Engineer design

Firstly, my own individual design path is very analytical very much based around understanding the circuit and deriving analytical models that explore the nature of the circuit. I use a lot of different simulation tools and try to reduce prototype construction and repairs. I am a vehement opponent of poke and hope electronics and what i call Excel lotto based around vasty simplified models and a desire to get a specific outcome which tends to bias the models. I am as far away as i can be from the "bench heros" that plagued my life as a technician and who arrogantly frittered away my value as a technician with pointless empirical tests and the Companies resources on sloppy incomplete analysis. It was very much the majority way of design in those days. If you ever thought that Engineers have poor remuneration, just go and peek at what a good technician gets paid.

What i hear here is very much imho an incomplete understanding of the design process. The problem is that from two ends, we have to develop people skills to do our jobs effectively. We have to understand what motivates our suppliers and manufacturing staff. We have to understand that communicating the "killer" spec is never going to happen. Not for anything that even approaches a new application. Our acceptance of this process and contribution to that is paramount to increasing our value as engineers.

One of the ways these days that i check this process is by observing the winding process. By understanding the winding environment and not assuming anything, By taking part actively in DFM. By seeing what happens in production and making changes that seem easy to me but may seem very difficult to people on the floor.

We are part of a team. By having very stiff boundaries and having black and while ideas about specifications for example, we are acting like King Canute. I find it appalling that Engineers can on one had demand better recognition refuse to acknowledge the contribution of other professions or even admit the importance of them. Remember our profession is a free choice. There is no constraint to stop us becoming managers or sales people. If these avenues are so rewarding, then by all means pursue them. But nothing will change until we seek to increase our value. That value is as an easy to deal with team player that respects and values other professions rather than a profession that needs several layers between them and any other kind of human.