>> with all the impending layoffs in auto, aerospace, and internet, where can an engineer find a job these days? Mumbai

QuoteOriginally posted by: deepvaluewith all the impending layoffs in auto, aerospace, and internet, where can an engineer find a job these days?One option is to start your own company. Small companies can often beat big ones by being more focused and less burdened by those n log n managers. The only downside is having the financial and personal discipline to get things done, deliver what you promise, and handle the variations in revenues.

QuoteOriginally posted by: CuchulainnQuoteIf engineers want more pay, they need to convince everyone (not just managers) that they offer something that commands more pay. This is not easy. Modern tools and methods mean that basic engineering is a commodity -- basic software and hardware are too easy to create with low-cost offshore engineering labor. If Western engineers want to get more respect and more pay, they need to earn it by convincing others that only Western engineers can create certain products/services for which customers will gladly pay a premium. Engineers don't have to be salesmen but they should be able to 'sell'. From my experience, the best engineering jobs are those where you have a talent no one else has; this is usually related to some core process in an organisation. But every 10 years they change the goal posts In the 1980's you could get a job anywhere if you knew VAX/VMS. These days product (s/w) is not that important, it's what you can deliver in the way of added value. A rough guide is: can you relate some phenomenon in the 'world' to a simulation packge in software? For example, knowledge of how the eye diffraction patterns work and simulate them in a graphics application etc. The caveat is that secret, proprietary packages of 30 years ago can now be bought off-the-shelf (e.g. reservoir engineering). I doubt if we will be discussing lattice methods in 10 years time..Exactly! The most valuable engineers may be those that can make engineers (including themselves) obsolete. If one engineer can make something that reduces the need for 10, 100, or 1,000 other engineers (or other high-paid folk) then they are providing serious value.

QuoteOne option is to start your own company. Small companies can often beat big ones by being more focused and less burdened by those n log n managers. The only downside is having the financial and personal discipline to get things done, deliver what you promise, and handle the variations in revenuesWorking for your own company sounds great, but handling the variation in income from month-to-month can be an issue if you have a mortgage and family to look after. Also be prepared to work regular weekends too, networking with clients etc..SG

QuoteOriginally posted by: StatGuyQuoteOne option is to start your own company. Small companies can often beat big ones by being more focused and less burdened by those n log n managers. The only downside is having the financial and personal discipline to get things done, deliver what you promise, and handle the variations in revenuesWorking for your own company sounds great, but handling the variation in income from month-to-month can be an issue if you have a mortgage and family to look after. Also be prepared to work regular weekends too, networking with clients etc..SGThat's very true. One probably needs a personal cushion of at least 24 months (in addition to whatever capital is required to start the business) to handle the ramp-to-revenue or the mean-time-to-halting the venture. Your mileage may vary -- some businesses are instantly cash-flow positive on day 1 and others may require unbounded patience.I would assume (and hope) that more than a few denizens of this board have non-trivial sums of accumulated bonuses, money management skills, and risk attitudes that make forming a new venture feasible and desirable.

QuoteThat's very true. One probably needs a personal cushion of at least 24 months (in addition to whatever capital is required to start the business) to handle the ramp-to-revenue or the mean-time-to-halting the venture. Your mileage may vary -- some businesses are instantly cash-flow positive on day 1 and others may require unbounded patience. I would assume (and hope) that more than a few denizens of this board have non-trivial sums of accumulated bonuses, money management skills, and risk attitudes that make forming a new venture feasible and desirable. It's not all bad since you get to work in your own time and from home. Having a 24 month cushion is great, but given a lot don't save this could be challenging. One of the challenges is in trying to maintain good client relationships year-or-year, which can at time seem like you can never switch off work. Ultimately, at some point in your career you have to make the decision of being an eternal full-time employee, and increase someone elses profits, or take the risk and become self employed. SG

QuoteOriginally posted by: StatGuyQuoteOne option is to start your own company. Small companies can often beat big ones by being more focused and less burdened by those n log n managers. The only downside is having the financial and personal discipline to get things done, deliver what you promise, and handle the variations in revenuesWorking for your own company sounds great, but handling the variation in income from month-to-month can be an issue if you have a mortgage and family to look after. Also be prepared to work regular weekends too, networking with clients etc..SGIf you worry about all the the things that might go wrong, you will never take the big step. It will remain a dream. We need more HP garages And yes, weekends are included.