Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Sims
"Many companies are having trouble just replacing those that leave."
Pay well, establish good working conditions (where engineers are treated like valued professionals not high end technicians), modern equipment and engineering aids and a real benefit package (not one with some half-assed 401K retirement option and medical insurance with exorbitant deductions) and the company will have no problem staffing. It also helps to have the engineering offices located near where people want to live. Many of the bright, young, motivated engineers just don't want to live out in the "dark fields of the republic" (fly-over country). The young engineers we have are extremely competent (lazy and inefficient they are not) but they "ain't" cheap. The bright but economically clueless engineers the bean counters lust after, don't stay that way for long.
Engineering manager and design engineer (PE) with 30 years experience in the field.
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Jim,
You talk of an ideal world that only a few companies can exist in. You are right, so don't get me wrong. The professional and attractively located work places are still very important and only some companies can accomodate. But the companies that are screaming loudly are the companies that can't afford to move to a new office in an attractive metropolitan. So some candidates don't even consider them. As you stated, the "competent..aren't cheap" and as such those same companies can't afford to hire them. The competitive job market makes even the less than competent engineer demand higher pay...further straining the budget making it hard to match today's salary demands of candidates.
My old company use to have Drafting Coordinator candidates demanding six figures to move from Houston to Chicago. Chicago is not a bad market...yet Houston is a golden market right now, and anyone can walk across the street and get a better paying job with the competing firm. There is a huge shortage of competent engineers in the Houston area....
I wish all engineering managers and their VP's thought like you.