I blame the supreme court for castrating the 9th Amendment through its rulings. "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people" It was the basic compromise that allowed federalists to accept the Bill of Rights
The most important evidence probably comes from closed circuit security systems, since they are running constantly, monitored, time stamped, etc. Guessing all the security companies have their own formats for data archiving and transmission, not to mention many of these systems are probably out of date because they've worked well enough for years.
I bet most of these CCTV systems don't even implement the CSI "enhance" feature so useful in criminal investigation.
Then I humbly submit that you got the wrong person for the job.
The brilliance of HR. Hire people to do jobs you know nothing about beyond the buzzwords discussed in the last team building exercise. Surprised more baristas don't get employed as Java developers:P
The difference here, is that the job of the CS was to upgrade the oven software (add features, improve data analysis, communicate with new machines on the production line, etc) To use your car analogy, it's like the guy who is supposed to rice out your RX-7, doesn't know that adding under-glow neon incorrectly will prevent the headlights from turning on.
Yes, there is a difference between tool fixers, and tool experts. Usually, it's more cost efficient and reliable to get a fixer to do a routine job. But there are times, especially when dealing with research and development, that the expert needs to have sufficient equipment knowledge to solve new problems.
My major is materials engineering, but as a process engineer I made sure to learn a basic level of mechanics, CAD, electrical, and programming, because I would probably need to at some point use those skills, or sufficiently understand the problem to explain to management what kind of additional resources are needed to resolve the issue.
Any scientist or engineer who will work in the real world should have an understanding of the tools of the field. The emphasis of universities should be primarily theoretical, but it is important to have some rudimentary equipment skills to apply that learning. That's why majors have hands on courses like instrumental analysis in chemistry, Math has applied use of modern computer and software tools , MCB - analysis of genome sequences for function using local and internet computer resources, Material Science has SEM/TEM, just to name a few.
It's extremely difficult to find a job that is completely focused on theoretical studies. Their are vastly more industrial jobs than opportunities in academics. Most physics graduates don't do physics per se, but their coursework qualifies them to do jobs like computer simulation, data analysis, and logical problem solving. My friends who focused on experimental physics are project managers or run a research lab. Demonstrating one's ability to apply coursework towards solving issues is an important aspect of any technical field. In undergraduate studies, universities create problem solvers whose selected major provides them with slightly different specialized skills. Grad school provides more specialization in coursework, but again they need to develop cross-disciplinary competency to successfully conduct their research.
Working to fix a SIMS tool problem doesn't mean you're engaging in vocational activities. You're a researcher trying to resolve issues so you can complete your experiment and get your paper finished on time.
I took upper division philosophy classes - Ethical Theory and Induction and Probability which I found extremely insightful. The professors were also much more approachable and interesting than the ones in my engineering classes. Like I said there are some really brilliant people in those fields, but I've also seen too many dimwits who take those classes.
I was just referencing recent data
From the publication you linked to:
2000-2010, the increase in engineering degrees earned was 24% compared to 33% for all university majors. Which demonstrates the lag engineering is experiencing in graduating students. Data for 2005-2010 shows the number of enrolled engineering seniors rose 19% but during that time frame there was only an increase of 8.7% for degrees awarded. The US has increased the number of students in the pipeline, but there are issues getting them to graduate.
If everyone else in a company doesn't do their best, a company won't do very well in the S&P either
For operational level workers, poor performance causes a delay or a slight increase in costs, they have very little power over the bottom line. That's why it's important for workers to have the option to unionize, because collectively they can have a significant impact, and therefore influence corporate decisions.
I have never heard of management being offshored, particularly at the board level, even though giving just 1 job the axe there is as good as 100 engineers or several hundred lower paying jobs.
If cutting 1 CEO can create several hundred lower paying jobs, then why stop there. Cut engineers, and you can get 10 more lower paid worker; for each technician you cut you can hire twice as many unskilled employees. Businesses don't run on quantity of employees. Contrary to what you believe, American companies haven't hesitated to hire foreign CEOs. For example Pepsi, Dow, Gap, MasterCard, and Adobe, not to mention the former heads of Intel, Coke, McDonald's, Citigroup, Eli Lilly and Alcoa didn't come from the US. I'm sure there are many other foreign born CEOs holding jobs that an American could do.
I notice that CEO performance bonuses don't seem to take a hit when the company fails to track the S&P or even when it tanks. Not even when the problem is obviously foolish decisions made at the top.
Total CEO compensation tracks stock performance, but you are correct that bonuses do not correlate. But this discrepancy occurs whether the company is doing well or not. They get their bonus if the company tanks, but if the company does amazing, their bonus do not come close to reflecting their positive influence.
The problem we have today is the imbalance of power on the influence of government. CEOs and corporations will always look out for their own interests, it's just the nature of the beast. But because of crazy campaign contribution and lobbying laws, the voice of the people is ignored by our government. Frankly, I don't care how much executives make, what I do care about is how our elected representatives refuse to address the discrepancy between the growth of corporate profits and the non-existent growth of worker salaries. The necessary social change isn't going to come from demonizing corporate managers, it has to come from change in our laws and government to prevent such exploitation.
There are more students enrolling, but most of them drop out or change majors. That's why in the EE article you linked there is almost no change in the number of degrees awarded.
The skills to understand and logically analyze data. There was a significant gap between what was an acceptable conclusion in my engineering design classes, and in my humanities classes. The former required methodical problem solving backed up with a statistically valid solution; the latter just needed a persuasive interpretation of the facts presented.
I don't mock the importance of social fields, because there is important research done in those areas. There was a psychology professor that I admired because he was doing brain mapping of children to try and understand at what age and how memories start to form. His experiment examined the relationship of special awareness and memory formation But there's also a reason athletes, undecideds, and barely qualified students go into those undergraduate programs. I'm guessing the graduate programs are much more intense and I doubt I'd have the motivation to work hard enough to get through them.
CEO salaries track the S&P 500 pretty well, which is their primary job duty. They aren't all evil, they are just the ones who benefit the most from a broken system.
The biggest problem in the world is that there exists a certain class of "people" called corporations that don't need to worry about national borders. Humans have a large number of restrictions on where they can live and work, corporations do not. Companies are making record profits, and thus rewarding CEOs, because they can get money from anywhere on Earth. In fact many US companies generate more revenue from outside the United states. Humans are shackled to their own nation and can't reap the rewards of an expanding global economy the way multi-nationals can. A few of my engineering friends who have been lucky enough to find ex-pat jobs live like kings. Foreign countries place a high value on their qualifications and experience. Unfortunately, those opportunities are limited because no country wants foreigners to come in and take away their jobs.
Don't forget many classes grade on a curve. So the more idiots there are in the class, the better a mediocre student will appear.
I was an engineering major and there were a couple of people who most felt probably didn't belong, but we didn't care because the majority in class were very intelligent. Then one semester I took an introductory astronomy class just out of curiosity. The class average after the first test (multiple choice even), was 55% - and those students would get a "C" because they represented average. I received 115% on that test. After that I realized how low the bar was to get into college. So if you think your fellow engineering students are lacking in performance, just imagine how inept those sociology, anthropology, and other non-tech students are.
One cause for the lack of demand of electrical engineers is that the hardware design and manufacturing is located to cheaper countries
I wonder if it's an indication that the skill requirement of domestic engineers are changing. I haven't seen many issues with design or layout engineering jobs going overseas. I have seen the jobs for engineers responsible for field engineering, implementation, and test are going to where the production is happening. It doesn't cost anything to send layout files overseas for building and testing, but it can be expensive to send boards built in another country to the US to test/debug.
Hmmm, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to code the stuff I learned in: Microwave Measurements, Photovoltaic Solar Energy Systems, Optoelectronics, Antenna Theory and Design, Semiconductor Processing, and Microelectronics Packaging. I guess I could always fall back on my first year C programming class. I'm sure there are plenty of companies who need somebody to make their embedded device say "Hello World"
A computer is a tool that a CS may use, not the subject of the field.
I agree, but a CS should have some understanding of the functions of their tools. As in your quote, "astronomy is not about telescopes" but one would expect an astronomer to have a basic understanding of the principles of telescopes, radar, etc. Even with modern technology where an astronomer is sitting at a machine and looking at the data produced by the telescope, he should still comprehend tool related causes of aberrations in his data.
They are pretty much specific to the PC-compatible architecture.
I'm not a CS, EE, or computer engineer, so I'm not completely knowledgeable about the subject, but I've worked with different systems that used ARM or embedded controllers that had to deal with interrupt requests.
math and science are getting more and more specialized
In my experience they are becoming more specialized, but paradoxically more interconnected. My degree is in Materials Engineering, but to accomplish my job I'd often have to learn skills from other disciplines like chemistry, programming, and statistics. Mathematicians can't just rely on pencil and paper, they need to understand computers to accomplish their goals more efficiently and effectively. And a molecular biologist probably has an interest in learning about cows if it displays certain preferable characteristics that they look to understand and mimic.
But even if your analogy was valid, I bet that your "CS guy" knew what an interrupt is, but was not familiar with the specific implementation of the cascaded 8259A PICs used in the PC/AT architecture at the time.
You're probably right, but if that is the case, the person should have enough understanding to take a methodical approach to solving the problem, not just shrug their shoulders. It shows the problem the original poster was talking about. Something that is relatively simple and widely used in the real world is ignored in formal academics. Personally, I think there should be more time allotted for apprenticeships in college. The semester I missed to take an 8-month internship greatly complimented all the information I learned in school.
Go pixel-by-pixel? Damn you were lucky. To get that one stick I'd have to type:
]Look You see a pile of sticks ]Examine pile You can't examine that you're not a doctor ]Look at pile It's a pile of sticks ]Grab stick There's dozens of them, which one do you want? ]Search Pile You move the sticks around neatly spreading them out. One oddly shaped stick catches your eye ]Get oddly shaped stick You tell the stick a joke, but it doesn't understand. Guess you just don't get each other ]Pick up stick Now is not the time for games ]Pick up oddly shaped stick You gather the oddly shaped stick and place it in your pocket. You get a sudden burst of intuition that it might be useful sometime in the future
Was thinking the same thing. Kickstarter seems to be where people who want to make late 80's-mid 90's type games. The developers there are making spiritual successors to Master of Magic, Planescape: Torment, adventure games, and other retro genres.
Master of Magic = Civilization + Magic the Gathering - LOVED IT
There's a Kickstarter project called "Worlds of Magic" that is intended to be a spiritual successor to the original MoM
Slashdot Mirror
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people"
I blame the supreme court for castrating the 9th Amendment through its rulings.
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people"
It was the basic compromise that allowed federalists to accept the Bill of Rights
The most important evidence probably comes from closed circuit security systems, since they are running constantly, monitored, time stamped, etc.
Guessing all the security companies have their own formats for data archiving and transmission, not to mention many of these systems are probably out of date because they've worked well enough for years.
I bet most of these CCTV systems don't even implement the CSI "enhance" feature so useful in criminal investigation.
I'm 45 and it is still not okay for my parents to come into the basement without knocking first!
They hacked 13 Solar & Heliospheric Observatory routers.
Yes I did go to the actual article, but got bored after reading the headline.
Then I humbly submit that you got the wrong person for the job.
The brilliance of HR. Hire people to do jobs you know nothing about beyond the buzzwords discussed in the last team building exercise. :P
Surprised more baristas don't get employed as Java developers
The difference here, is that the job of the CS was to upgrade the oven software (add features, improve data analysis, communicate with new machines on the production line, etc) To use your car analogy, it's like the guy who is supposed to rice out your RX-7, doesn't know that adding under-glow neon incorrectly will prevent the headlights from turning on.
Yes, there is a difference between tool fixers, and tool experts. Usually, it's more cost efficient and reliable to get a fixer to do a routine job. But there are times, especially when dealing with research and development, that the expert needs to have sufficient equipment knowledge to solve new problems. My major is materials engineering, but as a process engineer I made sure to learn a basic level of mechanics, CAD, electrical, and programming, because I would probably need to at some point use those skills, or sufficiently understand the problem to explain to management what kind of additional resources are needed to resolve the issue.
Any scientist or engineer who will work in the real world should have an understanding of the tools of the field.
The emphasis of universities should be primarily theoretical, but it is important to have some rudimentary equipment skills to apply that learning. That's why majors have hands on courses like instrumental analysis in chemistry, Math has applied use of modern computer and software tools , MCB - analysis of genome sequences for function using local and internet computer resources, Material Science has SEM/TEM, just to name a few.
It's extremely difficult to find a job that is completely focused on theoretical studies. Their are vastly more industrial jobs than opportunities in academics. Most physics graduates don't do physics per se, but their coursework qualifies them to do jobs like computer simulation, data analysis, and logical problem solving. My friends who focused on experimental physics are project managers or run a research lab. Demonstrating one's ability to apply coursework towards solving issues is an important aspect of any technical field.
In undergraduate studies, universities create problem solvers whose selected major provides them with slightly different specialized skills. Grad school provides more specialization in coursework, but again they need to develop cross-disciplinary competency to successfully conduct their research.
Working to fix a SIMS tool problem doesn't mean you're engaging in vocational activities. You're a researcher trying to resolve issues so you can complete your experiment and get your paper finished on time.
I took upper division philosophy classes - Ethical Theory and Induction and Probability which I found extremely insightful. The professors were also much more approachable and interesting than the ones in my engineering classes.
Like I said there are some really brilliant people in those fields, but I've also seen too many dimwits who take those classes.
Awesome! :)
I was just referencing recent data
From the publication you linked to:
2000-2010, the increase in engineering degrees earned was 24% compared to 33% for all university majors. Which demonstrates the lag engineering is experiencing in graduating students.
Data for 2005-2010 shows the number of enrolled engineering seniors rose 19% but during that time frame there was only an increase of 8.7% for degrees awarded.
The US has increased the number of students in the pipeline, but there are issues getting them to graduate.
But i luckily got an internship at intel
Ahh Intel, where the most difficult engineering problem you'd have to solve is finding your cubicle ;) jk
If everyone else in a company doesn't do their best, a company won't do very well in the S&P either
For operational level workers, poor performance causes a delay or a slight increase in costs, they have very little power over the bottom line. That's why it's important for workers to have the option to unionize, because collectively they can have a significant impact, and therefore influence corporate decisions.
I have never heard of management being offshored, particularly at the board level, even though giving just 1 job the axe there is as good as 100 engineers or several hundred lower paying jobs.
If cutting 1 CEO can create several hundred lower paying jobs, then why stop there. Cut engineers, and you can get 10 more lower paid worker; for each technician you cut you can hire twice as many unskilled employees. Businesses don't run on quantity of employees.
Contrary to what you believe, American companies haven't hesitated to hire foreign CEOs. For example Pepsi, Dow, Gap, MasterCard, and Adobe, not to mention the former heads of Intel, Coke, McDonald's, Citigroup, Eli Lilly and Alcoa didn't come from the US. I'm sure there are many other foreign born CEOs holding jobs that an American could do.
I notice that CEO performance bonuses don't seem to take a hit when the company fails to track the S&P or even when it tanks. Not even when the problem is obviously foolish decisions made at the top.
Total CEO compensation tracks stock performance, but you are correct that bonuses do not correlate. But this discrepancy occurs whether the company is doing well or not. They get their bonus if the company tanks, but if the company does amazing, their bonus do not come close to reflecting their positive influence.
The problem we have today is the imbalance of power on the influence of government. CEOs and corporations will always look out for their own interests, it's just the nature of the beast. But because of crazy campaign contribution and lobbying laws, the voice of the people is ignored by our government. Frankly, I don't care how much executives make, what I do care about is how our elected representatives refuse to address the discrepancy between the growth of corporate profits and the non-existent growth of worker salaries. The necessary social change isn't going to come from demonizing corporate managers, it has to come from change in our laws and government to prevent such exploitation.
There are more students enrolling, but most of them drop out or change majors. That's why in the EE article you linked there is almost no change in the number of degrees awarded.
Lacking at what, skills needed for engineering?
The skills to understand and logically analyze data. There was a significant gap between what was an acceptable conclusion in my engineering design classes, and in my humanities classes. The former required methodical problem solving backed up with a statistically valid solution; the latter just needed a persuasive interpretation of the facts presented.
I don't mock the importance of social fields, because there is important research done in those areas. There was a psychology professor that I admired because he was doing brain mapping of children to try and understand at what age and how memories start to form. His experiment examined the relationship of special awareness and memory formation
But there's also a reason athletes, undecideds, and barely qualified students go into those undergraduate programs. I'm guessing the graduate programs are much more intense and I doubt I'd have the motivation to work hard enough to get through them.
CEO salaries track the S&P 500 pretty well, which is their primary job duty. They aren't all evil, they are just the ones who benefit the most from a broken system.
The biggest problem in the world is that there exists a certain class of "people" called corporations that don't need to worry about national borders. Humans have a large number of restrictions on where they can live and work, corporations do not.
Companies are making record profits, and thus rewarding CEOs, because they can get money from anywhere on Earth. In fact many US companies generate more revenue from outside the United states. Humans are shackled to their own nation and can't reap the rewards of an expanding global economy the way multi-nationals can.
A few of my engineering friends who have been lucky enough to find ex-pat jobs live like kings. Foreign countries place a high value on their qualifications and experience. Unfortunately, those opportunities are limited because no country wants foreigners to come in and take away their jobs.
Don't forget many classes grade on a curve. So the more idiots there are in the class, the better a mediocre student will appear.
I was an engineering major and there were a couple of people who most felt probably didn't belong, but we didn't care because the majority in class were very intelligent.
Then one semester I took an introductory astronomy class just out of curiosity. The class average after the first test (multiple choice even), was 55% - and those students would get a "C" because they represented average. I received 115% on that test. After that I realized how low the bar was to get into college.
So if you think your fellow engineering students are lacking in performance, just imagine how inept those sociology, anthropology, and other non-tech students are.
Fixed it for you
Universities have literally been lowering their entry requirements as they have found they can get more money from more applicants
One cause for the lack of demand of electrical engineers is that the hardware design and manufacturing is located to cheaper countries
I wonder if it's an indication that the skill requirement of domestic engineers are changing. I haven't seen many issues with design or layout engineering jobs going overseas. I have seen the jobs for engineers responsible for field engineering, implementation, and test are going to where the production is happening.
It doesn't cost anything to send layout files overseas for building and testing, but it can be expensive to send boards built in another country to the US to test/debug.
Hmmm, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to code the stuff I learned in: Microwave Measurements, Photovoltaic Solar Energy Systems, Optoelectronics, Antenna Theory and Design, Semiconductor Processing, and Microelectronics Packaging.
I guess I could always fall back on my first year C programming class. I'm sure there are plenty of companies who need somebody to make their embedded device say "Hello World"
A computer is a tool that a CS may use, not the subject of the field.
I agree, but a CS should have some understanding of the functions of their tools. As in your quote, "astronomy is not about telescopes" but one would expect an astronomer to have a basic understanding of the principles of telescopes, radar, etc. Even with modern technology where an astronomer is sitting at a machine and looking at the data produced by the telescope, he should still comprehend tool related causes of aberrations in his data.
They are pretty much specific to the PC-compatible architecture.
I'm not a CS, EE, or computer engineer, so I'm not completely knowledgeable about the subject, but I've worked with different systems that used ARM or embedded controllers that had to deal with interrupt requests.
math and science are getting more and more specialized
In my experience they are becoming more specialized, but paradoxically more interconnected. My degree is in Materials Engineering, but to accomplish my job I'd often have to learn skills from other disciplines like chemistry, programming, and statistics. Mathematicians can't just rely on pencil and paper, they need to understand computers to accomplish their goals more efficiently and effectively. And a molecular biologist probably has an interest in learning about cows if it displays certain preferable characteristics that they look to understand and mimic.
But even if your analogy was valid, I bet that your "CS guy" knew what an interrupt is, but was not familiar with the specific implementation of the cascaded 8259A PICs used in the PC/AT architecture at the time.
You're probably right, but if that is the case, the person should have enough understanding to take a methodical approach to solving the problem, not just shrug their shoulders.
It shows the problem the original poster was talking about. Something that is relatively simple and widely used in the real world is ignored in formal academics.
Personally, I think there should be more time allotted for apprenticeships in college. The semester I missed to take an 8-month internship greatly complimented all the information I learned in school.
Mechanical watches are really just fancy pieces of jewelry. Their value has more to do with fashion and limited supply than quality or precision.
Go pixel-by-pixel? Damn you were lucky.
To get that one stick I'd have to type:
]Look
You see a pile of sticks
]Examine pile
You can't examine that you're not a doctor
]Look at pile
It's a pile of sticks
]Grab stick
There's dozens of them, which one do you want?
]Search Pile
You move the sticks around neatly spreading them out. One oddly shaped stick catches your eye
]Get oddly shaped stick
You tell the stick a joke, but it doesn't understand. Guess you just don't get each other
]Pick up stick
Now is not the time for games
]Pick up oddly shaped stick
You gather the oddly shaped stick and place it in your pocket. You get a sudden burst of intuition that it might be useful sometime in the future
Was thinking the same thing. Kickstarter seems to be where people who want to make late 80's-mid 90's type games.
The developers there are making spiritual successors to Master of Magic, Planescape: Torment, adventure games, and other retro genres.
Master of Magic = Civilization + Magic the Gathering - LOVED IT
There's a Kickstarter project called "Worlds of Magic" that is intended to be a spiritual successor to the original MoM