Yah, it was amazing how much the engineers and techs coming out of colleges nowadays don't know about basics. Like one engineer with a master's degree not being able to sketch a circuit with pencil and paper, or understanding Ohm's Law. That from a person writes code in 4 languages, knows two different circuit analysis programs, learned circuit design by plugging off the shelf circuits together, then getting a job with us and having to start calculating currents and other circuit parameters from component data sheets, trace widths, parallel inductances on PC boards, designing with individual passive and active components, things some of our techs with assoicate degrees were doing every day. Some of these new guys seem helpless without a fully loaded computer at their fingetips.

Heck, I once got a job offer over a Purdue engineer because I could draw a schematic that put an ammeter and Voltmeter into their proper places.

Taking a break from trying to figure out the 1040 today, I was looking through the help wanteds, found one ffrom a Temp agency for an electronics test technician for a company that does aircraft electonics. I was so tempted. Sort of the thing I did for heavy truck electroncs. In fact, I had a couple Dilbert afficianados at work ask me if I was related to one of the Dilbert TV series characters, Bob Bas*ard. I had to say no, but I did try to emulate him. I used to test to an American spec common in the truck world. When a German company bought us and started replacing our designed stuff with theirs (Yah, German equipment is superior!) I'd submit their stuff to the same test American stuff passes without even getting hot, and let out a lot of smoke. Took them several years to upgrade their products to our specs.

This spring, I ran into one of the Engineers I worked for at a local Sam's. After a few words of greeting, he started asking me about some problems they are having with one of the legacy product I was supporting. Helped him out a little, then said I'd be happy to come back occasionally as a consultant, at roughly twice my previous salary.

At least I was close enough to 66 to qualify for my full SSI.