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Pro/e contractor questions

Yeah, I think large durable home goods have been taking a big hit due to the housing crash and aren't that strong right now. However, smaller stuff like housewares and small appliances & gadgets might be doing OK. Maybe folks are still working on stuff but they've downsized their projects since they've been downsized.

Consumer & pharmaceutical packaging still seems OK - people still have to eat and bathe and they're not getting any younger. Medical devices are hanging in there and I"m betting they'll end up on top once Obamacare is worked out (or knocked out, which seems possible if he can't get this stimulus albatross worked out)
 
I added those industries to my article. Thanks for the suggestions. I will post when i compile all the industries doing well with what software or technologies that would aid one in obtaining that job. What can a stimulus package actually do. I thought the problem with economy was because consumers are not spending. Stimulus just prolongs problem don't it?

As far as bettering oneself, I thought you guys might enjoy my learning path over the past years...

Add value to your job by over delivering. One can over deliver in an effort to get a job by working smarter and harder. Using tools and telling people about what you did to over deliver at work is not vain. If you don't talk about it no one will know what you did to over deliver. You have to talk yourself up because no one else will!

I am personally always trying to better myself.Below I detail what one can do in order to make themselves indispensable to a manager before you get the pink. Then I detail things we can do after we get the pink slip. After your find yourself laid off.

Me... My record of Improvement?
I always look for ways to better myself. In 1992 my push was to learn telephone tools such as FTP, modems, internet tools.In 1994 my mission was to learn Surfacing. in 1995 my mission was to learn HTML and Perl. In 1996 my mission was to learn Alias Studio. In 1998 my push was to learn CDRS the Evans And Sutherland Surfacing tool used by GM and Ford. (they were using CDRS at Caterpillar Cab group in 1998)In 1999 my mission was to teach Alias Studio. In 1998 my focus was on public speaking so I could present at Pro/E user conferences with confidence. In 2001 I made a push to learn ISDX so to teach it. In 2002 my focus was on learning Maya and Pro/CONCEPT in order to teach. In 2003 I learned Maya well enough to teach a design engine four week comprehensive class. In 2004 I designed plastics classes and made a push to organize so I could teach a two day class. Another year 2005 I learned Pro/CABLE. In 2006 I learn Pro/CABLE well enough to teach it. In 2007 I learned Routed Systems Designer and several Pro/E user presentations and made other preparations to teach that. In 2008 my focus is to hone my training skills. I have not made up my mission yet for 2009 but It is a toss between Pro/NC, Mechanism and ... I am open to suggestion fro my learning path for this year and next.

Each year I give myself a swift kick in the pants (attitude kick) so I can learn something new that will make me more in demand as an instructor.I hope others can take my lead and push themselves each year like me to learn something new at a high level each year. This year I am taking acting and stand up comedy workshops in order to improve my presentation, organization skills.

I'm not sure how to work in the above into my article.. it may get scratched but i am trying to make it read better past this draft and work it in.
Edited by: design-engine
 
Life-Long Learning is paramount - and can be coupled in with the methodology of "invest (in yourself) during a recession" which could segway into a plug for D-E training classes if desired :)


My LLL outline for the past few years has gone something like: Pro/E, Ansys, CFDesign, Fluent, NX, Macroflow, SW, Cosmos, and lately branching out to micro & macro economics...


Perhaps an overview of LLL, and different ways of executing it ("lead by example") would be applicable. Who exactly is your customer for this article? If it is intended for an audience of independant contractors, then I think you would want to offer ways in how to include LLL in your business/professional lifestyle. Perhaps draw parrallels between the "knowledge management" efforts of large corporations and ways to do it proactively on your own. As we all know, corporations lower the rate of a designer on payroll because of all the "perks" - some of which are related to LLL (they claim their effective rate is competitive, right?) So as a contractor, how do I tip the scales more in my favor? And how do I continue to grow my skillset along with the market?


It's already Feb, Bart! What's your 2009 mission?!?!
 
yes. a clear segway into re-training, which is why I write this article. I probably will not tone down the training/retraining part if the article.Ill include links to PTC style of training too... or GD&T training...

People seam surprised when they get laid off from work they should have learned Fluent or Cosmos or Mechanica or Pro/SURFACE to Composites, or die casting or plastics or harness design or how to babysit.I guess that will be my conclusion.

Fluent pays 200+ per hour BTW

Baby sitting pays 15 per hour and less in this economy because there is so much more competition over the past months. After dads that are laid off, mom go babysit.
Edited by: design-engine
 
Heard a lot about consumer trends when I was at the international housewares show recently. Hiving, burrowing, frugality, insperiences are what they were talking about. Another disturbing trend that came up - the he-cession.
 
I can only do the houswares show every other year.burrowing... Guess we can take it out of context. What products fall under burrowing?

Burrowing denotes digging in and making your house ready for habitation.

Washing machine, blender, iron... anything that can sell at the housewares show.Im in Sarasota for the weekend BTW
Edited by: design-engine
 
Whirlpool (cooking division) started shifting some of the design work to contractors. The only problem with that was the contractors were firms in India and Brazil. Global giants like Whirlpool still can't seem to resist the siren song of outsourcing to cut costs. All things being equal, I can understand the attraction. However in the short duration I was a contractor at Whirlpool I found that communication offered a serious contribution to the cost of design, working in several languages simply compounds the problem. I didn't mean to hijack the topic of the thread, sorry if I did. My point was that large global companies like Whirlpool may not be the best choice for a contractor during these difficult times as theymay beinclined to send design workoffshorewithout notice. Just something you should keep in mind.
 
the bean counters make that call and they typically have not the design innovation buzz.

80 percent of the companies I track end up doing much of the work over once it's received from overseas.
 
design-engine said:
80 percent of the companies I track end up doing much of the work over once it's received from overseas.
Click to expand...





-Information filters only allow a lateral or downstream pass? Must be like selective hearing. I sure don't mean to slam anybody but design isn't the only field this occurs in. Rant over, I feel better now.
 
DrWily55


Contract Engineer Weekly is a good source for finding jobs and contract agencies around the country. You can get a freemembership or a paid subscription. The paid subscription provides you with the weekly report and the additional communication processes.You can post your resume and(probably) speed up the process of getting work. I am not contracting, but use this as a reference for where work is happening, primarilyin the US (some overseas assignments advertised). Just in case, I have a tool to market myself quickly. Check out the web site to see what they have to offer.


http://www.ceweekly.com/


Best of luck,


WillyT
 
just want to hear from all the contractors out there. how things are fairing in your area. midwest seems busy and there are a few jobs out there
 
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