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Re: [TowerTalk] Engineering

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Engineering
From: "Roger (K8RI) on TT" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2016 23:17:37 -0400
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
We're off on another tangent here, but not all companies use the "Burn 'em and Turn 'em" philosophies. In my working days, I spent6 literally thousands of hours rewriting code written by people who were ne4ither CS, or CIS educated. Much of it was excellent code, but difficult to read for a professional, and impossible other engineers to read.

Most, or I should emphasize "almost all" programs you have, you ONLY purchased the "license" to use that code. In most cases you are prohibited from reverse engineering, decompiling, or MODIFYING that code. Read those, sometimes many pages of fine print, in the license to see what you can legally do with and/or to that software. Don't forget, "look and feel" of that software also belong to the software owner. Often the restrictions are not because of monetary reasons, but are for the protection of the software and programmer's reputation. Typically you need to contact either the software owner and/or programmer

Modeling is not necessarily difficult, or expensive, depending on the known and unknown variables as well as any assumptions and the level of accuracy required. Many times you are working with probabilities rather than fixed quantities. Propagation and desired antenna heights in wavelengths to get the strongest signal into an area vary continually. The normal, desired antenna height under normal conditions are when conditions favor that height and distance the highest percent of time. Hence the reason for stacks and diversity reception.

I have more computing power (capacity, speed, and storage) on (or under) this desk than the entire corporation had, that I worked for in 1997 and we had a lot! I was in the workforce for over 26 years, quit, earned a degree and went back to work. There are few my age with 4 year degrees in CS

73

Roger (K8RI)


On 7/15/2016 Friday 10:26 AM, Earl Morse wrote:
If given these opportunities for real education (not that crap education that 
HR requires you to take so you can be politically correct or remember to wear 
your safety glasses) jump on them.

There is a big push to model everything these days (virtual engineering), and 
if you have been in the work force for 25 years then you probably don't have 
those skills from your college days.  We hadn't invented a personal computer 
yet that would run modelling software when I was in college.  I have yet to 
have an employer send me out to learn any of the modelling tools.  Good thing I 
have some of my own and have modeled my own stuff because of this hobby.  Still 
would be nice if I had some formal training and access to the multi kilobuck 
tools.

Funny how the guys that modeled all this stuff up front disappear after the 
prototypes show up and the real performance doesn't match the model.  That's 
when my phone rings and we have to go back to how we used to do it in order to 
get the product into production.

I agree with Hans that many companies treat engineers as cannon fodder.  My current 
company thinks that you can write a process and any nimrod can follow it and end up with 
a functioning product at the end.  Unfortunately, there seem to be a few blocks in that 
flow chart that say "Magic Happens".

I have been fortunate in my career managing to stay at companies for 5+ years 
before jumping ship.  Catching the last life boat to a new company.  Those 
changes were usually facilitated by a changing business structure (computer 
industry).  Making yourself indispensable (not by being responsible for the 
bathroom key) but by being knowledgeable and can-do will help ensure you land 
on your feet during corporate changes.

Earl
N8SS

--- towertalk-request@contesting.com wrote:



Currently, the company is systematically offering educational opportunities to 
all employees and paying for it. ?Further, they are mandating it, so that they 
can leverage the vast pools of existing domain knowledge as it evolves into an 
increasingly software and data-driven world. ?It is both good for the business 
as well as for the employees, but it is, as you inferred, not as pervasive a 
personnel approach as we all might like.



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73

Roger (K8RI)


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