seeking an engineer

    Right.  No business name, no return address, and you want a
really good engineer to move to a rural area of Pennsylvania.

    And you want J2SE, C/C++, FPGA programming, plus
motor control and electromechanical design.

    I'm actually qualified, but you couldn't afford me.

                John Nagle
                Animats

noone wrote:

Um, you missed the clue:

Phonebook results for 814-467-9060
    Kuchera Defense Systems Inc, (814) 467-9060, 345 Pomroys Dr, Windber,
PA 15963

Mapping it shows a place near Johnstown, PA - purports to be in
business since 1985.

Couple of hours east of Pittsburgh.

Don't know exactly why it's there, but at least Pittsburgh and CMU are
within 2 hours.

Not exactly a hotbed for leading edge robotics (or defense) research, or
an attractive place to live.  Good luck finding a pool of willing talent.

And no range of salary....LOL

Employers need to realize that a good engineer costs money...and his
time is valuable.

Playing twenty questions in regards to a salary range guarantees no
worthwhile applicants.

TMT

Where's the beef? How many job notices do you see in the classifieds or
in the job postings at Web sites have salary ranges? You'll encounter
them for municipal jobs, because they have a variety of EO disclosure
laws to comply with, but private business is not so encumbered.

Many job notices also do not include company names. The use of blind
reply boxes is quite common, especially in competitive industries. The
help wanteds is a classic way for competitors to know where you're
heading. While it doesn't give me a warm feeling the OP used a fake
e-mail address, considering I now get about 650 spams a day, mostly
because of Usenet posts, I can't I blame him (or her).

I don't get you guys. A company is wanting to expand and all you do is
complain that the firm is not advertising the fact to all its
competitors.

PA is not a hotbed for the robotics engineer? Hmmmmm. On the map looks
like this Johnstown, PA is easy driving distance from Pittsburgh. Just
how insignificant is the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon, anyway?

Just so you know: I have no connection with this outfit and I don't know
who you are, but let's not frighten away the very, *very* few employers
that we do manager to get here.

-- Gordon

Urp...who *they* are. We already know all about you, TMT! <g>

-- Gordon

Who...me!?!?! ;<)


I understand your concerns Gordon and I agree with your comments of
encouraging employers....BUT anyone in the industry knows that if you
want a serious prospect you better indicate that you are willing to pay
the going rate....and the exact number is decided in final
negotiations.

Time is money and good employees know what their time is worth without
playing twenty questions with companies fishing without bait.

TMT

I'm not sure looking for a good job is supposed to be neat and easy and
quick. Saying anything more than "salary commensurate with
experience/education" doesn't really get you far, is not common in job
postings, and it's assumed anyway. Frankly, for what they're looking for
I'd ask for more than the going rate. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
It's not like postings for robotics-oriented jobs are a dime a dozen,
you know.

OTOH, I do agree that the absense of any specifics on a worldwide Usenet
group leaves something to be desired. At a minimum the posting should
have indicated the general area and the first name of the person to ask
for.

-- Gordon

posting salary in a usenet search is extremely premature and I don't want
to interview anyone who reduces the opportunity to "how much?" just as I
have no interest in working with recruiters, who on a preliminary contact,
ask me how much I cost.  I want to know the merits of the position
and quality of benefits BEFORE discussing money and I more respect
candidates who share that view. Besides which, as a technical employee
negotiating salaries is outside of my realm of responsibility.



My policy is that I don't post real email addresses on usenet.  The phone
number should be adequate for anyone who shows interest.


I really don't want to get into the whole "where is the cutting edge work
done?" debate because I believe I know the field and arguing with
anonymous folks in an online forum isn't productive.

-regards

Some Usenet etiquette: Quote inline when you're conversing with that
person. It is the written equivalent of a conversion. Not everyone reads
threads from the beginning, and responding to MY message makes it appear
as if you're having the disagreement with me. Respond to the various
replies you received in turn, or post a general response.

As for "anonymous folks," while I don't agree with many of the points
the others made, signing your message with at least your first name
wouldn't have revealed anything. A common courtesy tends to be rewarded
with courtesy.

-- Gordon

Not to press the issue Gorden, but I know that Carnegie Mellon is in the
same state, but to compare that area to say Boston or other hotbeds
would be a major stretch to say the least.  I live within a stones throw
from some major robotics companies outside Boston, iRobot and
Foster-Miller to name a few of the more well known.  As you know we have
our own little university here called MIT.  Unlike other areas with a
major technology university, I wouldn't exactly call Pittsburgh a hotbed
for technology jobs.  If I were looking for a robotics engineering job,
I wouldn't be looking in PA or WV or ND or MT, or many other markets.
There may be one or two robotics companies scattered around in other
places, but to uproot and move a family for a career, you have to worry
about what happens if the company goes under or you lose your job.  I'd
hate to move to a market where there are none to limited other
opportunities within my career focus.  On top of that, personally, you
couldn't pay me enough to move anywhere near Pittsburgh.

Shawn <---- First name! :-)

"Not to press the issue Gorden, but I know that Carnegie Mellon is in
the
same state, but to compare that area to say Boston or other hotbeds
would be a major stretch to say the least.  I live within a stones
throw
from some major robotics companies outside Boston, iRobot and
Foster-Miller to name a few of the more well known.  As you know we
have
our own little university here called MIT.  Unlike other areas with a
major technology university, I wouldn't exactly call Pittsburgh a
hotbed
for technology jobs.  If I were looking for a robotics engineering job,

I wouldn't be looking in PA or WV or ND or MT, or many other markets.
There may be one or two robotics companies scattered around in other
places, but to uproot and move a family for a career, you have to worry

about what happens if the company goes under or you lose your job.  I'd

hate to move to a market where there are none to limited other
opportunities within my career focus.  On top of that, personally, you
couldn't pay me enough to move anywhere near Pittsburgh.

Shawn <---- First name! :-) "

Shawn has it right....if you as a company choose to exist in a remote
market, you need to pay for the risk that employees will take to move
there. Wanna bet that they are trying to replace a senior employee who
has moved on for $greener$ pastures?

Advertising for an experienced employee without showing you are serious
is like fishing without bait...you shouldn't be surprised when you get
no results. The OP listed what the company wanted in great
detail...without noting what they were going to give in return to get
the specialized labor they want.


TMT