[SBE] Dwindling numbers of engineers

[Dennis C. Brown]

Cowboy, your note about "when things literally start falling apart," 
reminded me of what another engineer cogently explained.  He asked, "Did 
you ever notice how often everything fails at once?"  Then he explained 
that management lets thing slide until something just must be repaired 
to get back on the air. Engineering persuades management to let them fix 
everything that's wrong.  When everything is put in good repair at the 
same time, it will all fail at the same time.  And the cycle repeats.

Curt

On 4/3/2012 4:32 PM, Cowboy wrote:

> On Tuesday 03 April 2012 03:06:27 pm Matthew Steck wrote:

>> I guess this would be a good time to ask...  Just out of curiosity, I am a

>> 23 year old engineer working at a group of stations in a smaller market,

>> making the salary mentioned above.

>   Not bad, at 23.

>

>> All

>> of my electronics knowledge is from collecting and repairing vintage

>> consumer audio since I was a kid.

>   Also true of others of us.

>

>> Is it true that the real-world

>> experience I have may out-weigh a degree in the future?

>   Yes, and no.

>   It does for me, but I have a national reputation of being

>   very, very good at what I do, and what you do, to.

>

>   Still, there have been times I've been specifically asked to please

>   come work for X, then been snuffed because I don't have

>   the specific degree that their rules require.

>

>> I love the work I

>> am doing (and love radio) so I'd like to stay in the field.

>   Again, like many of us.

>

>> When I made my

>> decision to go this route, I figured that someone my age would have a good

>> amount of luck finding positions, as the current guys begin retiring.  Was

>> that a reasonable assumption?

>   Apparently not !!

>   I'd think so too, but real world experience suggests that as someone leaves,

>   they merely increase the workload on whomever is left.

>

>   Now, when things start literally falling apart, and they are off the air

>   for an extended period of time, then you might get a one-off contract,

>   long enough to get them back on, and fix a few things that have been

>   broken for months or years.

>   If you do that well, AND cheap, you might be offered a long term

>   contract at a ridiculously low rate.

>

>   It seems the real hey-day was the late 90's early 2000's, and ended

>   with the Bush/Obama depression.

>

>   But hey !

>   Things may get better if/when the economy comes back.

>