Re: Flexibility of hours for EEs

>> >> >>> Hi there - I just recently graduated from college with a BSEE and have >>> been working at a new job since then. My employers is incredibly >>> flexible about my hours - as long as I put in an average of 8 hours >>> per day and am there by 10 or 11 they're happy. Also, there is no >>> dress code and most people just wear shorts and t-shirts. >>> >>> >>> My question is this: Is this a typical working environment for EEs? >>> When I interviewed with other companies, they all seemed much more >>> formal, so maybe I'm just lucky? Or maybe companies just try to be >>> really serious during the interview process? >>> > > It depends. > > 1. From the business standpoint, it is obviously more convenient for the > company to have you at work from 7 till 5 and wearing the appropriate dress. > Thus you should consider the casual dress and flexible hours as a form of a > benefit. But nobody gives benefits for free. So, if they allow you something > like that, they are planning to make you work hard for it, and the other > benefits and rewards are likely to be smaller.

You are cynic to think everything has a tradeoff, and that the company is "out to get you."

> 2. There are formal rules, and there are the informal rules also. What is > allowed to the senior engineer is not tolerable from the freshman right from > the college.

We all have our limits. I never wanted to see more than one guy clipping his toenails with his feet on his desk. But there was always room for other people's unique behavior.

> 3. The important thing for making the career is the old good ass licking. > That means you have to be at work earlier then the boss, and you can go home > only after the boss. It doesn't matter if John Larkin is walking around the > office naked wearing only socks, your dress should be always neat and clean.

Any manager that enjoys having his ass kissed should be fired. When I first encountered that situation, at quitting time I'd leave the building and take a short walk, allowing time for the idiot to leave. In later years, to ease the burden on myself, I resorted to telling whoever needed it that the behavior would have a detrimental affect on their performance appraisals. I still don't understand how any intelligent person can tolerate having subordinates who speak anything but the truth or who do less than their best.

Having said that, I have to admit there are companies who's employees do NOTHING without first thinking about what their peers and boss would think. Getting into the company culture comfort zone is mandatory. IMHO they are a shameful lot.

> Vladimir Vassilevsky > DSP and Mixed signal Consultant >
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> > >
Reply to
Don Bowey
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Also, a manager who ignores the human relations and the human nature should be demoted for incompetence. BTW, ass kissing is the other side of the loyalty.

As a manager, you got to play with the deck of cards you have. It is impossible for everybody to be good just because of the law of big numbers.

The bigger is the company, the more likely for the internal affairs to be like that.

Vladimir Vassilevsky

DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant

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Reply to
Vladimir Vassilevsky

[snip]

When I was last a department manager... about 20 years ago now, my rule was to employ people who were good enough to take over my job.

My other rule was to let the employees take all the glory... you can't spend it anyway ;-)

...Jim Thompson

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|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

Huh? Which side? Understanding is one thing. Dealing with them is another.

Fair simile, but so is; when the deck wears thin it's time to replace it.

I believe you may be correct.

Reply to
Don Bowey

:)))))

One thing I noticed is that the money makes the glory just by itself, without any spending. But it is not too simple to convert the glory into money.

Vladimir Vassilevsky

DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant

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Reply to
Vladimir Vassilevsky

Consequences also determine quality. Scientific instrument companies, even small ones, often are more ruled by politics and sometimes employ doofusses, because their products aren't expected to be perfect. Big aerospace companies, making products that can crash airplanes, tend to be full of smart, competent, un-stuffy people who are careful to get things right.

You see the same effect in design: hard-tooled ICs tend to work the first pass; FPGA's less often; software never. The less the consequences of an error, the sloppier the design.

John

Reply to
John Larkin

I was reprimanded several times (across a number of jobs) for speaking the truth. Both to clients and internally.

Apparently that's a bad thing.

Does this imply they want me to lie? How does that make it a good thing?

--
Linux Registered User # 302622
Reply to
John Tserkezis

Out of interest, did you last there?

Locally, I've heard only one rule regarding that, don't hire anyone that can take over your job. You protect yourself that way.

Yes, it was a department full of idiots, where only the head perhaps knew what was going on, but since he was in management, he never did any of the real work anyway.

Maybe upper management was too stupid to realise anyway.

--
Linux Registered User # 302622
Reply to
John Tserkezis

Yes it is, you obviously need corrective performance counselling :->

No, management never want you to lie to them (just ask them), they just don't want to hear anything bad, or something that requires them to make a decision that can potentially make them look bad to their boss.

"Speak the truth, the partial truth, and nothing but the good truth."

Dave.

Reply to
David L. Jones

Yep. Until GenRad decided to shut down the Phoenix operations... since we were the only profitable division ;-)

In case you haven't noticed... I've NEVER feared losing my job ;-)

...Jim Thompson

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|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

I thought it was THEIR job to keep me away from clients? :-) Sheeze, I'm a loose cannon around clients, I'm likely to burst out in truth just by being in the near vicinity of a client. Oh well, at least the clients appear to be appreciative, if not good for business for us...

Oh, I get it. I have to speak the truth, but do what journalists do and mangle it to the point that it means something else entirely.

Boss is happy because he hears what he wants to hear, and I'm happy, because I'm still technically telling the truth.

They're right when they say engineering is 10% engineering engineering, 90% political engineering.

--
Linux Registered User # 302622
Reply to
John Tserkezis

We nearly always tell our customers the truth. It sometimes shocks them.

John

Reply to
John Larkin

Now you're getting it! You'll be a company man in no time :->

No, the engineer is never happy because engineers like to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

You have the option to either "conform", or to be the "PITA-Engineer", the one who aways tells the real truth. If you are valuable enough they won't fire you, and you'll still get the good work, but they'll simply ignore everything you say. The PITAE is the most productive and least likely to "go postal", just keep them away from customers.

Welcome to engineering!

Dave.

Reply to
David L. Jones

The secret of success in management is to be into the next job, preferably the next company, before your mistakes in your current job get attributed to you.

--
"Electricity is of two kinds, positive and negative. The difference
is, I presume, that one comes a little more expensive, but is more
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Reply to
Fred Abse

Agreed but they never are.

Deal with upper management and you will see it is the norm.

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

I would agree until I think of my time with Boeing.

TMT

Reply to
Too_Many_Tools

- Show quoted text -

I did.

Reply to
Don Bowey

I walked into work this morning and my most-junior engineer informed me that my preferred power-supply architecture was totally wrong, and showed me what was right. I agreed (partly because I'd come to the same conclusion over the weekend.)

So: custom flyback transformer.

John

Reply to
John Larkin

a

You never got anything right... or someone else never got anything right? :-]

Reply to
Spurious Response

a

Imagine if 747's crashed as often as Windows.

John

Reply to
John Larkin

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