Freelance Engineers
Freelance Engineers
(OP)
I was reading an article earlier about the increasing need in industry for freelance engineers. In other words, companies hiring people with the right engineering skills on a temporary basis to help with specific projects.
Have you personally encountered a need for freelance engineers? and if so, what kind of work/services do you think would be in high demand? (any field of engineering welcome). Likewise, can you think of any challenges with this as we look ahead?
Have you personally encountered a need for freelance engineers? and if so, what kind of work/services do you think would be in high demand? (any field of engineering welcome). Likewise, can you think of any challenges with this as we look ahead?
RE: Freelance Engineers
Need freelance engineers to keep consultants honest.
RE: Freelance Engineers
RE: Freelance Engineers
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
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RE: Freelance Engineers
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Freelance Engineers
Avionics systems engineer (start with an electrical engineer, then show them what an airplane looks like with the floor boards removed).
hiring people with the right engineering skills on a temporary basis to help with specific projects.
Yes, I've done that. Mixed results. Some freelancers have only done "X" for their entire illustrious career, so if you ask them to do "V", which is the step that comes before "X", smoke comes out of their ears. Some freelancers didn't benefit from a mentor that taught them how to write a decent structures report, so you get a mess ("uh, what load case is being solved on this page?"). Some freelancers are accustomed to waving smoke and mirrors, which makes for interesting meetings when you call them out on their BS.
I'm not against the practice, I just haven't had much success with it, myself. My previous employer hired mostly temp engineers, even juniors straight out of school. They didn't get training, they didn't get mentoring, and they didn't get told what was going on around them. I was permanent, and the advantages I was getting didn't seem fair. It looked like an abuse to me. I left, for different reasons, but this is one of the reasons I didn't look back.
RE: Freelance Engineers
Even within this industry I have hired contractors for projects. Some amount of contractor usage allows me to cut out the worst of the highs and lows of availability swings and keep from having too many people sitting on the bench waiting for work.
We work across many industries, my current company focuses on product development in aerospace and medical with exposure to telecom, industrial, consumer products and others.
Done correctly our engineers get exposure to all phases of product development and many different industries/products/companies/etc. Done incorrectly you end up with people so pigeonholed in specific work you get Sparweb's experience.
RE: Freelance Engineers
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Freelance Engineers
Freelance engineers often have a strong background in engineering, with a bachelor's or master's degree in engineering or a related field. They may also have additional certifications or licenses, depending on their area of expertise and the requirements of their clients.
https://agnisolar.com/