I meant the grandma Miller who's already spent it on a downpayment for the new Cadillac because the ash tray in the old one was full :-)
There is no difference to employees, really. In America, you can tell the HR department that you claim 6 dependents and then they will withhold almost no tax during the whole year. What's the difference?
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
I am quite aware of green cards and H1 visas, and several here also know that I know :-)
Hint: I naturalised as a US citizen in 1991
Not at all. Sure, over the last few years I interviewed maybe about 50 people. Only about two were any good, i.e. actually knew the basics like pole-splitting, where to actually put an RC network and so forth. So what. The reality is that only a few % are any good, but the bulk of companies still muddle along, anyway. In my field, its the difference between a 1st time pass on a chip, and a 4th time pass. However, both, usually ultimately put out "serviceable" product in some manner.
There are thousands of products out there, all designed by less than stellar engineers, and the world keeps on running. Good engineers will get you product much faster, at much less cost, and a "better" product, but in the big scheme of things...
I am an expert in the USA job application market.
If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the fire.
I think that's nonsense. There is clearly no shortage for the reasons I mentioned. Only an inability for the hiring system to know who to hire, and pay what they are worth in return on investment rather than "the perceived going rate".
Unlikely, as daft as that sounds.
Not many., but you don't need many. There is enough in the condensate pool to run all projects, just some are not in the most useful of locations. Essentially, all products are just a variation of what went before. Its engineering, not physics.
There are lots of older, smart engineers, with lots of experience that can't get jobs. One I pointed out was
A fundamental problem is the lack of competence in the hiring process at most companies.
An example of the problem:
Required: "12-15 years? experience designing 16-24 bit ADC/DAC ultra low power for audio application"
Explain why:
"10+ years of analog ic design experience" and "4 years 16-24 bit ADC/DAC, >100kHz Samp/s experience"
is not sufficient.
Hint: if you don't know all there is reasonable useful to know on a specific topic, in a few years, 10 more years won't help one iota. And why the F*&^ does it matter if its audio?
I have studied job ads in some depth, for some time now, and by and large, they are all equivalent to the above :-)
Kevin Aylward B.Sc.
Then I don't know why they did not consider you. As the architect of a SPICE simulator you should be qualified for many jobs.
I've had headhunters call who were desperate to get switch-mode converter designers or RF engineers. Also employers directly.
In the market I work in it's usually start-ups and cutting edge projects at established companies. There is no use for inexperienced analog folks unless they are paired up with a top engineers as coaches. And that's exactly what smart companies do. The risk is that after their internal EE comes up to speed he or she is snatched away by some big corporation. I've seen that happen.
Well, I live here since almost two decades and my experience is very different. Do you live in the US right now?
As I explained, there is the junior EE plus coach approach. It works very well for my clients and it cost vastly less than $300k.
Sorry, but I disagree with that.
I've seen it happen.
Only if you use consultants.
Since the advent of GoToMeeting, Webex and such the location has little bearing in the success of projects.
Not at all. Of course I am not allowed to get into details here but there were many projects where there was serious materials science going on before we pulled things off. Occasionally that resulted in major "Oh s..t!" monents for competitors. One of them ended up throwing in the towel.
One fundamental problem is here, quote "The following Silicon_Valley_companies/Head_hunters have received the resume above".
Has it occurred to him that we have a exodus going on? I have two currently active clients left in California, neither of which is in Silicon Valley. But I now have four clients just in the Houston area. That's where it's happening these days.
It also would help to let someone proof-read a resume before posting. Example "And their good at avoiding layoffs as well".
Apply anyhow because they aren't going to find their dream engineer.
They are not. Example:
They are a bit to heavy on the CAD requirements but they'll back off if a candidate is otherwise qualified.
If it has to be California here is one next door to me:
Or this:
Zyog is a company I've always liked:
... and on and on.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
I suspect a good portion of the drop in my business is that I'm perceived as old, thus out-of-date, when, in fact, I can run circles around the young bucks on the latest technologies.
[snip]The hiring managers are not skilled in the trade... they're just project pushers. ...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson | mens |
| Analog Innovations | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
You can be (,and at some point, will be) asked to provide proof of these "dependents".
Remember, it's not just the income tax that has to be withheld from
1099ers but also both halves of the employment taxes.
I've heard some horror stories about that from HR folks. They cannot easily ask too many personal questions. Very dicey these days.
Yep, the SS tax halves will be deducted no matter how many dependents are claimed. But uncle Same can't live off of that because at least a large part of that goes towards entitlement programs where, if you don't pay in enough, you simply get less out later. There's people who have almost no other taxes withheld and that's what uncle Sam wants as "spending money".
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
02-d
If you liked Zygo so much you should be able to spell their name right. I' ve not though about Zygo all that much since 1986, but I was very impressed by their new laser interferometer back then. Beat the pants off the HP gea r Cambridge Instruments was using at the time. I've seen their stuff in the opto-electronics trade magazine fairly regularly since then.
-- Bill Sloman, Sydney
Well, sorry, I was tired. And also had to switch languages a few times back and forth.
They were the only guys rolling up the sleeves and saying "So let's do it!" when we needed a machine where all the other movers and shakers had said "It can't be done". That's the kind of attitude I am looking for in a company.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Too late, you've been offically slagged. No excuses!
-- John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com http://www.highlandtechnology.com
Estoy totalmente destruido.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
It doesn't have to be dependents. You can simply claim "EXEMPT" on the W-4 form and have no tax withheld other than FICA and SDI. The situation might be something simple like paying $50,000 in medical bills. I doubt the HR department will want to see the details.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: snipped-for-privacy@netfront.net ---
The IRS *can* ask.
That's why I put the quotes around "dependents". At some point you
*will* have to prove that you have those deductions. At one time I was claiming 19 "dependents" (three people) and consistently came within $100 each April 15. That was some time back, though. I'm happy to get within $1000, now. I haven't in years.They may also be the the better old guy is competition. Lets not kid ourselves that politics doesn't plays a very real part in all aspects of life.
As previously noted, most younger engineers can not possible be up to scratch. In the old days electronic engineers were people that actually took apart and rebuilt stuff. They had a personal hobby interest in electronics. Today, most grads have not touched a soldering iron, nor even looked at a transistor, except in the science lab watching the few of the students that did. You cannot become a world class soccer player by first kicking a ball in your 20s. To be good, you need to like something when you are very young, not just take it up as choice between history or basket weaving.
[snip]
Yes.
Kevin Aylward B.Sc.
That happened at my last gig. All specs were verbal, and all requests for written specs were avoided... "I have to run off to a meeting".
Then he told his superiors I didn't deliver what was requested.
And this happened while I behaved pleasantly and kissed ass. I'm going back to being my usual abrasive bastard personality... you know, where I name jerks to their face in a department meeting >:-}
Indeed! Although I was unusual in that respect. While a teenager I hung out in my Dad's radio and TV repair shop, made minor repairs and built many a toob "hi fi" (so I could play Elvis, The Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, and lots of classical music :-), but I was not enthused with electronics... found toobs utterly boring. So I was going to go to college to study architecture (of which I still am quite interested).
Then in 1956, my father became a Raytheon wholesaler, and I laid my hands on early transistors, CK722 and CK760's. Then I was hooked, went off to MIT in 1958 on a full scholarship (back when scholarships were awarded based on merit, not on need... by 1958 standards my father was well-off :-)
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson | mens |
| Analog Innovations | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
I have had by current Analog IC design job for 6 years. SuperSpice was a tool I made (150k line C++) for myself for the obvious reasons. I have no interest in CAD/Simulator roles. I am strictly an IC designer. I did board level for 20 years prior to 1997, but that's days never to return.
Yep, two buzz words prevalent in the industry. However, companies are only interested with claimed, specific, alleged track record.
Unfortunately, doing better than renowned expert Professor Behzad Razavi, UCLA
wont get a call without designing bits of an iPhone on a resume.
In UK. Left US in 2001.
If the designer is so crucial that the project can't exist without the designer, then surely he is worth 50% of the profits. I gig in a band. The agent gets 10%-15%.
Parasitic CEOs and managers have generated the delusion that its perfectly correct practice to pay the do nothing bosses wads of cash, and the people that do the work, peanuts.
"According to Don Valentine, "at one point in time [Widlar and Talbert] were responsible ? one designed them and one made them ? for more than eighty percent of the linear circuits made and sold in the world"
"Widlar and Talbert realized that the founders of Fairchild did not intend to share their windfall profits with the designers. "
"He refused to fill an exit interview form for Fairchild and wrote only one line (exact quote): "I want to be RICH!"
Sure, there are exceptions. Mostly poor product just gets shipped anyway.
Again, just exceptions to the rule. Its all marketing hype "world beating..." la la la...
Sure, TX is much cheaper. You can actually get a decent house for $100k.
These guys are not interested in getting a designer. Read between the lines. What they are saying is this:
"We want someone that has the copies in their heads of 15 years worth of other companies ADC designs".
They want to immediately start the layout on day one. This is what management always want. The don't actually need anyone, if they did they would write a spec that had a hope of getting them someone.
By and large means, usually but not always.
Sure, its a reasonable generic spec. However, its in fry your brains Phoenix, so sure, they have to work a bit to get people. I actually lived there for 18 months in 1985. Lived in Dallas, Orange County and Sunnyvale as well.
Kevin Aylward B.Sc.
[snip]
today. Pleasant >:-}
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson | mens |
| Analog Innovations | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
Hmm, you don't like board level design? I thoroughly enjoy that.
Not at all. They wanted me, regardless of track record. Then when I told them I could not be available they almost begged me to drop some names of people who might. Which I never do, instead I fwd the headhunter info to people I think might be interested.
I don't know the market for IC designers well but in the world of board-level design that is not the case. For example, I have never designed anything for an iPhone. Or any smart phone.
Maybe consider going ... ... board-level again?
[...]
Then you can't really be an expert in the US job application market. For example, it has changed dramatically in 2008.
Almost never. The smart choice is to minimize the need for top notch expertise and get as much as possible done with lesser expensive labor. Often I help clients with that, by being the coach for younger engineers and the go-to person to take over the real nasty parts of a design.
Sounds normal.
As engineers we made a choice early on in life and that choice included the fact that we'll unlikely ever to get rich. As for me, I do not to be rich to be happy. But I do require to be compensated commensurately or I won't take the job.
[...]
Not in my world.
Doing business is also much easier there. So tell your friend to broaden his scope when looking for work. California is no longer the only tech hub in America.
What's the big deal sending a resume over and find out? A few lines typed into an email window, that's it. If they want bureaucratic forms to be filled out I wouldn't bother though.
Phoenix ain't bad. As a mountain biker I'd love to be there. Heat doesn't bother me and they've got the Superstition Mountains. Trails are also very cool where I live, it's just expensive out here (Sacramento region).
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
[...]
Sure, but they usually don't until the return is due and Joe Superclaim doesn't pay up.
[...]-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
My standard procedure for each design is this: Before doing even one keystroke on the simulator or CAD I write the framework of the module specification. The first chapter in that document is ... the specs. This gets emailed out to all stakeholders with the request to peruse and to let me know if anything is to their liking.
[...]-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
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