[indieFan]

A couple of comments based on the previous posts:

1. I was told not to worry about how many years experience a company says they want for a job applicant. They will fill it with anyone who is "qualified" to suit their needs. If you look through classifieds, it will often say a BS in EE or X years equivalent experience.

2. Use your FIRST connections. Chances are they can get you information about recruitment opportunities at companies you're interested in, if not try to get you hired themselves.

3. Don't think that your first job will be your last job. I was explicity told by a professor that company loyalty is unheard of these days. Most people will move on after 5 years or so.

4. The broader your background, the better off you will be when dealing with robots, especially industrial robots which I'm beginning to believe are all but completely ignored around these forums. I work with several types on a daily basis. One I have to be the mechanical/electrical eyes and ears to relay information about crashes to the programmer. This robot is a "one-off" machine, so there is no precedent for any of the issues that come up. The other robot I have to not only be the mechanical/electrical eyes and ears, but I also have to be the programmer since they are 15-20 years old and nobody else is around for coding anymore.

5. Re: Programming the Bots
If you're not a rookie team, then consider using an older robot or removing required components and using those to work on your code. Bongle alluded to people having to come and tighten screws when the programmers were trying to get stuff done. My question in response to this is: Has it occurred to you that this might be an issue of safety? What happens if the bolts come out due to vibration? What seems insignificant to programmers may actually be very significant to the mechanicals and vice-versa.

indieFan