Engineering Employment

HunterdonPaul · Oct 28, 2002

I am an electrical engineer and thankfully still employed. Many others aren't though. I know of a bunch of unemployed engineers, some for over a year.

It amazes me. Two years ago we were the hottest profession known to man. We would take 40 to 60% increases in salary between jobs. Today we display signs "will design for food". My wife who is a software engineer jokes "will program for food". Unfortunately for many it isn't a joke. I'm sure many other professions are in the same situation. I have been in the profession 15 years or so and have never seen it this bad.

What is your field? Is it healthy and growing? I may need to change careers if things get any worse!

Paul

BigDave · Oct 28, 2002

Paul,

My wife & I are both employed as engineers in the defense industry, and it is looking pretty good for us right now. Like you have noted, we both got whopper raises when we moved up north last year. I've been trying to hire a trainable engineer for six months now. My work is highly specialized, but I am willing to train the right person, for about a year, before I would expect anything from them. Young or old, it doesn't matter, I'm just looking for someone motivated. I've only interviewed 4 people so far. I've turned two down, and two have turned me down. I can't get human resources to supply me with any resumes. I found my interviewees through networks of co-workers and friends. No offense to any H.R. professionals out there, but it's been my experience that H.R. seems pretty useless in finding specialized people. My wife was originally turned down by H.R. for her current company. I had a friend send an e-mail to a friend in that company to get her an interview. You know, a friend of a friend. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif They pretty much hired her on the spot, and in one year's time she's been promoted and has 180 people working for her. H.R said she wasn't qualified. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I guess their keyword match didn't like her resume.

RoyJackson · Oct 29, 2002

Well, as long as manufacturing gets sent overseas...we're all in deep doo doo. Big downside of "globalization". As for software engineering...seems like a lot of the is done in India.

I've used Monster.com with reasonable success, although I got my current Quality Engineering position through friends and networking.

The best places to look (IMHO) is in the southeast, if one is willing to relocate.

Pat Buchanon doesn't look so bad when you get laid off!

RobS · Oct 29, 2002

Paul, I'm an engineer for a tier I auto industry supplier. I'd say auto is pretty stable right now, neither growing much nor shrinking. There was a time where the big three were outsourcing just about everything (and laying off) but the people typically found jobs at the suppliers. Things have stabilized in the last couple of years. The future? Your guess is as good as mine. Good luck /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

TerryinMD · Oct 29, 2002

The telecom industry is in the pits!! I can attest for that!! /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

I worked for WorldCom and was laid off at the end of June. I was a Business Analyst for one of the software engineering groups. In some other groups, software engineers/architects/"you name it" were also laid off. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

There are jobs constantly appearing on all of the job boards. However, it is an employers dream come true right now. More people are looking for jobs than the demand. So, the competition is tough. From all indications, IT jobs are going to be on the downside for the next couple of years. /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif

Oh well, it was a good run while it lasted.... now to move on to something different. Now, what do I want to be when I grow up...... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Terry

Gatorboy · Oct 29, 2002

Terry,

You are so right with the Telecom industry -- I work for Corvis as a firmware engineer (in between software and hardware) and our stock hit a high of $114.75 and is now at 0.62 -- OUCH!

We had 1700+ employees and are now down to 720 with rumors of cutting down to 420. I am not sure if I will make the next cut or not. I have updated my resume and will start looking for a new job. In my case, the industry really doesn't matter -- writing software/firmware is the same it is just the application that is different.

Lately I have been racking my brain to figure out what type of business I could do on my own -- but no matter what I can come up with, won't pay nearly what my salary is now.

BB_TX · Oct 30, 2002

I am also an EE by degree and work as a system applications engineer designing safety control systems for power plants. I have been with the same company 30 years come January. The number of employess has varied considerably over the years, up during hiring sprees and down during layoffs (as it is now). I keep my head low, try to design systems better and more efficiently than anyone else, don't fight the system, express my opinion if I disagree with something but don't complain, keep a positive and happy attitude. Apparently it works since I am the longest tenured engineer here./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
But the employment picture around here is bleak as there is a large concentration of telecom companys in the north Dallas area, all of which have had very large layoffs in the last 2 years.

dmccarty · Oct 30, 2002

Paul,

Here in the RTP area of NC the job market seems to be slowly
recovering. One of my job titles is Software Engineer and
while my company had layoffs earlier in the year we are doing
ok especially compared with other companies. Of the two
people that I know that got laid off, one came back as a
contractor and the other is being rehired.

My wife was out of work for most of the year but she now
has a position that will last until at least December. We do
know some people that have been out of work for years, one
for two years. But they don't hold technical degrees and
are trying to find work in the Computer Biz. There are just
too many job seekers with the right degrees so our friends
loose out.

Its still a bad job market but at least its recovering. Nortel
and Lucent are all but gone globally and locally. I don't think
they will recover. Our neighbor worked at Nortel for 20+ years
when they finally got him. Nortel in the ten years that I have
watched them would cycle through layoff/hiring cycles every
3-5 years. I think they are gone. With Nortel and Lucent out
of the employment picture RTP will have to bring in more
companies to employee as many people as these two.

Later,
Dan

Carl_NH · Oct 30, 2002

Paul,

My field is software sales to the electronics industry - OEM's like Nortel IBM Lucent and EMS companies etc.. I started in the Ag Engineering field from college years ago then got into the electronics space in 78. A lot of good years, even started a good business and ran very well from 90-99 then got an attractive Mgmt positon and offer with pre-IPO stock.. Had a good run until last month when they cut many postions and closed the division I was in.. Such is luck - but planning you can do.

As stated before in this thread, network, network network!! I started checking out my options in August with friends and previous business clients and these are the only ones to come through. Monster and the other web sites are OK but my personal belief is these jobs are filled before posting by internal or "friends of friends" .

What's interesting is that from my personal contacts, I now have the option to start the business again (low $ for 2 yrs) or work for a company in my field. I started the process based on intuition or an "inkling" something wasn't right and changes were imminent. I think most in this situation should do the same.

Carl

rationalizer · Oct 30, 2002

' Well, as long as manufacturing gets sent overseas...we're all in deep doo doo. Big downside of "globalization". '

Well - there is nothing like hitting the wasp nest with a stick - but here goes.... The subject of this post is "engineering employment". In many other posts on this site there is a lot of discussion about which tractors are better - orange, blue, green etc. I don't think that these two threads are "unrelated". I am an engineer in the automotive industry - I love my job and I work hard at it. (Its Wed. night and since Mon. I've spent 38 hours in my office - working to make some U.S. designed products, some of which have been both maligned and praised on this site, the best they can be.) While I don't have the "numbers" - I am pretty certain that US auto manufacturing capacity hasn't dropped much from 20 years ago. Losses at GM, Ford and Chrysler have been made up for by new plants from Honda, Toyota, BMW and Mercedes Benz. Likewise - Kubota has some assembly operations here in the states..... While globalization has resulted in some manufacturing jobs going overseas - a lot of companies think that assembling "close to market" isn't a bad idea.

So - whats my point? When deciding on what product to buy - who "designs" it, or manages the business, or benefits from the profits, might not be a bad thing to consider - especially if its important to keep the engineers in this country employed (so they can buy nice tractors and share their wisdom with all of the TBNers). In the end - all of our standard of living is based on how competitive we are in a variety of skills, and engineering skills seem to be valued highest when you look at the global economy. Do we want to be a nation of people assembling products designed by others...? DO NOT interpret this as a blind "buy American" plea - it isn't. Just the contrary - as someone who earns his living designing products I want people to buy my widget because it is The Best - not out of pity or patriotism. BUT - all things being equal - buy the product that has US engineering behind it because the people who are making that happen may be your neighbors (local or vitrual) and the pay & profits & taxes go into our economy, not someone elses.

Again - I'm not an "apologist" for crappy engineering. May the best product win.

As for the subject of this post - times are tough in the auto industry. Not a lot of expansion - and there is definitely room for improvement in how "smart we work". I know that my team measures itself "globally". Nevertheless - if you have talent there is room for you.

Comments?

Bill