[BC] Engineers and licensing

[Mario Hieb, P.E.]

For the most part, what you say is true...as of today.

There are organizations that are working on eliminating the industrial 
exemption for engineers, so that you would need a license to be employed. 
It's hard to say if and when this would happen.

Broadcast engineers are paid poorly (relative to other professions) because 
they have weak professional, political, and business skills.
Also, many would rather complain than do something about it.

Mario





  At 12:47 PM 5/20/2005, you wrote:

>Message: 17
>Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 12:42:45 -0400
>From: "Bruce Doerle" <bdoerle at mail.ucf.edu>
>Subject: Re: [BC] State Licensing
>To: <broadcast at radiolists.net>
>Message-ID: <s28ddb5e.039 at mail.ucf.edu>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>
>The only way for broadcast engineers to stay in business and have 
>valuable, meaningful jobs would be for the managers and owners of the 
>stations to care about the station instead of the bottom line, but as long 
>as you have mega-conglomerate broadcasters, it is only the bottom line 
>that counts.  There are many market group stations with insufficient 
>engineering staff.  These guys burn out trying to do their jobs, but then 
>why should a manager care, these guys are a dime a dozen as I think Jason 
>once wrote.
>
>I don't think licensing would solve this problem, but eventually there may 
>not be any engineers as we leave the business through normal 
>attrition.  Then the broadcasters may have to pay a decent wage for a 
>scare talent.
>
>Mario, I am an electrical engineer and a member of the IEEE.  I really 
>don't see much difference in salaries between the licensed and 
>non-licensed engineers except those in private practice.  The company will 
>pay you what they deem as your worth to them.  Yes, you can be a 
>professionally licensed engineer by the state, but there are no 
>requirements that a radio station hire professional engineers or even 
>certified; the FCC places the technical operation on the ownership of 
>licensee.  You are paid on your value, so those of us who are paid poorly 
>have a pretty goof indicator of what the management thinks of your value 
>to the company.
>
>Bruce

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mario Hieb, P.E.
Consulting Engineer

36 H St. #2
Salt Lake City, UT 84103

e-mail: mario at xmission.com
text: 8015546069 at mmode.com
cell: 801-554-6069

NSPE ~ AFCCE ~ SBE