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Subject: USAF Faces Massive Geek Shortage
SYSOP    4/19/2014 5:18:48 AM
 
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ka5s    Ironic   4/19/2014 7:34:04 AM
 

Whats ironic to me about this is that, due largely to years in Avionics in the Army, and the other responsibilities it required me to take on, I've had a career in Electromagnetic Compatibility Engineering despite being a High School dropout with only a GED when I enlisted, with no degree and NO engineering coursework. Ironic but not really surprising.


I was already an electronics buff and Ham Radio operator when I ran off to the Service at 17, enlisting with a communications MOS, and reenlisting to get into Avionics. When the Army decided fifteen years later (do NOT argue with your warrant officer!) to get mud on my boots again, I ended up doing everything from Platoon Sergeant at a troposcatter detachment, brigade training NCO and being drafted to do the work of a non-staffed engineering section of three NCO's and a Major. The Army, at least, had a way of finding out what you could do – and having you do it.

I'm semi-retired now, but I've noticed that even degreed engineers often don't have a “gut” understanding of what they do, especially when it leaves theory for hands-on. This is an old complaint, of course, but in general we don't teach people to understand; a degreed 1990's new hire with considerable experience in military aerospace at one of my employers couldn’t figure out how to operate test equipment from functional labels on its front panel. This goes considerably past the old saw about a boot with instructions printed on the heel.

They don’t need geeks. They probably don't even need degrees. What the USAF needs is people who have a realistic understanding of technology. It isn’t likely to find enough, as we are playing catchup nationally at the Grade School, Middle and High School level just to get functional literacy; ask anyone what, if gravity makes a dropped ball fall, what makes it come back up? We have more fundamental problems than not enough geeks. Even if geekdom no longer requires biting the heads off live chickens.


 
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keffler25       4/19/2014 10:59:14 AM
Good post and the elastomer kinetic response (absorbed stored and released work in the long chain molecules in the basketball. (electromagentics at the fundamental level.) produced the BOUNCE. 
 
 
 
 
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USN-MID       4/19/2014 12:56:50 PM


I was already an electronics buff and Ham Radio operator when I ran off to the Service at 17, enlisting with a communications MOS, and reenlisting to get into Avionics. When the Army decided fifteen years later (do NOT argue with your warrant officer!) to get mud on my boots again, I ended up doing everything from Platoon Sergeant at a troposcatter detachment, brigade training NCO and being drafted to do the work of a non-staffed engineering section of three NCO's and a Major. The Army, at least, had a way of finding out what you could do – and having you do it.

I'm semi-retired now, but I've noticed that even degreed engineers often don't have a “gut” understanding of what they do, especially when it leaves theory for hands-on. This is an old complaint, of course, but in general we don't teach people to understand; a degreed 1990's new hire with considerable experience in military aerospace at one of my employers couldn’t figure out how to operate test equipment from functional labels on its front panel. This goes considerably past the old saw about a boot with instructions printed on the heel.

They don’t need geeks. They probably don't even need degrees. What the USAF needs is people who have a realistic understanding of technology. It isn’t likely to find enough, as we are playing catchup nationally at the Grade School, Middle and High School level just to get functional literacy; ask anyone what, if gravity makes a dropped ball fall, what makes it come back up? We have more fundamental problems than not enough geeks. Even if geekdom no longer requires biting the heads off live chickens.


The problem you're seeing has more to do with (IMO) a breakdown at the high school level of what used to be an opportunity for those with engineering aspirations to do a lot of the hands-on tinkering stuff. It leads to a disconnect in undergrad programs where people leave with a disconnect between theory and practice. It's also why some now want to make the Master's degree the new "basic" practicing engineer's degree. 
 
I think when they are referring to the problem with AF scientists/engineers they are referring to the ones on the bleeding edge of R&D, where the importance of theory goes up relative to "experience." At some point, when working the guts of a design problem, a high school education just doesn't cut it. 
 
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greysave       4/19/2014 10:34:00 PM
@import url(http://strategypage.com/CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css); I am a storage architect with many certifications.  I deploy cisco UCS, VMWare vSphere, VMWare SRM, EMC VNX, EMC RecoverPoint, EMC VMAX, EMC Avamar, and EMC DataDomain and many others.  I have a good understanding of both System and Network.  I have really always wanted to serve, but I have a large family 4 kids and I too am compelled by salary.  Unfortunately Salary is a prime concern to me and the government doesn't seem to be near competitive with the civilian world.  Also, government seems to be bad at choosing advanced technology.  Ergo the Army's choice in HP as apposed to EMC and it's advanced replication technology for it virtualized data center endeavors.  It appears to me that the DOD on a whole is short handed on the personal that know the technology and what is ultimately best, most likely due to a huge salary gap.  All in all although I am an extreme patriot, who has studied military and strategy all of my life as a hobby, a geek that this article mentions.  I have a comp sci degree, and have the hardware certs.  The DOD doesn't really seam interested  in my pedigree in my opinion. @import url(http://strategypage.com/CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);
 
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ka5s       4/20/2014 9:41:35 AM
When, in 1985 or so, at Wang Labs, we did a skills inventory of my job (remember, no degree!) what I was doing for them was pretty much at that level; if they expected a new hire _with no experience_ to do the work, he'd *need* an MSEE.  However, that would actually make a bad situation into an impossible one, as MSEE's are harder to get and carry much higher costs.

We should worry less about degrees, and more about skills.

In general, we need many more highly skilled TECHNICIANS than masters-degree engineers -- and they can be trained to work (at least hands-on) that level because they're amenable to learning what has to be done. We call such people Geeks! 
 
My brother was for a time one of the highly skilled contract SW engineers who was flown back and forth between the US and Ireland by Lotus; now they might indeed hire an MSCE -- from India even though we already have quite a few people without degrees who can dowhat's needed.
 
I ascribe THAT to the fact that firms rarely retain enough experienced talent to even interview candidates properly. That rates another rant -- but not here. Hint: *I've* interviewed degree'd applicants who said I was too hard on them.  Sample: What is this? What does it do? How?
 
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ka5s    EMC is an abbreviation   4/20/2014 9:47:43 AM
... for Electromagnetic Compatibility, though it is often misused as short form of EMC2 Corporation, but we all have the same problems; employers who task HR departments who can't tell skills from schools with the VERY important job of weeding out the unskilled.
 
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