So You Think You are Not An Inventor?

**rgsparber** · Mar 31, 2020, 03:57 PM

Not all engineers are that inept (hint- I’m an Electrical Engineer...)

Rick

**Marnat3** · Mar 31, 2020, 04:40 PM

I apologize to Engineers everywhere. I did not mean all Engineers are that way. My company has a habit of hiring kids right out of school who don't know what a callus is and think they are going to save the world. I have always thought these kids should perform the job they are trying to improve before reinventing the wheel.

**mklotz** · Mar 31, 2020, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by Marnat3

I apologize to Engineers everywhere. I did not mean all Engineers are that way. My company has a habit of hiring kids right out of school who don't know what a callus is and think they are going to save the world. I have always thought these kids should perform the job they are trying to improve before reinventing the wheel.

Yes, thank you for your apology.

While I'm a physicist rather than an engineer, I get tremendously tired of hearing tradespeople rag on anyone with advanced education. If they're all as accomplished at engineering as they intimate they are, let them go out and try designing a bridge or an airplane or an MRI machine without ever making a misstep.

**rgsparber** · Mar 31, 2020, 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by Marnat3

I apologize to Engineers everywhere. I did not mean all Engineers are that way. My company has a habit of hiring kids right out of school who don't know what a callus is and think they are going to save the world. I have always thought these kids should perform the job they are trying to improve before reinventing the wheel.

Marnat3,

I tell my engineering students that it will take about 5 years on the job before they can start to work independently. With close supervision and a narrow focus, they might be given a small task after 1 year.

I completely agree with you that ALL engineers must get their hands dirty before trying to change anything.

On the other hand, people right out of school with a fresh eye on a given problem can have amazing insights. They should not be ignored just because they are green.

Rick