Recent content by Ivory

My pencils and pens will soon join my slide ruler sitting gathering dust. There are some schools that have stopped teaching kids how to write. I wonder how many teenagers are unable to sign their name on a driver's license permit application. I can see how a younger generation will have...

My quess is blue for April 15, blue always following black, so the color sequence is how we feel after the exam "black & blue".

I place the value of the PMP as less than 1/50 of the PE. It took me 1/50 of the time to prepare for the PMP. One just needs a HS diploma to take the PMP. It is just a pump and dump test. I notice the only people who value the PMP are non-engineers and people who do not understand the value of...

The best way to know your true value is to float your resume in the market. See what bites. You may wind up with an offer you cannot resist. Why settle for the crumbs your present employer throws your way?

You would at least expect a train engineer to drive your sandwich to completion at Subway.

Some employer 401K plans have an option for you to set up self-directed brokerage account where you can move upto 75% of what you have into it. This allows you to invest in what ever you want. It also allows moving it back into your primary 401K plan at anytime. This is becoming more common...

Careful when choosing a financial adviser. They make their money pushing products that are not always the best choice. Many advisers charge upto ~3%. They use the S&P500 performance as a gauge to determine if they gave sound advisement or not. If they beat the performance of the S&P500...

No surveying taught in Microsoft Certs, just reboot. To get some insight on how discipline the IT people are where you work, just take a look under your workstation desk. Most likely it looks like a rats nest with no thought given to the equipment or cable placement. If you are lucky to have an...

Those IT people have their GED and Microsoft Engineering Cert. They are qualified to plug in a CAT6 cable, configure a network switch, install software, and create accounts. They can make it hell to people (real engineers) who are not nice to them, because they have admin rights. They are on a...

Are patent attorneys in big demand? and do they pay well?

If you have the extra cash, try to maximize your 401K. This will delay your tax burden on that money now, it may also put you in a lower tax bracket. This will delay paying taxes on this money until you retire and try to use that money.

If engineers are required to take a negotiation class in college, their salaries will be much higher. The problem we have is engineers do not understand their true value and settle for less. The only reason lawyers and real estate agents command high salaries/commissions is because they know how...

- Recent engineering college grads with no experience are getting 60K + - 5-7% pay raise when your salary is low is not much. Do not forget that working from home saves the employer office space and other costs. - If you have a PE and I am assuming you have 5 + years experience, then you need...

There are also NCEES and Spin-Up sample exams.

I recommend you take a class in negotiating and economics. I think you are well below market value for your services.