hey mike.
yea boss.
call up these folks and get a part number for "some thing"
ok,

ring, ring, ring, hello, X company.
inside sales please.

click.

inside sales, may I help you?
yes, I need a part number for "some thing".
"what thing"?
no, "some thing", it looks like this and does that.
OH, "some thing", we don't make "some thing"
well do you make a product that will do the same thing as a "some thing"
well we make a "this and that"
is that integral of do I have to buy this and that as separate items.
separate.
ok, that won't work.  do you have "some thing" like a "this and that" I can use to do what a "some thing" will do?

no,

ok, thanks, bye.

You forgot the whole "your call is important to us" bit. Also the bit about the fact that the boss was supposed to look up the part number in the first place, and couldn't, so had you do it. And so it goes...

Remember, when all else fails, just put the thingamajig into the whatchamacallit....

i tried putting tab A into a girls slot b one time.  

Heh. There was a girl ChemE student when I went to KU who was universally known as "Slot B."

Only if the doo-dad fits in the whatzit.
Don't forget to put the thing-a-ma-bob in the thing-a-ma-jiggy as well!

I used to work with plenty of engineers when I was a defense contractor. They are to a tee, a very odd lot!

TRW

Engineer's arn't Odd, everyone else is...

taptap knows whats up.

wait a tic...

most engineers ARE odd!  and so are the rest of you people!

I AM THE ONLY NORMAL ONE LEFT!!!

-Spaceman

I am an engineer as well. Only I dress better than the average "Dilbert".

I can use my amazing engineering skills to use a phone, are they hiring?

Hello?
Inside sales please.
Yes, how can I help you.
Do have "this thing" in stock?
Yes we do, they are $1.25 each, how many would you like?
Well, I'm doing engineering proto-typing, I guess I could use four, but if they work we'll be buying thousands of 'em.
Well I'm sorry but we only sell these in minimum quantities of 5000.
Well, could I get a few samples?
Sorry, no, we would have to break a reel - and we just can't do that.
ARRRGHHH - I hate these people!!!

Engineering is fine... it is the political correctness, business games, tight budgets,  messed up computer software, federal and state regulations, pencil whipping, human resources crude that messes up the job!

Steady
First hand experienced engineer

... That is definitely not Engineering in my book.

... It's called Production Control [:D]

You know, there comes a time in every project, when you have to kick the crap out of the engineer and start production.....

Based on what The Neutral Observer has seen of ChemE girls, this is deeply horrifying.

yea or the indi-packi fights!


how do you burn $25,000 in 24 hrs?
put 5 Indians and 5 Pakistani engineers in a room with a set of P&IDs

You aren't a Bechtel, Houston office man by any chance, are you?

Engineer here too! Only over the last 10 years most Engineers have degraded in to parts counters, hand holding production assist help, bookeepers, and PC fodder to make room for people who think that they are capable, but really aren't.
Bitter? Not at all, I am a realist.And that is just the way it is today.
But I do want to get to a point where I can leave the "Big" Co. and go to work as a real Engineer in a small company.
I am close, and doing what I can to survive a couple additional years to have made the past 30+ years worthwhile.
It's sad though, being an Engineer in my co. used to be so much more rewarding.

... Go check out the Job Search online, there's still decent engineering openings for qualified individuals.

This thread makes no sense.  Engineers don't have lives.

no, not at the moment.

lol, Bet'el hash ben berry berry go to me!

Why not go to the mill in your garage and make a new peice(assuming it is metal)?

Winston Wolf, Like many other places my Co. changed its retirement plan "because we are valuable and they don't want us to leave so soon" and I now need to reach age 55 to leave with medical benefits. After 31+ years of working at least 5-10 hours extra every week, and sometimes around the clock, and 60+ hour weeks (for free of course.) you can bet that I believe that I should have my medical when I exit.
I understand the fact that the world has changed, and along with it the rules of the game. But I see that they are now laying off many who haven’t quite yet reached the new finish line, but have passed the old line, and it doesn't sit well.
For now I only have one real option, and I will stick to it for at least 2 more years, if they let me. I am currently trying to position myself for the inevitable pay cut that will occur when I change jobs.

I really miss the work that we used to do, designing product, machines and mechanisms, designing, overseeing the construction of, and troubleshooting automation assembly loops, etc.. It was all very heady, and exciting and it made you feel vital and an important cog in the wheel.
Now we count cables, and structure Bill of Materials, using things that are mainly built overseas.
There weren't enough people who believed that "the giant sucking sound" really would be loss of our jobs and way of life. I’m hopeful that if and when I’ve reached the critical mass that I’ve earned through some pretty tough years that there will be a place for me in some smaller shop that is still doing real design, and parts fabrication.
I’d like to finish my career like I started it. Right now I just feel very removed from what I entered the field for in the first place.  
{Edited to add: This write-up sounds like it's a hateful existence. It is not. I work with some fine people, and what we do is a needed task for the company's continued existence.
But it is no longer the type of Engineering/Design work that "tweaks" me, and I miss it. I guess that I am getting old, and grumpy.)

I started off at Bechtel in Frederick, MD doind power plant design (mechanical).  Most of my duties there fit exactly the kind of BS you are describing: paper-pusher, coordinator, record keeper, etc.  No real analysis or design engineering work, you know, the kind of stuff you learn in school.  I stayed there for only two years because the work was so mind-numbing.  I got another job here in Newport News, VA with a smallish aerospace company that does engineering, machining, and assembly, all under one roof.  It's really a pretty unique operation with about 150-200 people at this location.  I'm on the engineering side of things doing structural finite element analysis on jet engine compressor blades and vanes.  It's MUCH more interesting work than what I was doing at Bechtel.  It seems like the big companies want to farm all the technical work off to India and only be responsible for managing the budgets.  We're becoming a nation of golf-playing financial know-nothings.

Anyway, the only bad thing about working for a smaller company like this one is the work is VERY cyclical.  We've been only about 30-50% busy for the last year or so.

Well in my day, the hottest chicks were in ChemE, followed by ArchE. Civil and ME were about tied, and the creepy girls gravitated toward CompE/CompSci. Actually, the most absolutely drop-dead gorgeous girl, and a real sweetie, was one of only about 3 students in Engineering Physics. She was like movie star good-looking.

ChuckHammer: Also Mechanical. I know that it's a cop out to stick out another couple of years, but I am so close now, without a prayer of earning this benefit again by starting off elsewhere.
Plus for probably 25 of my 31 years, my co. was an engineers heaven, exciting projects, decent budgets, etc.
By the time things soured,business survival changed things,  I was too close to walk away. However each day seems worse than the one before, they long ago layed off any deadwood that we had, and we only see good people being hurt with each sucessive downsizing.
And now I keep remembering how much fun I had, and how I actually looked forward to going to work.
I want to get the brass ring, protect my family's future,  then I want to find a smaller co. to go back and do the fun stuff again for at least a few years before I really retire.
I may have to make do with a lot less money but it would be wondeful to feel good about what you do to earn your pay again. What I do may be necessary for the company, but it is not satisfying for my soul.
Enjoy your job, its a great feeling to go in and get paid for doing what you love.

Take it from me, there aint shit in EE.

Class of '94.  

The Engineering building at TAMU was NOT a good place for girl watching - with a few exceptions of course.  By the time I left grad' school in '99, the seriously hot cuties were out in force.  

Maybe I was just older and they all looked hot, who knows, but as the TA, no-touchy for me.  Being married by then may have had something to do with that policy too!

[LOLabove]   I bet he still uses the (pocket protector) and not only has a slide rule but still remembers how to use it!

[ROFL] [ROFL2]

Mark