Many times have I heard my friends and colleges being caught in this situation, having to alone produce an engineering feat equivalent to a miracle. So much is expected from them with no back up from the company. Perhaps many dream to be that maverick, brilliant, engineer that turns a corporation around, propelling them into fame and fortune. But often enough they fail to deliver, at no fault of their own, due to the company not backing them up.
To illustrate the point; here are some examples from some fellow engineers:
Re-design an entire product line from the ground up. No help from anyone, our fellow engineer was burdened with design difficulties beyond his expertise.
Result: Products were not done fast enough; the corporation was downsized.
Required to make a fringe idea a reality. The company promised another larger company they would deliver a working prototype in a short amount of time. Our fellow engineer was pressured at every step to make this concept.
Result: It was not feasible with the budget; the company lost the contract. And our engineer was laid off.
Formally trained as an electrical engineer, our next fellow engineer was required to design mechanical drive components, software in an esoteric language, as well as all the electrical hardware. Every time he spent time on one aspect of the design, management said to work on another.
Result: With no plan and no help, our engineer was unable to complete much before the management board a deemed unfit for employment. He was terminated. The company never finished said product despite outsourcing.
Perhaps it's a sign of the times, but the modern engineer is expected to be a renaissance engineer, a wiz kid, and a prodigy. And we are to some degree. But often enough we have to bend space and time, while remaining under budget and constant pressure from management, or we lose our jobs.
Share your stories of impossible demands; if you achieved them, and if you didn't.
Cabe
