I was very disappointed last time I attempted to select people to replace engineering staff I'd removed. Out of a half dozen candidates, none could pass a simple screening process requiring little more than the ability to read and write. Not just knowing how, of course, but demonstrating the ability to do it successfully.

Engineering, after all, isn't restricted to making sparks and solder-splats in the lab, but mostly to reading, interpreting, and generating detailed specifications, and documenting observations made empirically.

I had these people read a magazine article, then asked them to write a short summary. I then took them to the test bench, and demonstrated a relatively simple procedure. I then asked them to write a short summary of what they'd seen. (a) If they'd been able to read and comprehend the magazine article, they'd not only have been able to write a summary, but, (b) they'd have immediately recognized that the lab procedure was precisely what was described in the trade magazine article. I did (b) in order to determine whether they were unable to write but were, in fact, able to read and comprehend.

Two of those applicants had master's degrees in electrical engineering.

Two of them (not the same two) didn't know the difference between a PLL and a synthesizer. None of them could discuss PLL characteristics such as capture range, acquisition time, tracking range, and settling time, let alone how to manage them. Those things can be learned by reading, however. If one can't read and can't comprehend what's been written, how can they have obtained a degree, let alone an MS. It's worth noting that these degrees were not from diploma mills like U of Phoenix or ITT, or whatever, but from respected institutions.

I have never considered lack a degree to be a disqualification. Back in the '70's, many bright young people left the university to pursue work that they understood, at which they excelled, and which they loved, in order to earn some money, of which they got plenty if they were good. I don't believe I've ever encountered degreed engineers any better than the brightest of those without degrees with whom I've worked along the way. The ability to write communicatively and to read with comprehension seems to be deteriorating. Perhaps that's why there's so much reduction in quality of manufactured goods.

RE