Help me find a job in the Bay Area!

methods

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Joined
Aug 8, 2008
Messages
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Location
Santa Cruz CA
I am currently located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This is about 20 minutes away from silicon valley.... aka the San Francisco Bay Area

After much thought I have decided to go back into the work force for 5 or 10 years. Rather than starting to spam out my resume - it seems logical that of the thousands of members here 5 or 10 of them probably have connections locally... so I am asking for someone to do an introduction for me. Pass on my resume - that sort of thing.

I have a BSEET from DeVry University (4.0 Valedictorian)
I have an MSEE from Stanford University
I have 10 years experience working at a National Laboratory (Sandia, managed by Lockheed martin)
I have 5 years experience running every aspect of a small business

That is just my list of "meal tickets" - my real experience (and value) is all the time I have spent developing my hobbies. I consider my self a "generalist who specializes" - meaning I am a polytechnic - I know many, many different trades - but not just at the surface. I have both breadth and depth - as I throw myself into each new venture completely.

My greatest skill is probably developing LabView systems.... test systems, data gathering and display, you name it. There is nothing that I can not build using Labview and NI parts.

So - here are a list of cities that your friends or colleges may work at. I can commute to any of these places.

Santa Cruz
Santa Clara
San Jose
Palo Alto
Mountain View
Sunnyvale
Milpitas
Campbell
Los Gatos
Almaden
Morgan Hill
Fremont
Union City

I am totally open to ideas. I can work full time, part time, contract, or consult. I make enough doing what I am doing now to eat - so I dont fall into the 99% that need a "full time job with benefits". In reality - I dont really want to work full time. Part time would be a dream - even one day a week :wink: All the same to me.

The truth of the truth is that making enough money to take care of my wife and kids via my small business is just too time consuming and stressful. Most of what I do does not leverage my skills and abilities... it is almost all customer support, shipping, procurement, production, etc. My real skills are R&D and problem solving.

Yea - so you know me. I am a bit of a mad man... not the guy who is going to show up in a pressed suit. I am looking for *real work* with a *real* group of people. T-Shirt kind of people.

If you think you can help please let me know and I will pass along my (pretty out of the box) resume.

thanks,
-methods
 
It might help to post your résumé online and put a link to it here... Just sayin' :D
 
Hope you find something. Just letting you know that Silicon Valley's tech employment numbers have been declining over the last couple of decades and the USA's recent real gdp decline hasn't been nice to everyone, especially the more highly paid workers, if that might help you in searching for somewhere that's possibly more promising. It seems Texas's technology scene has been growing (Dallas, Austin).
 
i took a year off after i got my masters working on my house and had the same problem of no contacts when i wanted to work full time. interviewed off the street at intel and techtronix and got no offers which in retrospect was the best thing that coulda happened since i woulda hated working at intel.

i had to go back to grad school in EE to get exposure and the exit interview that is the only way to go into the mainstream jobs that open up. you wanna consider going back to school and be able to schedule an interview while in grad school. that will put you in their main hiring track for the Personnel Relations people who schedule the interviews at school or bring you in for the show and tell.

don't sidetrack yourself into sidelines work, go for something that will make a difference. if i were you i woulda already been trying to join the stanford group working on the polysilicon nanotech anodes. groups like that are where you should be, not diddling away on this stuff. jmho.

for geezers like me it is ok to waste my time learning electronics by braille, but you are still young and have 30 years left to get stuff done. go do it.
 
With your experience I would try to find work as a Semiconductor Test Engineer.
Basically after chips are made they are completely measured and tested on an automated
tester. This to separate out the duds before packaging. The automated tester is programmed
by the Test Engineer. The program in the tester sets the chip in all kinds of modes, applies analog
and digital signals to the chip, measures the response and does post-processing, all to see
whether the chip functions correctly and is on spec.
It is all very similar to what you can do with Labview and the NI stuff, but AFAIK it;s not
graphical but lines of code type programming.
Allthe semiconductor manufacturers need test engineers and AFAIK there are many openings.
 
Lebowski said:
It is all very similar to what you can do with Labview and the NI stuff, but AFAIK it;s not
graphical but lines of code type programming.
Allthe semiconductor manufacturers need test engineers and AFAIK there are many openings.

Cool, there's a few major semiconductor manufacturers in Portland, Oregon. The so-called 'Silicon Forest'.
 
When ever I was hard up for work, I dumbed-down my resume and went back into construction. I used to have a friend in construction in the bay area, but he is in Ohio now...sorry.
 
^funny :lol:

I've used LinkedIn to build contacts, to pals, and associates. You'd be surprised how this can advance the options by connecting to other peoples' connections. I have most of my job experience posted there. The only job board I use anymore is Dice.com and even then I still had to write a cover letter to recruiters to knock back the majority of idiots that can't read qualifications and location preferences.

Good hunting, KF
 
Well you could be like me who can't find a job and spend most of your day online actively participating in 5 different rewards sites earning points to put towards gift cards, paypal money and I believe one of them even lets you redeem points for cash. I've made the equivalent of a couple hundred dollars in a month and a half. If you have a lot of friends and family your earning potential goes way up due to referrals, that is of course if your friends and family actively participate.
 
Methods,
Forget about getting a job. God put you on this planet to help the electric bicycle community. Electric bicycles are fun. If you get a job you might wind up working for the military. All the smart guys I know are building weapons designed to kill people.

I looked at your web site and saw pictures of wires that look like spaghetti. Pretend that you have no knowledge of electricity and re do your web site. Start with parallel and series. Then look at Hobby King and tell us what batteries and charger to buy. I would like to see some simple drawings explaining how batteries are wired together. I use http://www.deltacad.com/ Easy to learn CAD program. CAD is Computer Aided Design. I see lots of LETTERS on your web site. LVC/HVC is Low Voltage Cutoff / High Voltage Cutoff. Hire a electrical idiot who is good with art, words, and web site building to help you redo your web site. KISS is Keep It Simple, Stupid. Good luck!

If you need extra money get a job delivering pizza or tell the wife to get a job.
 
marty said:
Methods,
Forget about getting a job. God put you on this planet to help the electric bicycle community. Electric bicycles are fun. If you get a job you might wind up working for the military. All the smart guys I know are building weapons designed to kill people.

I looked at your web site and saw pictures of wires that look like spaghetti. Pretend that you have no knowledge of electricity and re do your web site. Start with parallel and series. Then look at Hobby King and tell us what batteries and charger to buy. I would like to see some simple drawings explaining how batteries are wired together. I use http://www.deltacad.com/ Easy to learn CAD program. CAD is Computer Aided Design. I see lots of LETTERS on your web site. LVC/HVC is Low Voltage Cutoff / High Voltage Cutoff. Hire a electrical idiot who is good with art, words, and web site building to help you redo your web site. KISS is Keep It Simple, Stupid. Good luck!

If you need extra money get a job delivering pizza or tell the wife to get a job.

This shows how to wire battery cells together for best results.

http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=28285&hilit=makita+building#p407778
 
I purposely do not include information that is at that level because all it tends to do is get a guy who is "not ready" in over his head. I wait until guys have figured all that out, understand what they want and need, then they can buy my stuff. One thing that folks who do not run a small business do not understand... is how bad of an idea it is to get "more customers". Dipping into the range of noob customers means ENDLESS customer support. As soon as you sell a guy something - even a small widget- it is like he thinks you are now responsible for the success of his entire project. Calls and emails, calls and emails, calls and emails. This eats time like crazy and really can sink the boat. With 5 customers it is fine. With 50 customers it is debilitating. With 500 customers it is totally impossible.

I try to filter my customers to only the DIY type of guys who like solving problems. This way I can just *help* a guy solve his own problem - and he learns something in the process. The newer folks who still need real hands on help - they can either buy a kit battery as their first run - or spend a little more time researching on the forums.

So... if my information always seems a little cryptic... or spread out... or not as clear as it could be.... there is a reason for that :wink: Only the folks who are smart, motivated, and savvy slip through the filter and I have a much easier time with customer support.

-methods
 
I can barely understand some of the lipo wiring setups I see on ES and I am an et. :)

Yet I can understand Dr. Bass and dr angel threads about building your own pack from cells and do it.

I would send a newbee to the Dr. Bass thread or dr angel thread before I would send him to a rc lipo wiring thread.
 
I would NEVER go back to work for the Government again. Building weapons of mass distraction is a cowards job. Making money off of fear and violence. Never again. All that patriotic bullshit about protecting your country... right... we are the biggest bullies on the planet. They got me when I was young and dumb and wanting to make a lot of money.

I am older and wiser now. Not so wise that I wont spew things like what I just wrote above... but wise enough not to let money blur my vision. I am going to take a job where I make the world a better place - not empower psychopaths in congress with nuclear falluses that they can thrust at the rest of the world to stroke their own ego's.

:mrgreen:

Sorry for the mini-rant. Spent 10 years of my life doing the wrong thing and I have a strong emotional reaction to it now.

Non violence - that is the only principle that must be lived by
Treating all people of the world with kindness and respect
Only fighting to defend - never to offend - never preemptively

I have a son now so it is so much more obvious to me that I have to live by my principles - even if it means living poor.

-methods
 
methods said:
not the guy who is going to show up in a pressed suit. I am looking for *real work* with a *real* group of people. T-Shirt kind of people.

You tried both big (Sandia) and small (your own business). How about medium? Startups or small companies with 5-25 people are less bogged down by administrators and lawyers. Usually high creativity = high reward, but can be high stress.

Another alternative is to be a lab tech for a university research group. Lower paid and lower stress. Projects can be interesting if you find a good match. EE, MechE, etc tend to try to find people from their own student ranks, but physics, medicine and many other departments need practically minded EE's to build their experimental labs. Another advantage is that as a university lab tech once you're in, if you find the project boring, it is usually easy to jump to another project. Some universities even have projects like building electric cars or other environmental transportation research.
 
Nothing worse than working for someone else making money for them. Invent something that requires no customer support that everyone needs and go for the big time. JOB = Just Over Broke because those at the top make all the money.
 
I agree with you John but the trouble is that I painted myself into a corner. I have all the things I need to survive a global financial collapse but I have lost the resources I need to make the kind of leap you are talking about. Even at the lowest level... I am working in a converted greenhouse. It is over 100F in there today - I cant work like that. My cash reserves are shot. I owe a few of my respected friends money. My wife is unsatisfied. My creative mojo is salted day after day by the toils and bullshit of farm life - leaking roof, broken toilet, unfinished extension, needy family, fire hazards, well pumps, water tanks, crazy parents, deferred maintenance, rusted and broken tools, low moral, physical isolation, etc, etc.

I believe that nothing in life works like a step function.... there is no such thing as being on a flat line, then stepping up to a new level. Everything works like a sinusoidal... before any big increase in amplitude there must be a corresponding decrease.... I have to hit bottom - crash through it - to blast off through the ceiling.

I have learned what I need to learn down here - time to drop a little lower so that I can take off.

This time I know what to do with the cash... and I am in a position to make a lot of cash. My cost of living is less than most people spend on expensive wine... and my wife likes to save... so all I have to do is take a killer job - stash the cash - buy the tools - beat the financial collapse - and 10 years from now I am going to start over - on a whole new level.

Long term plan brother.

-methods
 
I understand completely. If I was in the Pacific Northwest I'd be a farmer now that the best cash crop is legal. With only potheads as competition success is virtually guaranteed. :mrgreen:
 
it is not legal to grow it. the prices of pot here now is so low from so many people with grows that there is almost no money in it.

already the ozs are $175 on the street and lbs for $1200 if you know the right people. but it is illegal to grow without a provider's card. and then only 6 people you can provide for and the sales have to be at cost, which is considered to be $60/oz. for sense.!!!!
 
Actually you would be surprised... Just 10 years ago that cash crop really was a cash crop. My neighbors would grow $20k worth and just drive it down to LA. Easy Cheezy. From what little I have seen now (I am not involved in the scene but living in Santa Cruz it is just another profession and spoken of openly) the value of product has dropped by a factor of 4. So many guys are growing in their back yard, in greenhouses, under lights, hydro, etc that the market is just flooded. Only people who can grow constantly large batches of the highest quality product make money.

The cost of rent, electricity, equipment, security, bug control, etc causes most folks to just break even... further flooding the market as people get desperate to recoup losses. Craigslist is swamped with used grow equipment - really advanced stuff.

At the end of the day the feds can kick your door in, take your guns, take your product, and take you to Jail. Factoring in that risk makes it a losing proposition for most business men I suspect.

-methods
 
methods said:
I agree with you John but the trouble is that I painted myself into a corner. I have all the things I need to survive a global financial collapse but I have lost the resources I need to make the kind of leap you are talking about. Even at the lowest level... I am working in a converted greenhouse. It is over 100F in there today - I cant work like that. My cash reserves are shot. I owe a few of my respected friends money. My wife is unsatisfied. My creative mojo is salted day after day by the toils and bullshit of farm life - leaking roof, broken toilet, unfinished extension, needy family, fire hazards, well pumps, water tanks, crazy parents, deferred maintenance, rusted and broken tools, low moral, physical isolation, etc, etc.

I believe that nothing in life works like a step function.... there is no such thing as being on a flat line, then stepping up to a new level. Everything works like a sinusoidal... before any big increase in amplitude there must be a corresponding decrease.... I have to hit bottom - crash through it - to blast off through the ceiling.

I have learned what I need to learn down here - time to drop a little lower so that I can take off.

This time I know what to do with the cash... and I am in a position to make a lot of cash. My cost of living is less than most people spend on expensive wine... and my wife likes to save... so all I have to do is take a killer job - stash the cash - buy the tools - beat the financial collapse - and 10 years from now I am going to start over - on a whole new level.

Long term plan brother.

-methods

the isolation is why you are stuck thinking this way. you are still young and can really help a lot of different people with the skills you have. i don't know why everyone runs down the job because i found the work i did while working for H-P to be the most challenging and rewarding thing i ever did. more than i ever expected i could achieve when i got inspired to go back into the real world on my way back from vietnam that trip. there are so many start up opportunities you just have to go looking in the right places. by being so isolated from what is happening it makes it seem unobtainable.

like i said i consider the stanford group working on the nanotube polysilicon anodes to be the spot. they already have a start up making the cellphone batteries but i prefer to research if i could, but that is more likely to happen if you are already on the inside track in a research program in grad school at stanford.

to meet people, go to the conferences, read up on stuff you are interested in working on and go meet the people who are doing it. when i burned out and was considering going back to school in petroleum geology, i started going to these fancy industry conferences in denver to get a feel for the business and what i could do. even though they have the $2000 charge to attend, i found it easy to just walk in and sit through the lectures and walk around the convention center talking to all these guys who were presenting papers. i had done the same thing when i decided i wanted to get into the semiconductor manufacturing business.

i went to conferences and lectures and learned alot about what areas were current and people were working in and i focused on that when reading in the library so when i found the development group at H-P had built a facility and the paper i was reading was from that group right there in ft collins, i made it a point to go interview with them and got picked up as a summer hire as they released the manufacturing process and i ended up being in the right place at the right time.

to me that is the only way to get back into the mainstream when you have gotten so far away from the main hiring track which is always right out of the exit interview at the school.

stanford is the place i think you should focus on. it was my last choice when i decided to got back to grad school on the spur of the moment. first was CSU because of dave ferry and the hot electron effects he was pioneering research on, then arizona state had the microelectronics institute, and then last was stanford. but i never got beyond the interview with dave ferry and it turned out to be the best for me. i would hate arizona and california, plus working for dave packard was the greatest thing i think i will ever do. whatta giant.
 
What happens if there is no collapse of finance

How about one case
Charger and battery and controller and ssc in one
Use 18650 with pressure contacts
888USD
 
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