[time-nuts] new paper on Allan Variance errors

Jack Hudler jack at hudler.org
Fri Jun 15 16:48:12 EDT 2007


Said,

About 6 years ago one of my employers gave me a brand new BMW X5 loaded with
no recourse after 90 days.
They even grossed up a bonus to cover my taxes on the car plus moving
expenses and yes the ubiquitous stock options.
The stock options were worthless 3 years later, but the car wasn't! Still
spending that one! Every 3 years I buy a 2 year old used vehicle and let
someone else take the butt kicking on depreciation! :)

It's hard to find good engineers. After the dotcom bust you couldn't throw a
rock without hitting one.
Again, it's hard to find good engineers. Then again, I'm pickier than
before; I'm looking for great engineers.

Jack

-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces at febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On
Behalf Of SAIDJACK at aol.com
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 1:37 PM
To: time-nuts at febo.com
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] new paper on Allan Variance errors


Hi Chuck,
 
I know it's a touchy subject, and opinions vary wildly. The situation  
probably also depends on where in the US you are. It's also slightly
off-topic  for 
this group... sorry.
 
My passport hails from the "mother country". So I was here for quite some  
time on F-1 and H1B. 23 years to be exact. Not my choice, the government
made me 
 wait. I could have gotten immediate Permanent Residency or Citizenship if I

was  seeking Asylum, or jumped the fence in Mexico, but Europe hardly 
qualifies for  asylum seekers.
 
In 1999-2001, Silicon Valley could not get enough folks to come and work  
here. The companies I was with during that time could not hire enough
engineers, 
because the market was just dry. Salaries for everyone I know in  Silicon 
Valley on H1B have been into the 6-Figures since the beginning of the  new 
century, sometimes significantly into the 6-Figures. Not sure where you can
get 
obscenely low wage engineers, I am a hiring manager here in Silicon Valley
today 
and gasp at the salaries I need to pay even to attract any kind of  talent.
 
Check out HotJobs.com for Silicon Valley to get an idea of what we need to  
pay these days for an engineer. It's about 2x what Architects are getting
paid!
 
During the boom, companies were literally fighting over any engineer just
to 
staff their projects. Huge bonuses were paid, such as free Porsche's as  
signing bonus etc.
 
It costs companies a lot more to hire H1B than local US citizens. First,
the 
company has to prove under the penalty of law that a comparable salary is  
offered, then usually companies pay moving expenses and lawyers expenses.  
Companies were championing like crazy on Capitol Hill to increase the H1B
quota,  
for every engineer they could hire meant Millions of $$ when going to IPO.
You  
can only get an H1B if you have special skills, and get paid exactly what or

more than a US citizen would get paid. I have yet to find an H1B that is  
underpaid for what they do when compared to their immediate US colleagues.
 
What's the reason it's so hard to find good US engineers here? Well, one  
example may be that my public University Engineering school on the  east
coast in 
the 90's had mostly foreigners studying engineering, the US  citizens were 
prevalent in the MBA programs because marketing pays better than
engineering. 
And of the folks in the program 95% were men. The industry, at  least here
in 
Silicon Valley, mostly reflects that.
 
Should we talk about and try to change the reasons why  engineering programs

are not as popular with US Citizens, and Women as  other programs? For sure.
 
So I am not sure why there is still a myth that H1B's are cheap labor, or  
that there are 10's of thousands of qualified unemployed engineers. In my  
experience it's just the opposite. I know many hiring managers that are
looking  
for qualified engineers. Jobs for qualified folks are everywhere here -
again  
look at HotJobs. Then again Silicon Valley is a unique place, and in other 
parts  of the country it may look different. 
 
BTW: there was just a study released that said that more than 30%  of all 
successful start-ups in Silicon Valley are run by Indian immigrants,
creating 
100's of thousands of new jobs, and helping make California the fifth
largest 
economy in the world. I for one would not want those guys to take  their
assets 
and go back to India.
 
What would we do if Ebay where run out of the middle east where the founder

is from?? Or if Sergey moves Google to Moscow?
 
These are my opinions, not my employers.
 
bye,
Said
 
 
 
 
 



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