IEEE Consultants' Network of Long Island

Ulterior Motive - John Dunn, Consultant, Ambertec, P.E., P.C.

"I love to litigate! I love to litigate!" this particular fellow was expounding one day when I visited him at his company. I looked on this recitation as a sign of psychological abnormality, but one day a few years later, this same fellow actually telephoned me to ask if I would be available for a consulting assignment.

He was making this product that included a power amplifier  that used power MOSFETs in a push-pull, class-B configuration and he was experiencing a high rate of power MOSFET burn-outs. He asked if I could I look into the problem and hopefully devise a remedy.

In the Spotlight - Dick LaRosa

"In the Spotlight" was a feature in our old snail-mailed newsletter. It provided an opportunity for each member to describe his work and experience - sort of an extended "Elevator Speech". Jerry accepted the nomination for Chairman on the condition that someone else takes care of the refreshments for the meetings, and everyone contributes a post to the blog. So far, I haven't seen a tsunami of posts from our members, so I was wondering if reviving the Spotlight idea might encourage some activity. Not everyone took advantage of the original Spotlight self-promotion opportunity, but enough did, and it was interesting.

Writing these posts is pretty easy, once you establish an account and get the hang of it. I've forgotten how to get started. I think it starts with an invitation from Jerry which, I think, he extended to all the members. I still have trouble with inserting the break in a long article, so I'll stop here and avoid that problem.

The Consultant's Mindset by Murray Kleiner

I wonder if being a consultant, or at least acting like one, is the way of the future. Let me explain….

For centuries, craftsmen would work at their trades and teach them to their children who, in turn, would pass on those skills to their children and so on. Today, there are probably very few skills where this still applies. In many professions, especially in technology, the transition period from state-of-the-art to old hat becomes shorter and shorter necessitating a never-ending learning process in order to keep current on the latest technologies.

Changing professions has also become commonplace. I don’t recall the exact numbers, but a number of years ago I read that most people make at least one career change in their lifetimes. At that time, lawyers had the highest turnover rate. Much of this is due to disillusionment with the chosen professions, but I suspect that declining job opportunities is also a significant factor.