This last paragraph seems to be a widespread issue, and not just in the electronics arena. Over the past few decades, equities trading has been more a crapshoot based on the rapidly changing price of the equity rather than on the long-term yield. It almost seems that these corporate boards want to pump up the stock value so they can sell the company at a profit and retreat into obscurity.

I've seen more than one company built from the outset for a quick sale after establishing "blue-sky". What happens once the company, often built on "underqualified" (a clearly inappropriate designation) lower-paid employees, who then work a great deal to establish the successful business only to have their jobs go to "properly credentialed" employees who are unqualified to support the company's products, who who look good on the employee roster when it's examined by prospective purchasers.

It's too bad that this is so common.

I agree that it's so common that manufacturers have fewer application specialists to advise the designer. They often do, as you say, have few people who even understand what the datasheet says, and, if you are unfortunate enough to have to deal with a distributor's app's help, they seldom understand even what you have to explain to them. It's too bad so many corporations are saddled with CEO and board that only have an eye to the quarterly report.

RE