Thursday, December 10, 2009

My personal Record of Improvement

I always look for ways to better myself. Physically mentally and emotionally. (less emphasis on emotional haha) For me it's not just to read self help books but to implement an aggressive attitude to learn.  Simple as consistency of constant aggressive learning.

In 1992 my push was to learn telephone/internet related tools such as FTP, modems, Archie and Gopher. I taught internet classes in the evenings at Motorola. In 1994 my mission was to learn Surfacing. In 1995 my mission was to learn HTML and Perl. In 1996 my mission was to learn Alias Studio. In 1998 my push was to learn CDRS the Evans And Sutherland Surfacing tool used by GM and Ford. (they were using CDRS at Caterpillar Cab group in 1998) In 1999, my mission was to teach Alias Studio. In 1998, my focus was on public speaking, so I could present at Pro/E user conferences with confidence. In 2001 I made a push to learn ISDX so I could teach it. In 2002 my focus was on learning Maya and Pro/CONCEPT in order to teach them. In 2003 I taught myself Maya well enough to teach a Design Engine four-week Maya comprehensive class. In 2004 I designed plastics classes and made a push to organize so I could teach a two day class. Another year, 2005, I taught myself Pro/CABLE. By 2006, I had learned Pro/CABLE well enough to teach it. In 2007 I taught myself Routed Systems Designer and made several Pro/E user presentations and made other preparations to teach that. In 2008 my focus is to hone my training skills.

I have made up my goals for 2009.  I made a serious effort to learn Mechanism and Animation.... and video editing software. I am open to suggestion for my learning path as 2010 rolls near.    Remember consistency is important.  Like making a commitment to working out in the gym every day.  I go on on vacation and trips teaching on-site classes with no access to a gym so I do push-ups in the morning in the hotel room.  Learning in Pro/ENGINEER should be just as consistent. And who better to invest in but yourself?

Each year I give myself a swift kick in the pants (attitude kick) so I can learn something new that will make me more in demand as an instructor. I hope others can take my lead and push themselves each year like me to learn something new at a high level each year.

What are you doing to improve yourself or your situation?  Send me an email bart@designengine.com

Design Engine Education
Bart Brejcha
120 N Green St. Ste 605  
Chicago, IL 60607
ph: 312.226.8339
bart@designengine.com
www.proetools.com

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

The Dream Job is NOT Impossible

In the united states as recent as 1975, parents would pay an employment agency tall cash to assist their 22 year old son (recent graduate) a job. Dad's paid that fee to conclude and get the kid out of the house as they say (after college). Those 'employment agency' advertisements could not guarantee a job legally but if they had good success rates and client testimonials then people paid the fee. They would manage resume with their customer, pool from the employment agency contacts, coach the candidates and actually assist their clients into obtain a job.

The culture changed to where the hiring manager pays the fees. The later came in the form of a percentage or margin paid out from an hourly rate or a yearly salary depending upon if the job is full time or contract. With the current climate for job acquisitions... manufactures like to try before they buy and opt to hire a candidate for contract first then make an offer after six months.

On a past business plan for design engine I specified that design engine would take a fee in exchange for training, utilizing design engine database, resume building, coaching to assist customers to obtain their dream jobs. In a sense we resorted back to before the 70's where people pay a group for job placement.

It just looks like a Pro/E training class and we call it a four week comprehensive ... in a sense you pay us to get a job but there is a month of work and it usually takes 8 weeks before candidates get their job. And in our case many times it's the dream job candidates want, like Harley, NASA or General Dynamics.


http://www.proetools.com/courses/pro_engineer/comprehensive_wkshp.htm

Design Engine has assisted thousnads into obtining their dream job.