浮躁一下：美国人心目中的工程师

希望您的下一代当电子工程师吗？

  我们常听EETimes的电子工程师读者聊到，他们打算阻止自己的子女未来从事相同职业，这其中理由有很多种，但大多数人的结论是，在全球化的趋势下，当工程师几乎不可能成就一番大事业，也越来越难糊口。

  这真是很悲哀……其中一个可能导致的结果，是让大量人才转向投入金融服务等非生产性的职业，我想大家都知道那些行业是怎么运作的。有太多太多只关心自家公司股价的科技业者，也必须为此负责，他们根本不在乎创新。

  科技产业界还有一个肮脏的小秘密，那就是将工程师职缺外移，仍然是推升公司股价的一个非常好的方法；我们有充分的理由能指控，这些短期收益、每季财报，就是扼杀美国科技业创新、以及扼杀美国向来自豪之工程领域专业地位的元凶。

  我们希望有另一种解决之道。

  在最近发行的、一部访问当初打造登月航天飞机阿波罗号(Apollo)工程师的纪录片里，一位名叫George Phelps的北美航空(North American Aviation)工程师，回顾了当初为运载火箭土星五号(Saturn V)第二级(second stage)削减过多重量的、看似不可能的任务。

  该种火箭推进器会将航天员推向地球轨道，内含两个庞大的燃料储存槽；为了削减其重量，北美航空的工程师研发了一种非常薄却很强韧的、两个燃料槽之间的“共同舱壁(common bulkhead)”，有效地分隔了两槽中分别以不同温度所储存的液态氢与液态氧。

  根据Phelps的回忆，为开发以上解决方案，众工程师牺牲了很多睡眠时间，但他眼神发亮地补充：“这是我们曾经解决过的最困难问题，但我们成功了，因为工程师就是无所不能！”

这个阿波罗航天飞机的故事一直深植我心；在最近EETimes美国版最近进行2010年版的工程师薪资与意见调查时，我们还特别询问受访读者，那些电子工程领域对下一代的工程师来说是最具发展潜力的？例如，电子设计的实际创造力，是在软件而非硬件部分吗？

  相信以上的调查结果，将对有意投身工程师职业的莘莘学子们提供指导；也希望我们能为这些孩子们指引正确的方向。
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                                 以下是原文
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Engineering: The next generation

by George Leopold

We often hear from readers who are engineers that they try to dissuade sons and daughters from entering the profession. Their reasons vary, but most have reached the conclusion that globalization has made it impossible to build a career, much less make a living, as an engineer.

This is a sad state of affairs. One result is that too much talent has been diverted to unproductive pursuits like financial services. We all know how that turned out.

Too many technology companies have responded to this situation by focusing on their stock price, giving innovation short shrift. One of the industry’s dirty little secrets is that shipping engineering jobs overseas remains a great way to boost a company's stock price. We could make a strong case that short-term gain, quarterly financial results, have killed American innovation, and with it, the proud engineering profession.

We prefer another approach.

In a recent documentary on the men and woman who built the Apollo moon rocket, a North American Aviation engineer named George Phelps described the seemingly insurmountable problem of shaving still more weight from the Saturn V’s second stage. That booster, which would kick astronauts into Earth orbit, contained two enormous fuel tanks. To cut weight, North American engineers invented a remarkably thin but strong “common bulkhead” between the two tanks, effectively separating volatile liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen stored at vastly different temperatures.

Phelps admitted that much sleep was lost coming up with this weight-saving solution. He added, with a twinkle in his eye, “That was the most difficult problem that we had to solve. But we did it, because engineers can just about do anything.”

Amen.

With the Apollo example in mind, and as we compile the 2010 edition of our annual salary and opinion survey, we ask readers what areas of electronics engineering hold the most promise for the next generation of engineers? For example, does the real creativity in electronic design reside in software rather than hardware?

Your responses also will help guide students who will be attending this weekend’s USA Science and Technology Festival on the National Mall in Washington. These kids have great ideas. Let’s point them in the right direction.

我想到美国去做技术咧

不过没技术。。。呵