Re: warm bodies

Christopher Wright wrote:

> On Jun 24, 2005, at 11:48 AM, Paul Bowers wrote:
>
>>And "computerfication" (if not well-controlled, implemented and
>>understood by the users) adds yet another variable to that mix.
>
> Actually it applies to any technology. By the time they're 40 most
> engineers have become managers of some sort, if they haven't left the
> profession altogether. If you don't use a technology and keep up with
> it, you lose it. Most engineering manager type can just barely do math,
> let alone work with piping or pressure vessel codes.
>
> BTW, as long as it's Friday afternoon and we're off topic, whatevver
> happened to ISO 9000. Is that an active concern for piping any more or
> just another flbuzzword that's fallen out of fashion?

I disagree and agree. The adoption of computers and software was the singlemost biggest (pardon my French) change for engineering in history. Feel free to argue with me about this. If I lapse back to a previous email from you, you said that communication is the primary role of an engineer. Engineers have always (site guys that make changes on the fly excepted) relied on drawings to communicate their intents. When the primary communication medium changes and becomes much more complex to create/maintain that can be (and is) a problem.

What is so wrong with being "in the trenches" past the age of 40? Is it status? The perceived peer pressure to "have people working for you"?

Paul Received on Fri Jun 24 15:25:00 2005