The EEVblog is Hiring

[EEVblog]

As the title says, Sydney only:
http://www.eevblog.com/files/EEVblogJobDescription.pdf

[PA0PBZ]

But even taking out the rubbish at the EEVblog can be an adventure

 -and -

Any of the following skills are desirable
...
...
Dumpster Diving

I love it 

[dr.diesel]

" I’m interested in what you have done, not what your grades are."

Good man.  I've been hiring based on the above for a long time, has served me well.

[deephaven]

Are you going to record the interviews? Would be a great resource of the do's and don'ts of taking an interview.
 

[EEVblog]

Are you going to record the interviews? Would be a great resource of the do's and don'ts of taking an interview.

I gave that a moments thought but realised it would end up too reality TV show like crappy.

[Yago]

Looks to be a good opportunity for someone to learn a broad range of skills.
Look forward to it Dave.

I'll bet an intense debate on the forum of the Marmite (VeggyMite?) factor, "Love or Hate" the new person!
To be on the safe side,  be on the look out for a mixed-race hermaphrodite!
"Lord, Lord, Lord, Loorrrddd"

[Excavatoree]

I'd reconsider the "taking out the rubbish" duty.

"So, employee, was there anything in the garbage room today?"
"Uh, no, Mr. Jones, nothing today."
<employee has just loaded two file severs, and a killer Marc Vincent amp into his vehicle>

Wages are xx per hour, and all you can take from the garbage room.

[TheEnd]

"The Amprentice"

[Yago]

Still, joking aside, I would have killed for a chance like this when I was a young-un.
So many companies wanted to put you in a box and perform a fixed few functions.

Dave is a great teacher and has so much experience to pass on too.

[SeanB]

Do not hire Douglas Rain, or he will eject you from the pod bay door................

[IanJ]

Hi all,

If I was in Sydney I would have considered helping out Dave a day or two a week...........just for the fun of it and to be part of his fantastic blog.
Dave's shop and daily routines (i.e. doing anything and everything) so much remind me of my last workplace.................sigh!

Good luck Dave.

Ian.

[JWoodrell]

the Email link ounces back with
"<<< 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist. Please try
<<< 550-5.1.1 double-checking the recipient's email address for typos or
<<< 550-5.1.1 unnecessary spaces."


I would drop my hat in the for the 3D cad modeling help.  it would be over the net only as I am in the USA. but I consider myself fluent in solid works.

[fubar.gr]

I read the PDF and went 

These are enough requirements and responsibilities to keep at least 3 people busy.

I think the working hours and responsibilities should be more well defined, else this has the propensity to go sour for both parties really quickly.

[Mr Smiley]

Reading the PDF, it looks like Dave needs someone to fill in his missing capabilities 

This COULD mean projects are started AND FINISHED 

 

[pickle9000]

The definition of a good employee / engineer:

Stupid enough to say "Ya, I can do that" and smart enough to do it.

[German_EE]

Maybe that C5 will finally get back on the road.

[IanJ]

I read the PDF and went 

These are enough requirements and responsibilities to keep at least 3 people busy.

I think the working hours and responsibilities should be more well defined, else this has the propensity to go sour for both parties really quickly.

I disagree, I think Dave has outlined exactly the type of person and duties he wants..........with emphasis on the former.
Dave will probably get a good idea of the right person at interview, but more than that will certainly know when they are not right for the job.

Ian.

[Galenbo]

Put a camper next to the lab and buy me a plane ticket.
That's all I need :-)

[firewalker]

A student forth-filling all the criteria is hard to accept the job.

Alexander.

[retrolefty]

Does anyone feel one must be crazy to work for a Boss that owns and uses such a large knife? 

[Riotpack]

This is awesome news!

[tautech]

The fun will be sorting the CV's and making a short list.
It will be very interesting as to the skill level available to match your requirements. Good luck.
Will you interveiw alone or have an inpartial acquaintance present?

[RobertoLG]

EEVjobs now? 

[microbug]

Hmm... may be difficult to find someone in Sydney. I'd apply if I didn't live on the wrong side of the world.

[Howardlong]

I'd have give me right arm for an opportunity like that when I was a teenager/student 35 years ago. Already I was designing and making my own computers and video boards from scratch, doing machine code programming etc by the age of 13, but I was doing it on such a shoestring.

The jobs I ended up getting while I was still in education were skill free, mostly envelope stuffing, pulling pints etc. The closest I got to something vocational was working in a factory stores dept, where I was treated like a piece of shit by the engineers, despite me knowing plenty more than all of their recently recruited graduate employees. At least I knew one end of a soldering iron from the other, and one end of an oscillosopbe probe from the other, unlike many of the graduates. The worst was a pointy head who always demanded to be addressed with his Doctor prefix, if only he knew.

My favourite jobs have always been where I get to have a go at everything, from the mundane to the technically brain hurting. Still do that today, from doing the daily trip to the Post Office to debugging the newest bleeding edge silicon. And I still put out the garbage, it's what you do when you work for yourself.

[kc9qvl]

Well read the job description. Required skill set is excessive for a junior engineer/lab assistant. The requirements are for well rounded engineer.  Dave wants someone that can do what he can do. Not realistic in a helper.

[Tinkerer]

Well read the job description. Required skill set is excessive for a junior engineer/lab assistant. The requirements are for well rounded engineer.  Dave wants someone that can do what he can do. Not realistic in a helper.

This is my thought but with a caveat. There are a few gifted younger people out there that would kill to get a spot like this. The candidate pool will be rather small though. Besides, I am sure Dave isnt going to ridgedly stick to his list. If the person can show him that they are up and coming, he would likely let them grow into the position.

[miguelvp]

I read the PDF and went 

These are enough requirements and responsibilities to keep at least 3 people busy.

I think the working hours and responsibilities should be more well defined, else this has the propensity to go sour for both parties really quickly.

I don't know why do you think it will keep 3 people busy, doesn't seem like a lot of work to me.
Plus flexible hours is nice, since he is looking for someone that might be at UNI.

There used to be apprentices that will have stringent time schedules and will earn nothing other than learn the trade. Now we have interns that get paid

[EEVblog]

Well read the job description. Required skill set is excessive for a junior engineer/lab assistant. The requirements are for well rounded engineer.  Dave wants someone that can do what he can do. Not realistic in a helper.

Not so. I didn't say they had to have a high level experience, hence the junior title.
Any hobbyist worth their salt can do all that stuff.

[EEVblog]

This is my thought but with a caveat. There are a few gifted younger people out there that would kill to get a spot like this. The candidate pool will be rather small though. Besides, I am sure Dave isnt going to ridgedly stick to his list. If the person can show him that they are up and coming, he would likely let them grow into the position.

Of course, which is why I said the role is expected to be quite fluid based on your skillset.

[pickle9000]

So was I right is this what you are looking for?

The definition of a good employee / engineer:

Stupid enough to say "Ya, I can do that" and smart enough to do it.

[Riotpack]

I guess they may not be able to do all of that at a high level, but a requirement would be the ability to absorb and have the intuition to further understand concepts.

[Smokey]

Why settle for some widlarizer knockoff when you can have..... THE Widlarizer!



Good luck on the search for a helper monkey. 
The BIG question is.... Do they get access to the lab "after hours" so they can use all the gear you've been accumulating?

[george graves]

Well read the job description. Required skill set is excessive for a junior engineer/lab assistant. The requirements are for well rounded engineer.  Dave wants someone that can do what he can do. Not realistic in a helper.

And."....but doesn’t pay much"   

Sorry Dave.  You get negative points for that.  You should know that the skills you want should be paid well for. I can't speak for everyone, but I think that's kinda a slap in the face.

Reminds me of when Hack-a-day wanted to hire someone full time to make videos and pay them for only $30k a year.

Shame, shame, shame.

 

[Riotpack]

The thing is if the employee is allowed to use the workshop after hours and then they have an accident the employer would be liable. People like to sue for any little thing these days.

[pickle9000]

So maybe I'm wrong but how many times does a person get to work for a young company that has potential. Dave runs a company, it has potential. If you can make yourself valuable to that company it will pay in the end. It may pay with cash or experience, who knows.

The starting pay is irrelevant in this particular case, where will the EEVblog be in 5 years?

Good luck Dave and I hope you get some excellent help.
To the help, don't blow it, help make it better and you will do well.

[nowlan]

uni interns work cheap for experience.

[Mr Smiley]

Dave,

You Video interview and we'll vote 

 

[skipjackrc4]

Well read the job description. Required skill set is excessive for a junior engineer/lab assistant. The requirements are for well rounded engineer.  Dave wants someone that can do what he can do. Not realistic in a helper.

And."....but doesn’t pay much"   

Sorry Dave.  You get negative points for that.  You should know that the skills you want should be paid well for. I can't speak for everyone, but I think that's kinda a slap in the face.

Reminds me of when Hack-a-day wanted to hire someone full time to make videos and pay them for only $30k a year.

Shame, shame, shame.

 

That was my thought.  I'm not sure what it's like in Australia, but in the US, you'd have far too much competition with companies that pay $25+/hr to their interns. 

[aargee]

This will be interesting with Dave's attitude for "workin' for da man".

Dave, this can be a really difficult territory you're getting into, running a one man band is one thing but it is a *real* mindset and active adjustment becoming an employer. The red tape alone may be daunting.

Superannuation, workplace health and safety, registered workplace, tax, etc .... this becomes so when you start paying a wage.

I might be talking out my rear end and been a long time since I was involved with a small business in Aus but can only assume the meddling by government has gotten worse not better..

Good luck and I admire the fact you want to give a young tech head a go!

[EEVblog]

The BIG question is.... Do they get access to the lab "after hours" so they can use all the gear you've been accumulating?

Of course, they'll get a 24/7 swipe card and key.

[EEVblog]

And."....but doesn’t pay much"   
Sorry Dave.  You get negative points for that.  You should know that the skills you want should be paid well for. I can't speak for everyone, but I think that's kinda a slap in the face.

It's a junior role, as mentioned, like a student or some such, so the pay is commensurate with that. This is stuff that any hobbyist worth their salt can do.

Reminds me of when Hack-a-day wanted to hire someone full time to make videos and pay them for only $30k a year.
Shame, shame, shame.

How much would you pay a student with hobbyist level skills?

[EEVblog]

Dave, this can be a really difficult territory you're getting into, running a one man band is one thing but it is a *real* mindset and active adjustment becoming an employer. The red tape alone may be daunting.
Superannuation, workplace health and safety, registered workplace, tax, etc .... this becomes so when you start paying a wage.

Casual = less red tape.

I can either stay a lone guy in my lab for the next 20 years and get nowhere because I don't have time to do jack, or I can try and expand.

[EEVblog]

The thing is if the employee is allowed to use the workshop after hours and then they have an accident the employer would be liable. People like to sue for any little thing these days.

Laws have changed in the last decade re personal responsibility lawsuits. If they are here after hours on their own business, that's their risk. Unless I deliberately and knowingly provide an unsafe workplace that caused the accident, it's now quite hard to sue for that in this country. And liability insurance covers it anyway.

[VK5RC]

Well done, an excellent opportunity for a young person. Electronic as well as presentation skills are great later job assets.
Don't forget PAYG / ATO and workcover issues, but they aren't that hard.

[Howardlong]

It's similar here in thr UK, on occasion I employ on a casual basis such as when I have a new product out and I need some help supporting the demand. The overhead in creating a salaried post, particularly if you're currently only a one-man-band, makes it very unappealing both financially and time-wise. It doesn't help that I'm rubbish a delegating either!

[Mark_O]

As the title says, Sydney only:

Haven't read the posting, but if you're going to limit it to people named 'Sydney', that restricts the candidate list quite a bit.   

[coppice]

As the title says, Sydney only:

Haven't read the posting, but if you're going to limit it to people named 'Sydney', that restricts the candidate list quite a bit.   

I suspect he already has a lab coat with that name on it, and he won't pay out for a new one.

[Howardlong]

Am I alone in thinking drawing parallels to BOFH hiring PFY?

[Sounduser]

It's on YouTube. You could become a minor Internet celebrity and makes tons of money! Haha

[Mark_O]

As the title says, Sydney only:

Haven't read the posting, but if you're going to limit it to people named 'Sydney', that restricts the candidate list quite a bit.   

I suspect he already has a lab coat with that name on it, and he won't pay out for a new one.

   I love it.

[george graves]

It's a junior role, as mentioned, like a student or some such, so the pay is commensurate with that. This is stuff that any hobbyist worth their salt can do.

How much would you pay a student with hobbyist level skills?

Dave - come on.  You're back peddling now.  The huge list of skills you posted would be a really advanced "hobbyist" (even if they only had a 1/4th of them) - more like a EE that had a few years under their belt.  .  And assuming there was someone local, with half skill set you suggest - they deserve a decent wage.  (Isn't the area you live in expensive?)

IMHO, Dave, you of all people should be promoting the idea that people with a skill set like you posted should NOT accept a menial wage job with their skills set.  I'm honestly embarrassed for you.

Yes, there is something to say about getting your foot in the door at a TV/VCR repair shop - to learn the ropes. And yes, working for the EEVblog would give you some internet cred.  But come on - pay the gal or girl a decent wadge you cheap bastard.

I'll just chalk it up to a "dream list" you sat down and made up. 

- EE, video production (WTF? - you only know what you now from trial by fire, how do you expect a student or a "junior" person to know), inventory/BOM/dealing with suppliers (good luck on that, that's a real job), web site skills, some IT skills(most students won't have this)...and on, and on...Oh and that happens to want to work for peanuts.  Perhaps a homeless person that happens to know more then a recent college EE grad, that also use to work in TV?

Come on Dave - I'm a big fan of yours, but this is bull-shit.

[EEVblog]

Dave - come on.  You're back peddling now.  The huge list of skills you posted would be a really advanced "hobbyist" (even if they only had a 1/4th of them). 

Bullshit. I could do all that at 15 years of age. And this is the age of the internet and the hacker/maker Arduino revolution, age of ecommenrce and $5 double sided PCBs. 10 year olds are running their own kit businesses these days.
All I'm asking for for someone that can solder, and do basic electronics projects, hobby level stuff! Showing me one board you've designed and layed out would be enough.
I don't know what kind of hobbyist you are/were, but geeze, if you think 1/4 of the stuff is advanced level stuff, then I'm speechless.

And assuming there was someone local, with half skill set you suggest - they deserve a decent wage.  (Isn't the area you live expensive?)

IMHO, Dave, you of all people should be promoting the idea that people with a skill set like you posted should NOT accept a menial wage job with their skills set.I'm honestly embarrassed for you.

That's your problem, not mine.

I'll chalk it up to a "dream list" you sat down and made up. 
But maybe there is someone with real skills, in many different areas

Yes, they are called hobbyists. Very common for a hobbyist to have practically every one of those skills at some level.

- EE, video production (WTF? - you only know what you now from trial by fire, how do you expect a student or a "junior" person to know)

I don't, that's why it's listed under desirable.
It's not hard for someone to have shot and edited their own video these days you know.

, inventory/BOM/dealing with suppliers (good luck on that, that's a real job)

It's something I can teach anyone to do, and any hobbyist who knows components will balls it in.
I'd be happy if they knew how to search the suppliers websites and knows how to look up component codes and read datasheets.

, web site skills, some IT skills(most students won't have this)...and on, and on...

What part of desirable but not essential do you not understand?
Are you kidding that students won't have IT skills? What kind of world are you living in? Most nerdy kids know more linux/servers/web/script stuff than most before they even hit puberty.

Come on Dave - I'm a big fan of yours, but this is bull-shit.

No, its not.
It's not paying a lot, but it's not tossing fries in maccas wages either, it's well above the minimum award wage, and offer flexible hours in a low-pressure non-sweatshop environment.
And it could be a good opportunity for someone, perhaps say a TAFE certificate or diploma student or hobbyist who wants to take a step up and get some engineering experience and that "junior engineer" title on their resume instead of technician.
There are plenty of reasons why someone might think this is a good opportunity for them.

Good fucking luck with that.
I hate to be an asshole about this.  But

Yes, you are being an arsehole. Try not to do that, I feel embarrassed for you.
BTW, I've had many people complement me on doing this.

[EEVblog]

It is kinda sounding like a zero hours contract, but as long as it really is a student job with low enough commitments not to interfere with studying then it's okay.

I's quite common for engineering courses to have a full time, or almost full time industry experience component, often lasting for 6 months or a year.

[c4757p]

You're quite optimistic about the skill set of most hobbyists.

[EEVblog]

You're quite optimistic about the skill set of most hobbyists.

To have designed a circuit, layed out a PCB, soldered it and tested/debugged it?
Really?
Have I entered an alternate reality or something? 

[tom66]

I would say about 90-95% of students at my university (one of the top 10 in the country for EE) could not do even one of the things Dave asks.

Having seen "student" soldering, it's embarrassing... seriously it's just terrible. Most of them will just copy code from the Arduino tutorials, with no knowledge of how it actually works, or what it does...

It may seem common on the internet, but I don't think it's that common overall. Maybe there's a few people in Sydney that could do what you want, but not many.

I don't know what Dave plans on paying but my year engineering placement I only get about £8.50 p/hr, this is about 30% higher than minimum wage.

[EEVblog]

I would say about 90-95% of students at my university (one of the top 10 in the country for EE) could not do even one of the things Dave asks.

When I went it was like 99%, yes.
That's is why I'm after someone who's a hobbyist.
My original draft actually had the line "you probably haven't learnt this stuff in school".

I don't know what Dave plans on paying but my year placement I only get about £8.50 p/hr, this is about 30% higher than minimum wage.

That's not even our minimum wage here.

[c4757p]

You're quite optimistic about the skill set of most hobbyists.

To have designed a circuit, layed out a PCB, soldered it and tested/debugged it?
Really?
Have I entered an alternate reality or something? 

No, most people just aren't as enthusiastic as you. Also, you listed "schematic design, PCB layout, and embedded C firmware and PC programming" and "soldering, construction, and prototype debugging skills" as technical skills. Having those as skills is quite different from having attempted them once or twice. Most hobbyists do not have PCB layout skills, of the sort that might fulfill anyone's requirements for anything...

[EEVblog]

No, most people just aren't as enthusiastic as you. Also, you listed "schematic design, PCB layout, and embedded C firmware and PC programming" and "soldering, construction, and prototype debugging skills" as technical skills. Having those as skills is quite different from having attempted them once or twice. Most hobbyists do not have PCB layout skills, of the sort that might fulfill anyone's requirements for anything...

Then too bad for them, they probably won't get ahead.
I still see all the time hobbyists who do awesome stuff, probably more so now than ever, but I could be a bit myopic on that. So throw around "most" all you want, I still think there are vast numbers of hobbyists out there with decent usable skills.

[c4757p]

Out there? Yeah, there are - they're on the Internet, so you see the ones who do cool stuff and want to show it off. If you think that translates to being able to find even one of them (who wants to work for you, even!) in your own general area, you're seriously overestimating pop(Syndey)/pop(world)

[EEVblog]

Job description updated to indicate that professional levels skills are not expected.
But I suspect that still won't satisfy the anal brigade until I dumb it down to Trained Monkey Level 1

[c4757p]

the anal brigade

Wait, how can you see my web history?

[EEVblog]

Out there? Yeah, there are - they're on the Internet, so you see the ones who do cool stuff and want to show it off. If you think that translates to being able to find even one of them (who wants to work for you, even!) in your own general area, you're seriously overestimating pop(Syndey)/pop(world)

Perhaps. But so what? I'm not supposed to ask? 
Do I deserve to get taken to task for asking? 

[Yago]

Being able to solder and use vid cam/software is asking little these days IMHO.

[george graves]

Bullshit. I could do all that at 15 years of age. And this is the age of the internet and the hacker/maker Arduino revolution, age of ecommenrce and $5 double sided PCBs. 10 year olds are running their own kit businesses these days.

A.) Your awesome?   B.) The "10 year old" thing is a cute headline.  It's not a real thing.  You know that.

All I'm asking for for someone that can solder, and do basic electronics projects, hobby level stuff! Showing me one board you've designed and layed out would be enough.
I don't know what kind of hobbyist you are/were, but geeze, if you think 1/4 of the stuff is advanced level stuff, then I'm speechless.

Well then ask for that!

That's not what you asked for.  You asked for a HUGE LIST. Now you see why I said you're back-peddling?

IMHO, Dave, you of all people should be promoting the idea that people with a skill set like you posted should NOT accept a menial wage job with their skills set.I'm honestly embarrassed for you.

That's your problem, not mine.

It's is kinda your problem.  You're the one offering cheese burger wages for EE work, publicly, online.  Come on Dave, would you work for peanuts if you knew 1/4 of what you listed?  Come one.  Be real.  And furthermore - shouldn't you be encouraging people with the list you provided NOT to work for peanuts? 

it's well above the minimum award wage, and offer flexible hours in a low-pressure non-sweatshop environment

Yummy.

[_Sin]

Personally I didn't see much wrong with the description, it seems pretty clear to me that Dave is looking for some kind of inexperienced but keen student/amateur all-rounder, rather than anyone with serious experience - but I can see why someone might read it that way.

I think its pretty cool that Dave has reached the point where he needs to / can take on an assistant, and it should be a good opportunity for someone.

The only suggestion I have, is that I might big-up the opportunities to learn a whole bunch of stuff - because to me that would be a big part of the appeal, and it doesn't hurt to underline it (unless Dave plans on just having a flunky and teaching them nothing, but that would seem kind of out of character to me!)

[Wilksey]

If they are going to be on camera, they need to be enthusiastic, and lets be honest, if you are going to work on the EEVBlog, you needs some kind of enthusiasm, even if it's just to keep up with Dave!

I don't think it's going to be easy to find someone at a hobbyist level that has tailored the skillset you ask for, but a basic understanding should at least suffice, if they are willing to learn a bit more (be enthusiastic), that should be easier to find.
I imagine you will get people who say they can, but in reality, they can't, might be a long boring process, bit like a talent competition.

Uni students don't seem to know half the stuff required to be known (at the end of the course) several years ago, it's not their fault, it's the education system going tits.

The only thing I didn't have full confidence from your list in doing when I left college was the PCB Layout, I did a few but back in the day that was the one thing I couldn't really say I felt comfortable doing, that's all changed now of course.

I don't know what it's like in Aus, but here in the UK, it seems to be that most people who do that level of hobbyist work are already in full time employment, and not straight out of Uni, I have met some straight out of Uni and, well, mashing the buttons at Maccy d's might require an extra training session for them...seriously.

I would say, as there is a lot of negative comments on this thread, good luck, I hope you find someone, it would be good to see video interviews if possible, as it is a community forum and blog it would be good to see potential candidates, and as others have pointed out it would be a good instruction of how to, or how not to interview.

[c4757p]

Out there? Yeah, there are - they're on the Internet, so you see the ones who do cool stuff and want to show it off. If you think that translates to being able to find even one of them (who wants to work for you, even!) in your own general area, you're seriously overestimating pop(Syndey)/pop(world)

Perhaps. But so what? I'm not supposed to ask? 
Do I deserve to get taken to task for asking? 

Taken to task? You're on a forum, we're discussing.

[dr.diesel]

Perhaps. But so what? I'm not supposed to ask? 

Nothing wrong with high expectations, it is your position, ask away.  I've waited more than 6 months before trying to find the right person, other times I've had to settle.

All kinds of people from different levels will likely apply or inquire, half won't meet what your asking for, a good number will lie and the rest will be a mix.

Don't dumb the posting down any further.  In the end be honest and public about the experience and what type and level of people applied.  You can either prove the anal brigade right or wrong!    O0

[EEVblog]

The only suggestion I have, is that I might big-up the opportunities to learn a whole bunch of stuff - because to me that would be a big part of the appeal, and it doesn't hurt to underline it (unless Dave plans on just having a flunky and teaching them nothing, but that would seem kind of out of character to me!)

Ultimately they will be hired to get stuff done, not be my apprentice as I teach them stuff all day long.
But yes, it would be out of character for me to not feel a compulsive need to continually teach them stuff. That's actually a fear I have in that I might end up doing so much of that that it makes the whole endevour worthless because it won't be saving me any time and achieving what I hope to achieve by doing this.
If it adds value to the reason why they were hired, then yes, I'll be teaching them all they need to know and more, but there will have to be a line there somewhere.
It's kinda like my blog, it was never intended to and never has been be a blog that intended to just teach stuff. People tend to learn stuff from the blog just by going along for the ride.

[EEVblog]

George, I will not enagage you any further on this, you are just a waste of time. I will not repeat myself, nor point out the demonstrable wrongness of your position.
Have a nice day.

[george graves]

You have a good day too.  I love your videos - always thumbs up.  But you are wrong on this one.

Cheapness will always bite you in the ass. IMHO.  We've all had that cheap-ass boss.  Don't be one of them.  We have more respect for you than that.  My 2 cents.

[mswhin63]

Lab organisation and management

Bit of a chuckle, You really need help with this one 

Nice add, wish most employer were like this. 

[EEVblog]

I imagine you will get people who say they can, but in reality, they can't, might be a long boring process, bit like a talent competition.

Yep, welcome to the world of hiring people.

Uni students don't seem to know half the stuff required to be known (at the end of the course) several years ago, it's not their fault

Which is precisely why I'm not asking for just any old student.

[EEVblog]

Bit of a chuckle, You really need help with this one 
Nice add, wish most employer were like this. 

I can appreciate a well maintained lab, it adds a lot of often intangible value.
One of the most valuable positions in any EE company IMO has always been the lab manager. Sadly they are pretty rare these days.

[FrankBuss]

I don't think it's going to be easy to find someone at a hobbyist level that has tailored the skillset you ask for, but a basic understanding should at least suffice, if they are willing to learn a bit more (be enthusiastic), that should be easier to find.
I imagine you will get people who say they can, but in reality, they can't, might be a long boring process, bit like a talent competition.

It is not difficult to find out his/her real knowledge in an interview fast, maybe even a telephone interview first, if you know the things yourself that you exepect the employee to do, as Dave does, and ask the right questions. Once I was working as a freelance programmer for a client and I was asked to talk with someone who they wanted to hire. I needed a few minutes and I didn't recommend him. He was hired nevertheless (he was really good at impressing the managment), but then fired half a year later, leaving some messy code.

[EEVblog]

Cheapness will always bite you in the ass. IMHO.  We've all had that cheap-ass boss.  Don't be one of them.  We have more respect for you than that.  My 2 cents.

For the record, I know for a fact that I am offering around 35% more than some local EE students are getting in similar work experience jobs.
Don't bother replying, I just wanted to state that.

[all_repair]

Probably not wise to have public parade on the hiring process.  A small company hiring is like a short, fat, ugly person choosing his/her spouse.  Do not forget, the other end is also choosing. 

[EEVblog]

Probably not wise to have public parade on the hiring process.

I'm not. Any who applies will be held in the strictest confidence until such time as they are hired and inevitably end up on the live feed camera.
The live cam will be off during interviews.

[Zero999]

I say good luck. No doubt, the person you're looking for isn't thwe type who'd be after a lot of money. I'm sure you know you won't be able to find someone who'll hgave all those skills but you're right to set your standards high.

[rsjsouza]

Interesting employment opportunity. Back at the university I worked for free on a silicon processing lab just to get the experience... Despite I was already a pretty active hobbyist, it helped me have access to more "serious" electronics tools (circuit/PCB design with Protel, PCB manufacturing, advanced programming...) and other areas as well (mechanical, plumbing, chemistry). I ended up doing my graduation thesis with them.

What helped is that I was fortunate enough to still live with my parents (a common thing in Brazil for university students).

All in all, good luck with your quest. What I learned over the years of mentoring is that enthusiasm may or may not be present on the person you hire, but you quickly realize when the interest and eager is there. For what we also learn in the process, it is surely worth the journey.

[deephaven]

I agree with rsjsouza. This is a golden opportunity for the right person.

[EEVblog]

What helped is that I was fortunate enough to still live with my parents (a common thing in Brazil for university students).

It's very common here in Oz. I'd be pretty safe in guessing the majority of local university students would live with their parents. Very few students chose to move out of their home city to go to university, let alone another state. Total opposite to the US system in which it is mandatory at many (majority?) of universities that you live on campus.

[EEVblog]

Is that what you are offering? It sounded more like a casual thing without guaranteed hours. Or is the industry experience component usually unpaid in Australia?

Nope, only a fool would take an unpaid internship in Australia IME. In EE I'm not aware of any unpaid positions, but that doesn't mean there aren't.
Whilst it is legal, there are a lot of restrictions on unpaid work in Australia.

[miguelvp]

Let's put it this way,

It probably pays more than a student position at the UNI lab, you get to do cooler stuff than to teaching some stubborn unskilled student how to solder or use the equipment, and you get better skills than at the lab.

You do have to put up with Dave (which I don't know how easy it would be to work for) but that's about it.

I think it's a great opportunity for those students that take all the optional credits available just because they are hungry to learn. They are uncommon but there are plenty of them out there.

The interns we hire (programming) excel compared to your run of the mill students we do get those as well but they don't tend to last, and we ask for more than what Dave does.

[Dave]

... up to an average of 30 hours per week ...

No student has that much time on his hands, if he is taking his studies seriously. The enthusiastic people you want to hire usually take their studies seriously. Something doesn't add up here.

I expected you of all people not to devaluate the work of engineers (the work you described is the work of a full blown engineer). Paying someone peanuts and having a large EE community watching you do that sends a very, very bad message to aspiring engineers.

[miguelvp]

... up to an average of 30 hours per week ...

No student has that much time on his hands, if he is taking his studies seriously. The enthusiastic people you want to hire usually take their studies seriously. Something doesn't add up here.

I expected you of all people not to devaluate the work of engineers (the work you described is the work of a full blown engineer). Paying someone peanuts and having a large EE community watching you do that sends a very, very bad message to aspiring engineers.

You gotta be kidding, of course they have the time, I did work at the computer lab and as a student position I was allowed to even do homework when it wasn't too busy. I would think Dave will not only allow it but he can probably mentor you at the same time.

As for the tasks being for a full blown engineer I don't see where you get that. Nevertheless Internships at companies usually is to gate talent or at times where projects cycles demand extra hands but the company can't commit to full employment because then you end up with a lot of taskless employees and you drain more than you produce. The alternative is outsourcing.

So it's not unusual for Interns to have Masters or even PhDs, it's just a temp job and what you get is skills in the field that is hard to come by other ways.

[SeanB]

Dave may end up with 2 or more people to get the time down to a level where he is comfortable, and they will get a **__MUCH__** better education per week from Dave than they will at UNI/TAFE. Practical things, like how to actually do the job, how to organise ( I know looking at the lab this looks like it is sorely lacking, but there is seemingly enough done to keep to a schedule at least and get most of it done) and how to prioritise somewhat on the job.

Would apply, but the 20 hour commute each way would be a big issue, though with the new EEBunker and a sleeping bag, and a quick shower at the work facilities that would not be a problem.

[Dave]

You gotta be kidding, of course they have the time, I did work at the computer lab and as a student position I was allowed to even do homework when it wasn't too busy. I would think Dave will not only allow it but he can probably mentor you at the same time.

Okay, I understand that the hours are very flexible. Nevertheless, 30 hours a week comes to 6 hours per workday. I am currently studying electrical engineering and I have no idea how I could squeeze an extra 6 hours of work into my day. Not to mention driving to and from the lab.

As for the tasks being for a full blown engineer I don't see where you get that.

Oh, let's see:
-Managing production, ordering components, juggling with fabricators, assemblers
-Investigating, designing, developing, testing and debugging new products
-Dev. tool setups and evaluation
-Forum and website maintenance
-Production of blog content

Essential skills:
-Analog, digital and embedded project design
-Drawing schematics, designing PCBs, coding firmware and PC apps
-Soldering, construction and debugging
-Writing documentation

How is this not a skillset of a full blown engineer?

[FrankBuss]

How is this not a skillset of a full blown engineer?

It depends on the complexity of the project. As Dave wrote, many advanced hobbyists can do all the tasks. It's not like he would expect someone to layout a 16 layer PC mainboard, source the components and organize the manufacturing of it, what you would expect from a "full blown engineer", but I guess more something like a simple two layer USB power supply board, with Dave mentoring the employee if he/she gets stuck somewhere.

[miguelvp]

Oh, let's see:
-Managing production, ordering components, juggling with fabricators, assemblers
-Investigating, designing, developing, testing and debugging new products
-Dev. tool setups and evaluation
-Forum and website maintenance
-Production of blog content

That means what the internship will teach you.

Essential skills:
-Analog, digital and embedded project design
-Drawing schematics, designing PCBs, coding firmware and PC apps
-Soldering, construction and debugging
-Writing documentation

Translated:

He is looking for someone that at least is familiar with the tools and packages and is not a total slacker that is just getting a degree and the documentation will show your potential, but all of those are at an student level of knowledge, he is not asking for previous experience or expertise.

Edit: If you apply at your UNI for a student position at the lab, wouldn't it have the same skill set that Dave is asking for? I mean you are going to be there to support TAs, even TAs are expected to work harder than professors. That is life and it's because the TA even if he steps up to the plate compared to the rest of the students doesn't have the experience the professor has, but the TA will recognize the value of stepping up to the plate.

Take for example the first C++ internship that google found:

https://www.amd.apply2jobs.com/ProfExt/index.cfm?fuseaction=mExternal.showJob&RID=30647&CurrentPage=8&sid=254

The Heterogeneous System Software team is looking for software intern that is eager to learn and apply leading-edge processor technologies. As a member of the development team, the candidate will be responsible for working with the architects to implement OpenCL extensions and performance modeling and analysis. This is an opportunity to work with a team that is developing a software stack that unleashes the full potential of AMDs future generations of hardware.

Candidates must be expert C++/C programmers with strong debugging skills. Candidates must have a strong understanding and ability to apply programming primitives such as multi-threading, locking, queuing, and memory management. Prior experience in parallel programming models such as OpenCL and CUDA is desirable. Ideal candidates will have a good understanding of computer architecture concepts, such as CPU, GPU, multi-level caching, coherency, and virtual memory.

That is an AMD internship position which I dont work at nor am I associated with.
But that level of requirements are usually what big companies ask to get an internship with them.

Edit: the experience requirements are probably beyond what most experienced programmers out there can do, it's not unusual to try to get new blood into the field your company works with.

[EEVblog]

... up to an average of 30 hours per week ...

No student has that much time on his hands, if he is taking his studies seriously. The enthusiastic people you want to hire usually take their studies seriously. Something doesn't add up here.

As I've said, many engineering courses require a full-time or almost full-time industry experience component. Some courses you have to do 6 or 12 months work experience before you'll get your degree. I'm allowing for those people.

I expected you of all people not to devaluate the work of engineers (the work you described is the work of a full blown engineer). Paying someone peanuts and having a large EE community watching you do that sends a very, very bad message to aspiring engineers.

What part of I'm paying maybe 30% more than what other similar EE's might earn in a similar role did you not hear?

[EEVblog]

How is this not a skillset of a full blown engineer?

Because a professional level skillset is NOT expect, but basic hobby level.
How many times do I have to say it, any hobbyist worth their salt can do this stuff to a basic level.

[Dave]

What part of I'm paying maybe 30% more than what other similar EE's might earn in a similar role did you not hear?

Oops, I admit, I did miss that. You might want to mention that in the job offer PDF.

[8086]

What part of I'm paying maybe 30% more than what other similar EE's might earn in a similar role did you not hear?

This does sort of beg the question of why you're downplaying the pay in the ad (spec? The PDF).

You're acting in the ad like it doesn't pay much, now you're saying you're offering 30% more than market rate.

[EEVblog]

Oops, I admit, I did miss that. You might want to mention that in the job offer PDF.

I'd feel uncomfortable doing that because it might raise expectations that they'd be getting a professional wage or something.
Wages for positions like this vary greatly, and whilst I know I am paying 30%+ above what some others are paying local intern EE's, to a lot of people it still may not be much money, and I might be paying less than some others.
This is designed to perhaps be a first industry job for someone to get a foothold, or a student on work experience, and the wages reflect that.
In any case, it's paying more than I got paid for my first professional job in 1989 (inflation adjusted).

[RobertoLG]

I would love to work there if I could, probably a great expirience with all that equipment and Dave's knowlege, just my modest opinion...

[Muttley Snickers]

Some of this stuff might be worth a quick read, just for referance.

Prior notification is compulsory from what I understand.

Muttley

[Howardlong]

Some of this stuff might be worth a quick read, just for referance.

Prior notification is compulsory from what I understand.

Muttley

Red tape like that is why there are so many one man bands. Before you can employ someone in a salaried position, if you followed all the rules, you'd need an HR department and a lawyer. That is why casual employment makes so much sense to small outfits. Hopefully common sense will prevail.

[n45048]

[Muttley Snickers]

Some of this stuff might be worth a quick read, just for referance.

Prior notification is compulsory from what I understand.

Muttley

Red tape like that is why there are so many one man bands. Before you can employ someone in a salaried position, if you followed all the rules, you'd need an HR department and a lawyer. That is why casual employment makes so much sense to small outfits. Hopefully common sense will prevail.

I completely agree 100%, but I think that it is important to know what your obligations are in regards to the law.

Dave is in a position whereby he could be prone to malicious attack by a disgruntled person and there is no reason to supply their ammo if at all avoidable.

Muttley

[Galaxyrise]

I managed to land a hobbyist-skilled part-time job during my university years, and it was a huge, huge help.   

I think I might just have crossed the threshold of being worth my salt, too!  (Did my first PCB just recently.)

[n45048]

For the young people reading this: Even work experience is great and I've always encouraged young people to get into it. I started work experience at my local internet provider when I was 12 years old. Landed my first paying job at 14 years, 9 months (the legal age in Australian when you can start getting paid) for the same company. I gained a wealth of knowledge in the industry plus 'life lessons' on how the world and business works. By 17, I was working for Australia's second largest Telco (at the time) earning a very decent salary. Later on I took a bit of a side-ways step into Law Enforcement but after doing my time "pounding the pavement" a whole world of opportunities opened up for me that wasn't accessible to me as a civilian (cybercrime, digital forensics and all that secret squirrel stuff that we can't talk about or "doesn't exist").

I don't want to discourage people from tertiary education as that can be very valuable. For me, I've never needed it and I'm exactly where I want to be in life but that's only because I started young at the very bottom and worked my way 'up the ladder'.

I think what Dave is doing is a great thing. It's not about the money but the experience and lessons that come from it. I think Dave is looking for an enthusiastic young person who would do it for free (the money is a bonus). If I was younger, I'd much prefer to be working for Dave than in retail or hospitality regardless of pay. In my experience, teenage years are fairly critical. It can be hard to play 'catch up' later in life.

[n45048]

web site skills, some IT skills(most students won't have this)

Aussie kids these days are taught basic web design on top of the usual IT skills these days at school. Primary school kids are already armed with smartphones and tablets. I'm pretty sure having IT skills these days is almost a given.

[miguelvp]

Think about it, is like hiring a tutor that pays you for learning. wax on, wax off comes to mind

[pickle9000]

Failure to answer the skill testing question is an automatic failure.

What is a DeLorean?

[mathsquid]

... Total opposite to the US system in which it is mandatory at many (majority?) of universities that you live on campus.

I work at a university in a small town in the US, about an hour from a major city.  Here (at the uni where I work) students are required to live on campus during their first year unless their home is within some radius from campus (30 miles I think).  I think that this is fairly typical of similar universities.  When I was a student, I went to a small university in a medium-sized city, and there was no such requirement. 

That's my anecdotal information so I can't say anything authoritative, but I know that there's a lot of variation from uni to uni with those sorts of rules.

[miguelvp]

In Arizona there was not such requirement, I rented with other roommates walking distance to the university.

Must be a policy of the campus in question more than a state requirement.

[EEVblog]

Some of this stuff might be worth a quick read, just for referance.
Prior notification is compulsory from what I understand.

It's not covert surveillance, and it's not a closed circuit system. It is a public web cam that is an integral part of my usual business practice. It is known by all, mentioned in the job description, and will be on any employment contract.
I can't possibly see a problem with that. And the acts are pointless when it comes to my particular business circumstance, they are simply not designed to cover it.

[EEVblog]

web site skills, some IT skills(most students won't have this)

Aussie kids these days are taught basic web design on top of the usual IT skills these days at school. Primary school kids are already armed with smartphones and tablets. I'm pretty sure having IT skills these days is almost a given.

Yes, I don't know what planet George lives on.

[ncoonrod14]

I more than qualify... hey Dave do you think you could add "travel compensation from the U.S." To the list of benefits?
On a serious note, any university student or hobbyist would be a fool to not apply for an opportunity like this, while I agree that this position should have a decent wage as Dave mentioned, anyone who recognizes the potential of working for Dave would do it for free, hell I'd pay to get that kind of experience.

[Wilksey]

You will soon know if your job advert works if people apply!!

Just post it out and see what happens, if you are being unrealistic (I am not saying you are or aren't, it's down to individuals who have the opportunity to apply) then you will find out soon enough.

I would say bad or good, it would be beneficial to some members on the forum to see what kind of responses you get.

[miguelvp]

You will soon know if your job advert works if people apply!!

Just post it out and see what happens, if you are being unrealistic (I am not saying you are or aren't, it's down to individuals who have the opportunity to apply) then you will find out soon enough.

I would say bad or good, it would be beneficial to some members on the forum to see what kind of responses you get.

Post the link to the post at the University of Sidney in the Electrical & Information Engineering department, I hope Unis still have cork-boards for this kinds of things. But I bet you already have gone there many times and they know you.

Maybe just a flyer with EEVblog is hiring and your picture and the url plus add one of those QR codes that they can scan with their phones in the middle of it.

Like this one that points to the beginning of this thread made with http://www.qrstuff.com/

[Howardlong]

You'd hope that the keen wannabe EE in a niversity would already know about eevblog, especially on the home turf!

I know there's been discussion of the understandably confidential nature of the hiring process, however how about, after the process is ended, a selection of anecdotal, and sanitised, what not to do? Back in the day when I did a bit of PFY recruiting, we had some real stinkers on CVs/resumes.

Occasionally we used to get people in just to see who on earth could have written such an "obscure" CV for our own entertainment. The worst thing is when you specifically ask for a particular skill as essential, their CV states they're an expert in the field, and they turn out to be rumbled in the technical interview in 5 seconds. Very sad really.

Equally I got fed up with being given new recruits who I hadn't even interviewed, because HR knew best. It's not just technical expertise either, it's how well they'll fit in on a personal level. After all you're going to have to work with them too. I am sure BOFH knows that all too well though.

[tinhead]

I don't know what planet George lives on.

U.S. of Idiocracy 

[EEVblog]

Must be a policy of the campus in question more than a state requirement.

Yes, I'm pretty sure it's not any sort of state requirement, it's a culture thing enforced by many universities.
I've asked this before of my audience and the general consensus seems to be that majority of US universities either make it a requirement, or strongly encourage living on campus for at least the first year or two (i.e. you need a damn good excuse not to). It's deemed to be a very important part of the "culture" of US university life, critical to your social development, blah blah.
This simply does not happen in Australia. Not only does not a single university require it or even expect it (that I am aware of), spaces on campus are either non-existent, or limited. You'll never get asked where you are staying, that's your business, not the universities. Any on campus accommodation is usually taken by the full fee paying overseas students.
The majority of Australian students simply go to the closest or most suitable university in their city. Going interstate to attend a university is not that common here. Once again different to the US system where it's a huge deal for a student to pick what university they want to go to.

[ncoonrod14]

it's a culture thing enforced by many universities

My university requires this and their claim is that students who live on campus have a 25% higher retention rate than those that don't, whether or not that's true I couldn't say. Here's an interesting article which touches on retention based on housing on the bottom of page 4.
http://www.academia.edu/231258/Institutional_and_Student_Characteristics_that_Predict_Graduation_and_Retention_Rates

[EvilGeniusSkis]

Put a camper next to the lab and buy me a plane ticket.
That's all I need :-)

Camper van? just give me a plane ticket and put a cot in the lab and I'm good.

[Riotpack]

This is a great opportunity, and any hobbyist with high levels of enthusiasm and curiosity in electronics should tick all the boxes with the skill set required.
 I'm sure you wont just be thrown in the deep end and will get training on the format required for BOMs, the process and parameters for ordering from suppliers.

Would be a good idea to start a manual of processes and procedures to standardise tasks to help save time in the future, like formats used in creating a BOM, ordering from suppliers etc  (the new employee could write them up and you could finalise them). That way if you need someone else in the future the training side would be reduced.

[tautech]

Good on you Dave for recognising "you can't do it all yourself" and to have help will no doubt let you persue oppotunities you have recognised.
You have bought it all on yourself with the all comsuming monster EEVblog must be for you.
Your experience and knowledge hopefully will be a source of inspiration to whom you choose and I hope that you don't find somebody with just "enthusiasm and expertise"  and "willing to learn"but also passion for the industry. That can not be taught but I'm sure you can spot it. 
One wonders if your suggested skillset would not be better met by an older applicant, less likely to move on and normally better suited to mentor future recruits as your empire grows.
You could consider experience might also bring more/better ideas to help keep things "ship shape".
It is a massive move to invite another into your empire and all the trivial things personal that will accompany them.
Recruitment is a buzz, but you've been around, you will know the right one if they are out there.

Again, Good Luck.

[techydude]

25->20 years ago I had a dream job, my first post-high-school job.  I had my finger in just about every pie the company had available at various stages, from prototype & low-volume manufacturing inc making our own bare PCBs, electronics service & repair, to designing electronics, writing firmware, working within a stock controlled system, writing documentation, doing "systems engineering" getting some of those projects integrated within large industrial machinery, and all the while working alongside a few qualified engineers who themselves were working on a wide range of projects.

i soaked up knowledge & experience at a rate unlike almost any other time in my life since, and most of that time while I was doing EE @ UTS either part-time or 'sandwich' (back in the days when UTS's undergrads had to do 6 months uni, 6 months work, for 6 years, to qualify).

i was only making about $20k-$25k/year (in early-90s $AUD), it sucked and I knew it, but I knew I had an incredibly valuable learning experience to wake up to every morning.  (the financial trouble came when I left home & tried to live off that.)  looking back now, I wouldn't have changed a thing.

if I were around that age now, I'd give my left nut for a job like that - it gave me such a thorough grounding in the electronics business unlike so many of my peers at the time who were "clueless".  I was a raw beginner in so many of those things when I started, but I had awesome colleagues who were willing to teach me, I learned quickly, and by the time I moved on I was "very competent" in so many areas that few other jobs would have taught me all in 1 job.

although Dave's job description sounds like he's looking for a Mini-Me, lets face it, what job doesn't ask for way more than they expect to actually get?  and what sounds like about au$22/hour would make it difficult for someone not still living with parents, there are 'smart cookies' out there who would fit this mold & already have a basic understanding of many of the skills he's seeking.  I saw several of them at Sydney's mini-Maker Faire.

an 18-25yo me in today's world would JUMP at a chance like this.

[HighVoltage]

What a great opportunity for anyone who will get this job.

When I grew up, I could chose between the many places in our area to do almost anything, helping out at a TV repair shop and learning the basics is just one example. Those days are over, at least here and it is difficult for young people to find a anything remotely to the experience I had. When I went studying for my engineering degree it was almost like I knew it all already and I just had to learn the theories behind the technology. In general, people with no practical experience had a much more difficult time in college. What Dave is offering here is an amazing job, even if one would not get any money paid.

[G0HZU]

25->20 years ago I had a dream job, my first post-high-school job.  I had my finger in just about every pie the company had available at various stages, from prototype & low-volume manufacturing inc making our own bare PCBs, electronics service & repair, to designing electronics, writing firmware, working within a stock controlled system, writing documentation, doing "systems engineering" getting some of those projects integrated within large industrial machinery, and all the while working alongside a few qualified engineers who themselves were working on a wide range of projects.

That's what the students traditionally do at my place of work. They get talent spotted at a young age and then get groomed by the company throughout their degree by doing regular work experience stints at the company (across all departments) until they graduate. This way they are useful at the company from the first day they gain full time employment.

[Howardlong]

25->20 years ago I had a dream job, my first post-high-school job.  I had my finger in just about every pie the company had available at various stages, from prototype & low-volume manufacturing inc making our own bare PCBs, electronics service & repair, to designing electronics, writing firmware, working within a stock controlled system, writing documentation, doing "systems engineering" getting some of those projects integrated within large industrial machinery, and all the while working alongside a few qualified engineers who themselves were working on a wide range of projects.

That's what the students traditionally do at my place of work. They get talent spotted at a young age and then get groomed by the company throughout their degree by doing regular work experience stints at the company (across all departments) until they graduate. This way they are useful at the company from the first day they gain full time employment.

Agreed, I found it very sad that the students on my EE degree course back in the early/mid 80s could go through all three years without ever having used a soldering iron or an oscilloscope, indeed I'd say most of them were like that. But they did know how solve complicated calculus in several different ways, and, somewhat obscurely for an EE, know how to write a program in Cobol.

I was lucky, I'd already had a fairly deep practical background designing and building electronics and programming down to machine code myself by doing it, but my theory wasn't up to much. The opportunity for work placements wasn't great as I remember it, but having that opportunity must be beneficial to both parties.

A frustration must be though that these days, the average time in a job is much much shorter than it was, perhaps only a matter of a year or two, particularly among the younger crowd. The HR departments don't much help either, they positively encourage high churn rates either through things like stack ranking or appraisal systems, neither of which existed when I was last a full time employee. So all that work you've spent nurturing someone is all too often lost to another company who'll pay a bit more than you can because of some absurd HR policy.

[Smokey]

The more I read replies here and think about it, my question is about what this potential employee would actually be doing.  I don't mean to sound like too much of a dickhead here, but at the moment there doesn't seem to be a lot of real hardcore "engineering" going on in the EEVBlog lab.  Lots of teardowns, review/buy/sell gear, and some tutorial type stuff, but that falls pretty soundly in the middle of info-tainment.  Which is fine.  It's paying the bills, has attracted a pretty good size audience, and allows Dave to spend a bunch of time with his family.  Lots of people would love to be in that situation.  I'm not questioning Dave's engineering abilities.  He's obviously been in the industry long enough that his experience speaks for itself.  But at this point now as far as day to day hardcore designing and debugging circuit level type engineering?  Are there a boat load of secret projects no one knows about?

So what would an EEVBlog employee be doing?  It sounds like mostly info-tainment production level helper monkey type stuff.  Apart from access to a pretty well stocked lab equipment wise, I'm not sure how appealing this job really is to someone who wants to make a career of circuit level electronics design.  You only really learn this stuff by doing it every day, and there doesn't appear to be a lot of that going on in the EEVBlog lab now.  While having a senior engineer around while you are learning design is a really important part of speeding up the process, Dave has said that isn't what this job is about and doesn't want to spend all his time teaching his employee.  Which is also fine, but I'm just not seeing the "Dream Job" people are talking about.  A chill work environment with a cool boss and access to some nice gear?  Sure.  But as it looks now it's probably not going to give the design experience needed to launch a career as a hardcore design engineer.

Now maybe Dave has big plans to offload enough info-tainment stuff that he can get back into some more serious design work and make some designs which, based on his audience and uCurrent sales, people would probably buy like crazy.  That would be cool for him, for us as the audience, and for some potential employee who could ride along and learn stuff.  If that's the case then ya, killer.  Go for it.  But if we are talking about a career path entry level position like a recent EE grad or a student or something, you will be much better served working in a company that does day to day design work on products, no matter what the pay.

I could of course be way off base, but since we haven't heard about any EEVBlog road map with tons of new designs coming up, I can only assume it will be more reviews/teardowns/opening mail/rants/interviews/tutorials/info-tainment.  In other words, the stuff that's paying the bills so Dave doesn't have to work for the man himself.

[n45048]

I believe what Dave is after is a minion.



Only kidding ;-) All the best to anyone who has applied!

[Smokey]

banana for scale?

[Towger]

I believe what Dave is after is a minion.

I thought is was for a 'Tool Time Girl'

[SeanB]

I believe what Dave is after is a minion.

I thought is was for a 'Tool Time Girl'

Dave already has that, and is happily married to her. He is no Al Bundy though.

[Excavatoree]

I believe what Dave is after is a minion.

I thought is was for a 'Tool Time Girl'

Dave already has that, and is happily married to her. He is no Al Bundy though.

Am I missing something, or did you mean "Al Borland?"   I'm probably missing something.

[SeanB]

Wrong show, try "Married with Children". Though he lacks both the ditzy daughter and the dog. He might have the neighbours though, and he definitely is not a shoe salesman.

[Excavatoree]

Wrong show, try "Married with Children". Though he lacks both the ditzy daughter and the dog. He might have the neighbours though, and he definitely is not a shoe salesman.

I'm familiar with it, there's just a picture of Al Borland there, then you bring up Al Bundy.  I don't think Dave would drive a Dodge.

[SeanB]

At least he is not ALF, though he does not do cats ( probably would like the musical though), and does drive a Toyota, where everything keeps falling off.

[SeanB]

Incidental to this is a chat with Steve Gibson about hiring.

http://twit.tv/show/padres-corner/19

Listen at about 45 minutes in for the interesting experience of Steve and hiring. Interesting to listen to the whole show though, with both Padre Ballacer and Steve in a god talk about life.

[zapta]

Dave already has that, and is happily married to her. He is no Al Bundy though.

Al Bundy is now married to Gloria.