294 results found for Professional /Careers, displaying items 1 - 20
June 12, 2008[Editorial] Staying Employed In This Industry Can Be Tough At Times
In an issue where we celebrate the top 50 employers and also list the top employers in the electronics OEM, it’s worthwhile to bring up one of the dirty words of the industry—unemployment. As someone who has lived through many of the industry’s downturns and experienced layoffs firsthand, I can say with certainty that this profession is fraught with career minefields. But probably you already know that. When I found myself out of a job early in my...
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Joseph Desposito
April 10, 2008[Pease Porridge] What's All This AMT Stuff, Anyhow? (Part 2)
I’ve often heard that if you’re going to owe the Alternative Minimum Tax, there’s nothing you can do about it. And that makes me scream! Most of these officious statements say you can postpone some income and defer the AMT, but you’ll just pay them next year. “There’s nothing you can do to avoid the AMT.” It’s a lie! I was absent-mindedly reading some of the boilerplate on some of my other investments. “You might like to buy some AMT-free bonds,” Dreyfus...
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Bob Pease
March 24, 2008
[Web Exclusive] How To Become A VP In Your Organization
At some point in your career as an engineer—if you haven’t already—you probably will decide whether you’ll stay with engineering or move into management and the executive ranks. It’s a tough call. The geek in us may want to continue to create, design, and solve challenging problems, but the greater pay, perks, and prestige of management are irresistible.
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Louis E. Frenzel
November 28, 2007
[Web Exclusive] IEEE-USA Responds To ED Editorial On Immigration
In October, I joined George Scalise, president of SIA, in urging Congress to increase the permanent "employment-based immigrant visa cap" for foreign high-tech professionals. A month later, our position was mischaracterized in an Electronic Design editorial. From the headline, "IEEE Agrees with SIA on H-1B Visas for Foreign Engineers, Scientists," to saying we "joined forces to urge Congress to pass the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007," the work was fraught with factual errors.
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John Meredith
November 15, 2007[POV: Point Of View] Patent Litigation Has Doubled And Will Double Again Over The Next Decade
Patent litigation in the semiconductor industry has been on a steady incline since 1997, as federal district court filings have slowly doubled. A decade ago, 47 suits were filed. Halfway through 2007, 53 were filed, with 109 total for 2006. Over 900 suits have been filed in all since 1997. Almost 50% of these suits were filed in the Ninth Circuit, primarily in courts located in California. The Patent Local Rules in the Northern District of California and the...
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Todd R. Miller
November 15, 2007[Engineering Feature] A Conversation With Judge J. Barton Phelps: Reliving The Landmark AMD v. Intel Case
Intel and AMD: The Early Years Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore, formerly of Fairchild Semiconductor, founded Intel in 1968. Jerry Sanders and other former Fairchild employees founded AMD in 1969. Despite their former association, the founders of the companies had a tumultuous and even hostile relationship through 1986. That’s when IBM said it would only agree to use Intel’s iAPX family of microprocessors (X86) if Intel presented a second source. Not...
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Daniel Harris
November 15, 2007[Engineering Feature] IP Experts: Put The Brakes On Patent Reform
Issues like the presidential campaign, healthcare, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may dominate the headlines. But Congress also has been working on the Patent Reform Act of 2007, with the House of Representatives passing HR 1908 and the Senate introducing S 1145. (For a table detailing the legislation, go to www.electronicdesign.com, Drill Deeper 17457.) Despite the law’s lack of publicity, the...
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Daniel Harris
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] Small Firms Pay Less—But It May Be Worth It
Which suits you better: a large multinational conglomerate that comes with its own cafeteria and gym, or a small startup in an office park with a Wendy's down the street? According to our 2007 Reader Survey, engineers at larger firms (those with 1000 or more employees) earn an average income of $110,602, compared to the $94,169 brought home by their peers at the small design houses (firms with fewer than 100 employees). In addition to better pay, large...
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Jay McSherry
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] EEs Join The Six-Figure Club
The average U.S. engineer now makes $102,748 in salary and bonuses, marking the first time EEs have reached six figures in the four years that we've done our salary surveys. And there's more good news, as the engineering and tech services industry added 66,300 jobs last year, putting that number at an all-time high. But there are troublesome signs behind this rosy picture. While base salaries are up 7%, bonuses are flat. Stock options and other...
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Jay McSherry
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] The EE Profession: Dreams Versus Reality
Perhaps better than most people, engineers understand the difference between dreams and reality. After all, they're often presented with someone's dream (in the form of a design specification) and then are asked to make it real. Engineers face a similar challenge in their own careers. Like everyone else, they have a picture in their minds of how they'd like their careers to go. Then they're confronted with what's possible and what isn't. So, they...
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Jay McSherry
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] Differing Interests Define Engineering Dream Jobs
In his senior year at the University of California, Electronic Design reader Thanh Nguyen remembers the chair of the physics department cancelling class so students and professors could watch NASA's firstever shuttle launch. As Columbia lifted off on April 12, 1981, Nguyen's dreams of working for NASA were just taking flight. "I remember sitting in the physics department's conference room and watching the shuttle lift off flawlessly for the first...
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Kristina Fiore
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] Ricky Howard: Programming Autonomous Spy Satellites (Cloak And Dagger Optional)
Since they fly low and home in on a specific area, spy satellites must constantly reboost to maintain a view of their assigned position. That eats up fuel, and when a satellite's power runs out, the crafty contraption is kicked. But what if there was a way to autonomously dock a refueling vehicle on the satellite? Its lifetime could be extended, and national defense could save millions of dollars per year not having to relaunch new spyware. That's where Ricky Howard...
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Kristina Fiore
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] Ryan Bloomfield: Expensive Toys Take Flight
Ryan Bloomfield likes being part of a team that makes "toys" on a grand scale. People usually fly the personal aircraft he works on at CubCrafters in Yakima, Wash., just for fun. "We really do make a high-end toys," says Bloomfield, an avionics engineer who helps wire the company's two-seater recreational aircraft. It's a dream job, he says, not only because he's hands-on in the design of planes, but also because he's surrounded by a tight-knit family of CubCrafters...
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Kristina Fiore
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] Jason Lucier: Engineering For The Jet Set
When the new Boeing model 787 airplane launches for commercial use in May 2008, passengers will be able to travel around the world on one of the most efficient jets ever designed. Until then, only test flight engineers like Jason Lucier will be on board, making sure the Dreamliner family of jets can transport 250 passengers across 8000 miles as efficiently as promised. "The flight test portion is like a dream," says Lucier, a Boeing Company engineer who will eventually...
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Kristina Fiore
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] Boldly Go Where Few EEs Have Gone Before
Admit it. When you were a kid, you dreamed about becoming an astronaut. Maybe you were inspired by NASA's Apollo program - or Star Trek. Maybe you dream about it today. And maybe that led you to a career in engineering. Things weren't all that different for two EEs on board the Space Shuttle Endeavor during August's STS-118 mission. "I didn't know I could be an astronaut until I graduated from college," said STS-118 mission specialist Rick...
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Richard Gawel
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] Do Asian Engineers Have An Advantage?
According to our 2007 Reader Survey, Asian engineers will make an average of $111,952 in total compensation this year, compared to $102,272 for non-Asians - or nearly 10% more. This is despite the fact that Asian engineers are typically younger and significantly less experienced. They also have spent less time in their present position and with their current firm than their non-Asian counterparts. This discrepancy in income is consistent with data we've seen in...
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Jay McSherry
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] Global Warming Strikes The Cubes And Benches
Engineering has been a tough profession over the past few years. Averse to market risk in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the market constrained its investment in R&D. Offshore outsourcing and an influx of lower-priced labor exerted a downward pressure on salaries and other compensation. And, uncertainty about the future had a chilling effect on engineers' hopes and dreams. But things seem to be warming up. According to our...
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Jay McSherry
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] Spencer Klein: Mapping The Neutrino Sky
One of the world's next best "telescopes" will not peer out into space. Instead, it will probe deep into the ice of the South Pole for a better picture of the high-energy universe. The project, dubbed "IceCube," will use 4800 optical sensors sitting 2500 m below the polar surface to detect fundamental particles called neutrinos as they pass through the earth. The goal is to map the "neutrino sky," which will pinpoint sources of high-energy cosmic rays that...
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Kristina Fiore
October 19, 2007[Technology Report] Mike Collette: Merging Film And Digital Tech For Superior Pictures
When Mike Collette visits a few of the national parks this fall, he'll be bringing his work with him. As president of Better Light Inc., a digital-imaging technology company he founded 15 years ago, he will shoot breathtaking landscapes on regular film. But he'll be able to preserve them digitally using his company's main product, the digital scanning back. An engineer with a passion for photography, Collette has carved out a dream job for himself developing the...
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Kristina Fiore
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