Engineering layoffs: facts and myths

Being `technically vital,' proficient in a hot speciality, or retrained does not guarantee a job in today's market. This report recounts problems faced by laid-off engineers. Through their eyes, it also addresses such questions as: how successful has keeping technically vital been in making these individuals immune to layoffs? What hot new job areas have they found or not found? How well does the defense-to-commercial conversion appear to be working? In this article the case studies are highly personal views. Nonetheless, the experiences of these engineers suggest that, at least in certain contexts in today's work world while some commonly believed assumptions may be facts, others are myths