> I hope things have changed (I did my tech work 15 years ago now lol (I
> feel old at 30)) maybe I will find out if the business ever slows enough
> to think about taking time out for formal study ;)
The concern with not having a BEng is getting insurance in the future, year by
year the no. of companies doing the Liability / Indemnity trade gets smaller &
far more expensive.
You feel old at 30? I'm 41, and the only time I feel old is when I
think about how the future isn't what it used to be when I was a kid.
We were supposed to have unlimited clean energy, bases on the moon, and
human-level AI computers by now.
I agree. One of the sadder things about getting older (45) is seeing how few of
the things that have actually come to pass. Reliable operating systems,
widespread green energy, supersonic passenger flight, peace, stability in Africa.
For the aussies on the list I found the great wake up call was a locally made
move called "The Dish". Arguably one of the best Australian movies ever made. I
watched the little kid sitting at home watching Armstrong stepping onto the
lunar surface for the first time. I was a similar age and recall sitting at
school watching an old B&W TV. At that point in time we were so convinced as a
nation that we could do anything & were hell bent on doing so.
My thoughts at the end of the movie were more about how we have seemed to have
lost our way somewhat in the following 30 years. Little did we suspect that the
place would be dictated by corporations obsessed with economic rationalism and a
mad religious fundamentalist ( that's george not osama... ) Everyone had a big
sigh after Viet Nam but obviously had a big lapse of memory more recently, now
we get to pay for it.
Instead, we are fighting wars born of
ancient religious hatred, building more coal-fired power plants,
Next 20 years of 'green energy' funding locally is tied up with "clean-burn
coal" and finding ways of trying to hide CO2 in the earth. Too bad if you want
to look at bio-energy or solar or wind etc...
pulling
fabric off of 30-year old spacecraft, and struggling with computer tech
that is thousands of times more powerful but still dumb as a rock.
I found it amusing in a sad way that it took the market leader 11 years (Win95)
to get their PC to a point where it could perform as well as a 1984 Amiga. A
truth gained with age & a few scars, engineering specs mean bugger all, it's
driven by marketing, public perception/gullibility and politics.
Well, that and also being unable to fathom the appeal of some current
trends (reality tv, text messaging, etc.). Otherwise, I might as well
still be 25, in my mind.
Consumer electronics has more in common with the fashion industry than
engineering.
If the above rant seems US-centric, it is, because that's where I am.
As for formal study, if you think you want to stay in the EE field, you
should consider a formal degree. I am glad I got my EE degree. It made
me more "complete". I did not get the EE degree primarily so I could
get a job, I did it more for personal fulfilment. The practical aspect
of having the EE degree is that you have more credibility to the
"suits". This will always be the case. The suits do not understand EE,
therefore the only criteria they can use to judge you by is the EE
degree. Even if you decide to start your own business, as I did in the
early 90's, the EE degree will come in handy to impress your prospective
customers. They also do not understand EE, and can only look at the EE
degree to judge you by.
Ditto, suits and insurers.
The ray of sunshine in all of this is that my young son and his friends seem to
be a heck of a lot more sensible than we were at his age & may be placed to do a
better job of keeping things on the rails in the future. Regrettably they will
have to be as there are a number of pressing issues with which they will have to
deal.
--
Cheers
Don
PS It's the weekend so I will drop the Neil "don't bring me down man" & refit
the happy face for 48 hrs ;-)
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