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Court Settlement in Favor of Mission Valley Mobile-Home Owners
Your original story link doesn't work when I clicked it.— June 2, 2011 7:44 a.m.
The Walls Are Closing In
That doesn't sound like ingratitude to me. I re-read it and it just sounds like a desire to explore a bit. Perfectly normal. I too graduated from SDSU in 1984, but it took me 9 years after high school before I enrolled. Before that, I had gone to auto mechanic's trade school, worked paycheck to paycheck, lived in apartments, joined the Army, (for the GI Bill benefits). Only then was I able to start SDSU. I agree with the writer's feeling of ennui (see, I graduated). He, or she, doesn't need to go far, just away from home. I wish them well. But don't give up on that degree, especially from SDSU. I got my best job, with travel, 15 years after college. And I wouldn't have gotten it without the degree. I suppose, if my parents had lived in San Diego county instead of Michigan, I might have gotten it a bit sooner, while living at home.— May 26, 2011 5:27 a.m.
Planning Commission Unanimously Approves "Granny Flats" But Are "Granny Flats" Just Code For Condos and Mini-Dorms
I lived in a Huffplex (my name) for a year while attending San Diego State. It was cheap and relatively close to school. I learned, after moving in, that at some time in the past, the city had allowed apartments to be built where there was once a single home, albeit a decent sized one. I was told that city ordinances required that any apartment with 12 units or more required a resident manager. So, this builder, named Huffman (he left 'built by Huffman' stickers inside all the bathroom cabinets) went to all the homeowners in the area and offered to build an 11 unit apartment building on their lot, if they were willing to demolish their house. Low and behold, the neighborhood became crowded and unattractive. I may have been willing to rent there (once), but I swore I would never buy in those areas. Parking is atrocious, stray animals and stray people roam the streets; just plain unattractive. And if you let these places be built in your neighborhood, your property values will drop. I guarantee it. Like filling your street with a bunch of ironwork covered windows and doors. This sounds like the same thing.— May 26, 2011 4:45 a.m.
U-T Employees Restive Again -- Understandably
"Foxfire" review today. Not exactly 'exiting' theater. And that's in the headline. Jeez. I have a spelling checker, It came with my PC. It clearly marks for my revue, mistakes I cannot sea. I ran this poem threw it, I'm shore your pleas to no, Its letter perfect in it's weigh, my checker tolled me sew.— March 26, 2011 8:24 a.m.
Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
I would like to know the exact work title of Pellis. If he (or she) is a line engineer, a working design engineer, that was hired by Qualcomm in an engineering interview, then he has credibility. But if he is a 'manager', or a person working in HR, or anyplace else besides design engineering, his word is questionable. Anecdote time here. I worked for a small, woman owned, aerospace contracting firm, in San Diego, for 11 years. I was hired by them right out of SDSU, with my BS in electrical engineering, from a campus interview. By the mid 1990's it was obvious the business was shrinking. I was let go in 1995, along with both of my supervisors. All three of us let go on the same day. Ahh, but there's the catch. They were 'engineering managers', not just 'engineers'. They both got jobs with Qualcomm. I couldn't even get an interview. One of them even told me he didn't have to know anything about the technology he was being hired to manage. Seriously. I meandered around San Diego, getting part time jobs, going for interviews. My BSEE degree might have gotten me in a few doors, but without specific experience designing the specific items the companies interviewed me for, I was sunk. I finally got a job up north working my physical butt off as a field engineer, sort of a glorified technician. But that turned out to be a good thing. I now have 12 years in the electrical power service industry, and I love it. I moved back to San Diego 2 years ago. I work for a large, international company. But I work out of my house. I do not need to work for a San Diego company to live here, now. I've read so much about the H-1B over the years. I know it's a corporate scam. If Qualcomm worked with our local engineering schools (SDSU, UCSD, USD) providing internships for engineering students, they could get just as many quality engineers as their Indian agencies. But why bother. Probably not cost effective. A final anecdote; when I was having a hard time finding a job in San Diego, I wrote my then US Representative, complaining about all the H-1B visas, outlining my citizenship, my tour of duty in the US Army, my self-financed degree from SDSU (with the $342 a month help from the GI Bill), and part-time student work at NAS North Island. His office wrote back and literally said the Congressman was 'not interested' in the subject of my letter. Guess who that Congressman was. Right, good ol' Duke Cunningham. I still break into a big grin whenever I think of him rotting in prison. Kepp up the Good writing Don. I love your stuff.— March 10, 2011 8:10 p.m.
Comparatively, Tech Workers Haul in Bucks in San Diego
I am an electrical engineering graduate from SDSU (1984). For years I worked locally in the military contracting industry. When that field dried up (co-workers were fighting each other for temp jobs, without benefits, that had paid them twice as much five years before) I tried to migrate into private industry. I did soon realize that foreign competition was keeping wages down. I have belonged to the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) since college. They have an employment advertising secion of their magazine, which specifically rejects job offers designed to enable H-1B visas. That is, employers write employment ads with specific field knowledge and class training almost impossible to meet. When no U.S. candidate meets the very stringent and specific requirements of the ad, for a couple of months, the company petitions our government to allow a foreign candidate that they miraculously found has the exact item knowledge and class training in the ad, to get an H-1B visa. I eventually found an engineering field that fits my skillset. Field engineering, that is. Like a mechanic, I have to work with my hands, and my brain. Ironically, I've found, that many foreign born engineers are either not able to work with, or are unwilling to, get their hands dirty. Now I don't worry about an excess amount of foreign competition, and I get to solve problems constantly (that's what engineers do, they solve problems), and I get paid well. Lastly, I don't like to pick on all foreign born engineers, just the ones with training outside the US or Europe. I defy those foreign schools to match my university education. I had to take numerous courses in college meant to broaden my learning experience (like psychology, history of art, music appreciation, the hispanic diaspora, women in film, ect.) I actually enjoyed those classes. I had many fellow students from other countries . I had no problem working with them after college, or competing with them for jobs. I think such a broad education like that should qualify anyone, foreign or U.S. born, for a U.S. based job. Just cut back hiring foreign tech workers with foreign credentials. My solution would be to REQUIRE engineering licensing, much like medical licensing, for foreign tech professionals to get their H-1B visas. Let a recognized agency certify their education, and broad skills, obtained elsewhere, to get a job here. That PE exam is a killer.— January 8, 2011 7:36 a.m.