EE Times has a good piece on current job prospects for high tech design engineering positions, and the news is not too encouraging.
An industry recruiter reveals that, as engineering positions are getting more specialized, and with a glut of qualified candidates already out there, companies are becoming less willing to cross individuals into industries. Those fluent in embedded software, the C programming language, and core processors are said to be likely to have better luck in finding a job, as these skills are highly transferable and in demand.
Other suggested "marketability boosters" for job seekers include transitioning into non-design engineering positions and adding more educational certifications.
It seems you have a firm grasp of the obvious...ten years ago there was a 'shortage' but, mistakenly, most people seem to say 'engineer' when they mean 'programmer' and I am sick of always explaining the differences. Only a very tiny percentage of computer people are doing engineering, the rest are programmers and coders and the like. There are fewer engineering jobs every year and the misinformation of 'needing engineers'(instead of saying programmers) is really helping no one, except maybe the colleges...who are in it just for the money anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhat we need is an influx of money, talent, and ideas not just hard workers. There are plenty of kids that will be engineers and it is not necessary to encourage marginally interested people into a disappointing career: 'Join NASA, learn to be a bureaucrat!'