cranky108, I was a power engineer for almost 14 years after I got out of engineering school in the early 1980s. It was a great job, but I had to leave because government regulation/deregulation just about killed the industry by the early 1990s. The utility I worked for started laying off...
For the last couple of years, I've noticed that a lot of corporations here in the US are putting caps on the time that a contract engineer can be on the payroll. The cap is usually one year. Not really sure why they're doing that. As a matter of fact, it can be rather disruptive to projects.
I've been an expert witness for almost nine years. I've found that it is a HUGE waste of money to advertise in printed publications (law journals, bar association magazines, etc.)and list in paper directories. Lawyers don't read them.
If you are thinking about listing in on-line expert...
Alpine, the key to suvival nowadays is to diversify your income. I think the days of operating one business and working one job are coming to an end... at least if you want to maintain the same lifestyle.
Consider what you are good at and form other low-cost startup businesses (not necessarily...
Since I lost my job last December and can't find another one, I have been working on a new product that I can assemble myself and sell out of my home. Since no one will lend me money for startup, tooling, setup, etc., I've had to design it to look attractive, but be cheap to produce in small...
Scotty, over here in the US, I don't think it is necessarily because of the universities turing out the wrong product. It is primarily because of the bum enconomy and the opportunities to make a quick buck by outsourcing design and manufacturing to Asia. There there just aren't enough...
After losing my job last December and hearing all the whoopla coming out of our current administration about "energy independence,""going green," and "economic stimulus," my wife and I decided to look into getting some government grant money for alternative energy research. I had some ideas...
My experience is in the manufacturing sector. From what I've seen here in the US, most of the new engineering jobs out there are for lower level positions with 2-3 years of experience. Employer expectations are extremely high and salaries are low. Jobs for new grads and people with senior...
I dropped my membership in ASME. They do little or nothing for the benefit of the membership other than to create technical standards and forums for technical presenations. Sounds like IEEE is pretty much the same. Publishing standards is certainly important, but why not help improve the...
When I got out of college nearly 30 years ago, the world was much different than it is now. Employees were considered to be "human resources" rather than overhead to be cast off at the next turn in the road.
Today, you're lucky if you can keep a job for more than three or four years due to...
As long as you have a PE license in the state where your expert witness business is based, you should be okay.
If you are serious about continuing to do work as an expert witness, I recommend that you establish a record with the National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES)...