy a car or a house. I've invested about
> $100,000.00 in my daughters education and she is working for $11/hour part
> time. Really?!
>
> I read in the trade mags how some companies are so desperate for skilled
> workers that they have teamed up with a local school and created an
> apprentice program. Wow, a blast from the past. That was how many of us
> started.
>
> Now we have business managers that got the questions right on their MBA
> exam, but have no clue about the products their companies make or what the
> needs are to properly manufacturer their product.
>
> I could go on, but I'll get off my soap box now. Thanks to those of you
> who
> read this whole rant.
>
> Phil (the curmudgeon)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Whittaker, Dewey
> (EHCOE)
> Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2013 12:13 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [TN] Refreshment
>
> As I was reflecting on the things you said I noticed the words on my board.
> They consist of 5 statements that came from a bigger list I had from
> something I wrote many, many years ago. When the term" The Peter Principle"
> came out, I wrote " The Peter Pan Principle" as a Manager's guide to Never
> -Never Land to deal with the time of MBOs( management by or in spite of
> objectives) and other lack-of-management-skill terms. Now we have Six Sigma
> and other tools which only yield answers that reflect an aggregate whole of
> the consensus opinion of both the informed and the utterly clueless. It's
> not that the answer is wrong; it is the best available answer given the
> inputs, but not the best correct answer. The ability to find multiple
> recommendations and inputs on any subject matter via all the available
> search engines has negated most individual contributions.
> No corporation strives for perfection let alone pride in that
> accomplishment
> , but get it out the door as quickly and cheaply as possible with all
> supporting efforts at a level of just good enough.
> They still appear to be pertinent. They are as follows:
>
> * Never let the grasp of reality hold you back.
> * Never let the voice of reason drown you out.
> * Never let the light of wisdom shadow your intentions.
> * Never let an intellectual spark ignite your creativity.
> * Never let the cataracts of conscience dull your vision.
>
> Dewey
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ed Popielarski
> Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2013 8:33 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [TN] Refreshment
>
> Inge,
>
> I, too, have noticed the gradual fade, and it's my opinion we, ourselves,
> are to blame. Similar to what has happened inside NASA, the "pioneers" that
> sculpted the industry are dead, dying, retired and tired. We as a society
> failed to properly backfill with fresh talent and the methodology of
> upstarting engineering grads is much different than "in our day". Seems to
> me the new generation engineers have developed a love affair with their
> desktop computers and the internet (something that didn't even exist when
> we
> were sprouting wings) and "we" collectively, are transforming to a more
> digital existence, as opposed to the hard, wet, hot physical realm. As this
> evolution proceeds, much of the pioneering spirit is lost, as well as the
> good-old-fashioned "chutzpah" to "break outside the box, damn the
> torpedoes,
> full speed ahead." Job preservation has become a primary focus and this has
> really retarded the craft.
>
> Just my $0.0199999 and ventilation of an issue that I've been containing
> for
> some time now.
>
> Ed Popielarski
> Engineering Manager
>
>
> 970 NE 21st Ct.
> Oak Harbor, Wa. 98277
>
> Ph: 360-675-1322
> Fx: 206-624-0965
> Cl: 949-581-6601
>
>
> https://maps.google.com/maps/myplaces?hl=en&ll=48.315753,-122.643578&spn=0.0
> 11188,0.033023&ctz=420&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Inge Hernefjord
> Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2013 3:00 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [TN] Refreshment
>
> Technet, once a supernova...now just a fading sparkle. Time for renaissence
> (french)? Blood transfusion? Vitamin therapy? Dopamin cure?
> .......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, ...sorry....YYYAAAWN...
>
> Inge
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
> For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask]
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
> For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask]
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
> For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask]
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
> For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask]
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
> For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask]
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask]
______________________________________________________________________
|
