National Engineers Week: Feb 19-25

EWEEK ^ | Feb. 19, 2005 | various

[avg_freeper]

Main Site: with activities for kids

Lockheed Martin Inspires Central Florida Students to Pursue Technical Careers During National Engineers Week 2006

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lockheed Martin's Central Florida businesses will support local activities to promote math and science education for students during National Engineers Week, February 19-25. Through fun hands-on activities, students will learn about engineering and engineering careers.

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General Dynamics Hosts Student Events for National Engineers Week

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD - News), is sponsoring events nationwide during National Engineers Week beginning Feb. 20, 2006.

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[Ligeia]

Ok, thanks! It was a long shot. Thanks for promoting engineering.

[superfries]

I read this all the time on FR but my anecdotal evidence seems to support the opposite. I recruit for one of the nations largest defense contractors and am continuously searching for hardware/software RF, LO, EO/IR, system integration and design engineering types with clearances to fill my engineering jobs and I am telling you, the talent isn't out there. It hasn't been pushed off-shore either, I need US citizens with clearances and the battle is raging between the big boys for this talent.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Cleared employees are highly sought after. Some days I think I should quit and get rehired with bonuses because of my TS/SCI.

[superfries]

I hear you. I would view like this, never stay anywhere long enough to loose contact with the leading edge of technology. Do not put yourself in the position where after 15 years on a contract it is up for re-bid and you loose out and do not get picked up by the winner. Then that TS is no longer any good to you, you've been read out. Along with that little bonus is the fact that your experience is outdated, which is why the incumbent didn't win the re-bid in the first place and your skills are old. If you don't move around a bit and stay current on the latest and greatest, you will soon find yourself out of a job. Unless of course you are a stress or structural loads engineer, then you can write your own ticket :) Clearance or no clearance!

[Tijeras_Slim]

If I have less than 4 project charge #'s on my timecard, I start to look around.

[fairtrader]

Then why don't you think outside the box and crosstrain engineers like myself from the smoke stack industries(i.e High Voltage Power)to the Defense Electronics\Software industry.

Those of us in the Power and Petrochem industries have watched as our salaries and benifits have atrophied due to the offshoring to Mumbai.

I would love to have the security of a Defense Industry Job.

I had a T.S. clearance with caveats when I was in the Army Reserve

[reagan_fanatic]

Three engineers were in the bathroom standing at the urinals. The first engineer finished and walked over to the sink to wash his hands. He then proceeded to dry his hands very carefully. He used paper towel after paper towel and ensured that every single spot of water on his hands was dried. Turning to the other two engineers, he said, "At Hewlett Packard, we are trained to be extremely thorough."

The second engineer finished his task at the urinal and he proceeded to wash his hands. He used a single paper towel and made sure that he dried his hands using every available portion of the paper towel. He turned and said, "At Lockheed-Martin, not only are we trained to be extremely thorough, but we are also trained to be extremely efficient."

The third engineer finished and walked straight for the door, shouting over his shoulder, "At Apple Computer, Inc. we don't pee on our hands."

[oceanview]

yes, because you need people with clearances, your problem is different.

but there isn't enough demand for people who need clearances, to sustain the whole industry. the macro factors across the broad spectrum of positions is driving the college matriculation rates. right now, if not for the matriculation of foreign nationals, US engineering programs would be closing in droves. US kids are going to college for law, finance, business, education, etc.

its going to be interesting to see how DoD and their affiliated subcontractors maintain the parts of tech they need to sustain the military industrial complex - as a cottage industry in the US. especially in something like semiconductors, what happens when the only place making certain chips needed for cruise missiles - are in china? DoD has a big problem then, what they will have to pay to sustain US production of key elements - will make those $200 toilet seats look like chump change.

[knews_hound]

Always remember;

To the Optimist, the glass is half full.

To the Pessimist, it is half empty.

To the Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Cheers,

knewshound

http://www.knewshound.blogspot.com/

[oceanview]

stay away from IT and EE my friend - you will thank me. maybe not right away, but when you are in your 50s like my former co-workers, now employed at Lowes - you'll thank me.

[superfries]

because the need is now and no one can afford to bench talent and pay them big bucks while they wait for the govt to get it's act together and push a clearance through on a candidates in less than 24 months. It isn't defense contractors telling the govt we want all our engineers on this project to have TS clearances, it's the govt telling us, you will provide candidates walking into these jobs that already have TS clearances.

[oceanview]

government jobs are very stable, offer good pensions, etc.

I can't tell you how many young people I talk to - want to be teachers. we had better plan on class sizes of 8-9 kids, to employ them all.

[superfries]

but there isn't enough demand for people who need clearances,

I disagree, there are many jobs I cannot fill, take a look at Boeing, Lockheed Martin, NG, Raytheon and see how many open positions requiring clearances they have open at any given time.

[knittnmom]

Have you hugged an engineer today?

Actually, yes, but we've been married for almost 29 years! :-)

[TXBSAFH]

[oceanview]

no, what I am saying is, that the demand from jobs that need clearances, does not represent enough demand to change college matriculation choices young people are making.

[Wurlitzer]

"The low enrollment for mech. and aero. engineering degrees is why companies beg on their knees for stress/loads engineers"

Something I have noticed for the last 1.5 years avg_freeper, is if I send out my actual resume I get zero response. If however, I drop off legit stuff like "Director of Engineering" or "Director of Technical development" or "Engineering Manager" and leave everything else, I get many hits. Unfortunately, those hits are for entry or near entry level jobs.

I have a friend who does high level industrial training and he advised me to dumb down my resume. It worked for him and at least in responses, it is generating more activity for me.

What I will say is US Manufacturing does not want to pay a reasonable salary for Electrical Engineers. Actually, I should say, "In Western New York" it is very difficult to find a reasonable salary for an Electrical Engineer.

[avg_freeper]

I have a BS in Aerospace E. and I'm starting on a masters in Computer Science.

I'm betting on that being useful for the increased autonomy in aircraft control if I want to get into design from structures.

And in structures there's getting to be and increased emphasis on the computer systems/programs/databases used to track aircraft fatigue/damage/durability.

Anyway, I thought a masters in CS would be more useful right now than more AE.

[Wurlitzer]

"stay away from IT and EE my friend - you will thank me. maybe not right away, but when you are in your 50s like my former co-workers, now employed at Lowes - you'll thank me."

I didn't know you knew me oceanview! Not yet at Lowes but you are spot on regarding EEs.

[Casloy]

I owe a lot to people like you who propagate the myth that engineering jobs are hard to find.

I recruit engineers full time. Starting salary in the upper 50s right out of college. You are absolutely right. I have to work hard to get them to sign up and I can promise travel and cutting edge technology.