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livingston: When I was a supervisor I tried to take all the opportunities I had to sit and talk with people for 5 minutes. I found that those were the best 5 minutes spent during my day. It was those people with whom I had a relationship that I called upon to get things done when it counted...

Have your friend consider what will happen if the "trusted" boss turns on him and they fire him for whatever reason that can be used. Is the risk of that consequence (which is not overly probable, although possible) outweight the negative outcome of him leaving on his own terms (or riding this...

Mint: Take in the information, don't reveal your knowledge, and use it to your advantage. (Note: This advice may not necessarily be the best thing to do, unless you are in a very vindictive mood like I happen to be today.) D

Golfmeeting: Q - "The question I have, is why do the people with less $$$ in the less powerful countries despise free trade?" Many of the people in the developing countries have had the experience (or heard the stories) of foreign (especially American) Multi-National Corporations (MNCs)...

Paul: Along the lines of some of the comments here, you should recognize that there are some legal avenues open in the extreme cases. You may not have any legal options because they do not have to prove anything to fire you, but if they slander you in a reference to another employer that is a...

Like many other negotiations, the best way of getting what you want is knowing what the other side can offer you. Going into interviews I always know what the statistics are for similar jobs in the area. If they ask my what I want, I give them the figure for the upper decile. My position is...

HEC, Greg and Molten: The "succession planning" needs to be taken on as a priority for younger engineers as well. As a young engineer I have place a high value on this, something that I don't see many of my peers doing. I actually took a pay cut to get into a situation where there was someone...

In a slightly different case, our board assigns a fine to engineers found negligent which is proportional to the cost of the hearing/investigation. Why not apply that to non-engineers found guilty of practicing? In the end we will be able to have a self-funding body that will be able to...

To echo what other people have said, it really depends on where you want to go. In forensic engineering a PhD is great. Courts just love having Drs on the stand, they tend to trust them more than the average engineer regardless of experience. I am hoping to take the time to complete a PhD...

Greg is right, it is not like it is kept secret. I have found that the information is mostly out in the open, but it is not publicly available (like on the internet). Why do you need it? If you give us that info you will likely get a better steer. I would expect that you will have a much...

desertpilot: I think the greatest variable is yourself in this. My wife has an MBA and I decided to do the M.Eng route in a program that tries to incorporate 1/3 to 1/2 MBA material. Somewhat an Engineering Management sort of degree. There is material in the MBA that I will never touch, but...

Moltenmetal: Your determination regarding this topic is an inspiration to those of us who think that something needs to be done. I hope that you do not become discouraged by a apparent lack of results. There are many people who share your opinion. Dave

quark: One thing that I always made sure I did with that question was to go on to tell the interviewer what I did to mitigate the effects of whatever the weakness is. Myself, I don't remember things well. Okay, fine, there are tools out there to manage that now. I tell them what I am using...

QCE: For a slightly different take on the question (but it will tie in, trust me) I work in Forensics. My firm has built a reputation as being very thorough, and one of the best in our area. As a result we are able to, and do, charge more than “going rate”. We can do this because our...

Beggar: I just recently changed jobs, and went through a similar thing. The employer had the right to terminate me at any time. When asked when I could begin by my new firm, I told them 2 to 4 weeks, but if my past company reacted poorly, I might be available tomorrow. In the end I figured...

ScottyUK: Isn't it ironic that in trying to achieve equality, we are building discrimination into the system? At one time equality was about judging people based on relevant criteria rather than on some other inconsequential attribute (like sex, race,...) Now it's become about having some...

moltenmetal: Well put! We will not have any success as a profession advocating radical changes, but making known the reality of the situation might help the situation. There are still the forces at work who like the oversupply of engineers, but unfortunately they will always be there. I...

Klaus: Whatever you do don't come to Toronto, or go to Montreal or Vancouver. The markets for Engineers in those areas are over saturated and it shows in the compensation packages. Best of luck in your search! Dave

In Ontario it is included in the code of ethics that moonlighting is allowed as long as your primary employer is informed of it. If you do it without letting your employer know then it is against the law. Something to look into where you work. Dave

First, thanks all for your input. So far there have been a couple of different issues raised, but I think it is safe to say that the perception of the profession by the public is the biggest issue so far. Essentially that raising the status is the first step, and other issues can be addressed...