Yes, it's a big lie that there's a shortage of scientists and engineers. That's how they keep the salaries down.

You don't find this out until you go into private practice. Suddenly, you find that people are really willing to pay the $150 per hour or so for a competent engineer. Of course, that's not one who says he'll deliver on Monday and still hasn't done so on Friday.

Often what the customer gets is determined not by what he says he wants, but by when he says he wants it. That's particularly the case where cost is concerned. I've told clients, "I can give you a solution that's functional by two weeks from Thursday next, but if you let me take two more months, it will cost you 80% less. To produce. Of course, it will cost you extra for those two months.

Usually, they're after the first case when they come to me, and someone else "productizes" the "thing." Sometimes I have to do it.

RE