Psychology of Engineers

1. male
2. 74
3. Canada
4. Yes! One boy, age 50.
5. Not now, but I have been in the past.
6. Sometimes, but not as often as I should.
7. I would if there were any around, which there are not.
8. Yes
9. Not at the moment, but I have done in the past.
10. I have no idea what you are talking about. But, probably not.
11. Not entirely, but, at my age, what can you expect?
12. That is two questions, neither of which deserves an answer.
13. One, I think! I hope!
    
14. I can't remember!
    

1. male
2. 64
3. US
4. Yes! One daughter 31, son 27.
5. No
6. Yes.
7. Yes.
8. Yes
9. Yes
10. No, and still do not have a clue on how to
    
11. No yet, but the anxiety caused by not achieving has diminished
    
12. Search for advancement now is at a spiritual level and not professional
    
13. Do not know
    
14. I do not think so. Perhaps I am going through it now
    

1.) Male

2.) Ah, 46 I think. No, I'm sure.

3.) Philippines

4.) Yes. Girl - 13, Boy - 9, Girl - 4

5.) Not at the moment but I do plan to.

6.) Not formally.

7.) Yes, very much.

8.) Yes, quite.

9.) Not yet, but planning to. Hopefully this year.

10.) Yes, but I'm having another one .

11.) Yes

12.) I'm not actively seeking further advancement at work.

13.) 8

14.) No

1) Are you male or female? Male (cat)

2) What is your age? 57 (human years)

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? (England)

4) Do you have children? What ages? two, 34(M). 30(F)

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) No

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? Have done , no now because I'm the only Eng...

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? I help one factory guy with the distance learning Electronics course he's doing.

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Yes

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) No

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? Some of 'em, it would be a sad day when one felt one had achieved all ones dreams.... you'd have invent new ones quick.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Not really but I except the physical limitations of my age... I can't be a goalkeeper at 57

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? Working towards a controlled withdrawl

13) How many close friends do you have? Depends entirely on definition... including family? between 1 (wife) and 10.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? Yes (Major injury of my Son)

The friends question is particularly difficult...some would include every work/golf colleague or people they'd have a pint with. We went out for a meal last night with a couple ...(MrsCat's ex colleauge and husband) I'd consider them friends .. but not close friends... how close is 'close' ? Is a neigbour who'd help you unblock a drain a close friend? Or is it someone you'd open your heart to. How much do you need to drink before you say... Steve you're my best mate you are... you know (hic) I love you mate (hic) slides off chair....
Whoops I've digressed....
Are you sure this is psychology and not Astrology?

Del

I think Erikson would suggest that the simple fact that you are asking for a definition of close friends means you don't have any. He would not consider casual relationships at golf or at work close.

Erikson would probably call close those friends who would come sit in the hospital with you while your kid is undergoing surgery, or someone that you could tell your deepest feelings and secrets to. By that definition, women have close friends, and men don't (I know that is a sexist stereotype, oh well).

I disagree personally, I have a number of friendships at work that I consider close, among people that I don't see socially on a regular basis.

(Hic), I luf you toooo man...shhou are kinda cat like (hic), whersh the restroonn(hic)? Oh, never mind, I'll just pee on this blokes BMW......

Between 1 and 10... yeh 5 will do

Hey Del, not trying to be racist but what color cat be you? Some famous guy (don't recall the name) said that psychology is a blind man on hands and knees in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. Would a white or grey be different?

1) male

2) 68

3) Canada

4) yes, 23, 20, 34

5) no

6) no

7) none

8) yes

9) no

10) yes

11) no

12) no

1) Male

2) 66

3) USA

4) Yes: M42, F39, M37

5) Not currently (have in past: scouts, 4H, science competition, etc. Atheists don't have Sunday schools!)

6) We don't have any such program

7) Yes

8) Not critical, though I enjoy doing it

9) No

10) No. I was past 60 when I took my first flying lesson, and made my first parachute jump, so I know how to wait.

11) Modified: I'll never have the money needed for some things

12) I have actively turned down management roles (not my thing)

13) 4 (3m, 1F)

14) No - the only time I recall even seriously THINKING about age in such fashion was when my youngest had turned 21, and it didn't really bother me. I've never hidden my age, dyed my hair or beard, had cosmetic operations, etc.

1) Are you male or female? Yes, I'm Male.

2) What is your age? 55 Earth Years

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? USA

4) Do you have children? What ages? Yes, Daughter 23; Daughter 21; Son 18

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?)Yes I WAS; Coaching, Scouts, Science fairs, teaching giffted talented classes.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? Yes. Continuous improvement of the souls under our wing is the greatest of responisbilities.

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? ABsolutely. I learn when they do it their way , and Damn, it often works!

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Yes, it isimportant to all of us.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) Yes, Tutor Statistics, and problemsolving, consult on safety and production issues.

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? I have achieved many dreams, but As long as i am the hero in my own life story, i will continue to have new dreams and aspirations.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? ADjustments and reality checks are the difference between happy sanity and quiet desperation. Yes, of course I have modified my dreams or goals. But I have achieved more than I thought, and I have more to go.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? No, but I feel less urgency. as long as I am effective, I am not so concerned about my "title." Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? I am working on my MBA so that I can more formally teach.

13) How many close friends do you have? 6 alive, one recently deceased

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? I consider adult life to be a constant crisis. anything less and you're just not trying. WHen my oldest daughter got about age 17 it was as challenging as anything we had ever had to deal with. But That was in my very late 40's. At age 40 we were still home schooling ourkids and life was wonderful. Losing my job a couple of timeswas stressful, but each time I ended up in a better position.

Do keep us posted on your analysis.

milo

We homeschool our kids as well. Well except for the two that have gone on to University....

We homeschooled up until highschool- grade 9.

Both daughters were in the top most strata of their class- one is at a service academy, the other has already completed her masters. Magna or summa cum laude as undergrads.

My son is completing his senior year. he's not the intellectual type, but his talents lie elsewhere. he too is doing well academically. We had transition issues when he went back to formal school. He has been accepted to all the colleges to which he applied, so that worked out too.

Congrats to you for setting them on the path for success! I'm always happy to see that those of us who chose the homeschooling path less travelled almost always have a tale of success to share.

milo

1) Are you male or female? male

2) What is your age? 62

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? USA

4) Do you have children? What ages? 2 girls ages 29 and 27 + step-daughter 19

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) No

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? Help teach advanced classes in amateur radio (Extra class) once or twice a year.

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? Don't have any.

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Mentoring anyone is important.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) See six

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? Too old to dream. Now I just face reality.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Definitely.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement?

I own the company... I want someone else to run it so I can play in the lab.

13) How many close friends do you have? Excluding wife/girlfriend... (after 10 years we may as well be married) one.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? Very traumatic... My wife left me at age 38. Of course in Silicon Valley, divorce is considered to be an occupational disease.

Have fun

Bill

1) Are you male or female? Male, (I checked with my wife)

2) What is your age? 18 going on 42

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? Scotland

4) Do you have children? What ages? boy(17), girl(15)

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) Not any more.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? Yes

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? Very much

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Essential to everyone!

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) Part-time at College.

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? Still dreaming.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? New goals keep appearing when you reach the last set!

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? Never and always.

13) How many close friends do you have? Really close, 3

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? Not Yet, but I do fancy a Coupe!!

If you do find a common link there may be hope of a cure, my mother wanted an accountant be she got me instead!

1) Are you male or female?

a)male

2) What is your age?

a)42

3) What country have you spent most of your life in?

a)Netherlands till 17 years ago. UK since

4) Do you have children? What ages?

a) girl 14years old (15 in a couple of days)

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?)

a) only my own girl.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers?

a) not anymore. I used to teach trainees for customers

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed?

a) if they are willing to , and receptive to learning yes.

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you?

a) only my own girl

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school)

a) not any more see q6

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life?

a) strange question this. I thought I had not but I suppose I have in a different way than expected.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life?

a) yes, they grow with you.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement?

a) most definitely not but it has become more defined. I know what I don't want which is even more important

13) How many close friends do you have?

a) wife and child are the closest friends you could have but outside the 24/7 club:

1 bestest best friend male 50ish retired medical salesman

1 best friend female. partner of above

approx 10 "just" friends 8 male 2 female

All friends from the Harley scene, none from work

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday?

a) does it count if it started at 35?

does it count if the wife got very ill, twice? (but made us stronger together)

does it count if you suddenly want a Harley?

I suppose the answer is yes but I am not sure if it has passed yet

Case in regards to question 14, yes all those count!!

1) Are you male or female? male

2) What is your age? 56

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? England

4) Do you have children? What ages? None

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) No

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? Yes

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? Yes

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Mentoring anyone is important.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) Yes, part-time University lecture and seminars on engineering.

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? Not the original one, dreams change!

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Definitely.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? I own the company...

13) How many close friends do you have? Excluding wife/girlfriend... 5 (estimate)

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? Yes at 45, did a lot of things I've always wanted to, including some things I didn't want to do !!!

1. Male

2. 54

3. United States

4. 26(m), 22(f), 19(m)

5. Boy Scout Leader (weekly), Antlers (BPOE ages 14- 19)(twice monthly)

6. No

7. Yes

8. Yes

9. Yes?No? Scouting merit badges

10. No

11. Yes

12. No

13. 5

14. No

1) Are you male or female? I'm a man

2) What is your age? 62

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? Professional: US

4) Do you have children? What ages? Daughter, 27

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) No

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? No

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? If criticizing, looking through the magnifying glass to anything they do, keeping them from promotions (just to get more mature) is HELP, then yes sireee, I love helping them

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Yes, my daughter

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) Teaching electronics at ITT Tech was my first job in the US related to my profession (and the worst paid one).

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? Well, I am living in a free world, yes.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Adapted to the situation. I was dreaming to sail (did it in my college years). You know the drill: if you ask for the price of a small yacht you can't afford it!

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? What? VP? I am the President of my company (well, the janitor, too I am a one man business)

13) How many close friends do you have? None in the US, four in the whole world.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? At 39 jumped ship, in Greece, after 5 days being hidden under the main engine on a ore carrying ship. One year latter I came into US.

P.S. Steve are you going to answer your questions, too?

FAscinating, Welcome to The US!

Thanks for sharing.

milo

Thank you. My ego had a boost but the other "guy" tells me: take it easy, it is just a kind fella' engineer who wants to encourage you.

P.S. If you want a fascinating story, I had a colleague who, after Vietnam, got his PhD, and is a wizard in his field.

I've never been called "kind" before. so thats probably off the mark. Tough love is probably a more honest appraisal.

I'm genuinely inspired by the folks like yourself who overcame incredible odds by taking matters into their own hands and deciding to make a difference in their life.

I'm here because my forebears had the courage to chuck it wherever they came from and tried to build a new life here. There were no govt health plans when they took the ox cart across the alleghenies to get here. No police to protect them when they canoed to fort pitt twice a year to get supplies.

The courage to make such a decision is woefully under exhibited in our culture currently. every one is afraid of change and wants guarantees.

Like I said, Welcome. I'm proud you're here and proud to make your acquaintance..

milo

Thank you. You've got one more friend!

Thanks for all the replies so far! Feel free to keep them coming, the more replies I get the better my statistical basis.

Since it was brought up, and it is only fair, here are my answers....

1) Are you male or female? Male

2) What is your age? 45

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? USA (with a 2 year spell in Holland and a one year spell in Mexico)

4) Do you have children? What ages? 3 girls & 2 boys 12, 14,16, 18, 20

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?)

I work with kids church now, used to coach soccer and was involved with boy scouts.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers?

Yes I do

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed?

Yes I do indeed

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Yes it is, very! Partly why I like to participate in CR4.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school): Yes

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? Yes I have, and now I have dreamt new dreams and am pursuing those as well.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Not really given up on, but I have recognized that it is unlikely that I will ever be a rock and roll star... I still try

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement?

I think I have maybe one more promotion in me, but I will never be VP.

13) How many close friends do you have? About 6.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday?

I have not yet done a mid life crisis. I had a hard time at 30 (Erikson calls this the age 30 transition), but not a mid life. If I make it to 50 without one I guess I can breath a sigh of relief.

1 Male

2 55

3 36 India, 10 Kuwait, 1 Canada , 8 USA

4 yes, 1 boy 27

5 yes, public speaking & communication through Toastmasters

6 yes, presentation to university students about career goals

7 yes, very much

8 ofcourse, I enjoy it

9 yes, occasionally

10 yes, but dreaming never stops, I still dream to do a lot more

11 Yes, changes are way of life and adjustment is the KEY

12 I am seeking actively and working hard for its achievement

13 I cam ealone and would go alone!!!

14 I don't think I had a turbulent time at 40th BD, challenges are everyday to face and learn lessons

Welcome to CR4 Nand, we look forward to your participation.

1) Are you male or female? Male

2) What is your age? 67

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? USA

4) Do you have children? What ages? Yes, 2 girls, 47 and 37

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) Yes, 3 days a week

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? No (retired)

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? NA

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Yes, it's very satisfying

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) Yes. Martial arts to kids. Ages 4 thru 12

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? As soon as I finish one, I start on another one. As someone said (not me) "a lot of people die when they're fifty and we bury them when they're eighty". Not gonna be me!

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Given up- no, modified- maybe.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? I'm retired.

13) How many close friends do you have? About 12

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? Yes, haven't we all? If you're under forty, my answer doesn't apply (of course one could have a "young" life crisis I guess).

-John

Statistics are a funny thing, but I am surprised by the age distribution of the respondents so far... I really expected a bell curve with 40 about in the middle and spread from late 20s to early 70s, but so far I think the youngest respondent is 42...

I am wondering if the age distribution of CR4 readers is really skewed that way (the tide of baby boomers), or if it is just the people interested in responding to this thread that are skewed...

Steve, Us old guys have a wee bit more time to participate than the younger guys who still have plebnt yof family activities and career building 'have to do's ' to occupy their time. I always knew I was talking to "veterans' on here. At least for responders. Posters, I felt were the youngster looking for some mentoring.

milo

Steve

I notice that many of the "regulars" who responded are older... and several who "own the company". I look back to age 30 (for example) and at that age, I didn't have the time or inclination to get into a group like this. After many hours of work, I wanted to put work away and do anything else. And of course the Internet did not exist at that time. We older troops have the time to get involved in this sort of thing. Shoot!! I might spend a couple of hours a day going through the daily CR4... and I skip over alot of things which I know nothing about and/or am not interested in... so the skewed distribution would be a function of CR4 in itself.

Bill

I hope this helps:

1) Are you male or female? female

2) What is your age? 24

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? Pakistan

4) Do you have children? What ages? No

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) The only mentoring i do is with my young cousins and that too with their school work.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? Yes i try to be as helpful as i can be. With information/knowledge its always pleasant to share.

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? Yeah why not

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? I think so

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) Not really. But i am thinking of taking lessons for robotics at a local school.

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? Still trying.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? I have modified my goals but have no intention of giving up.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? Advancement would always be welcomed but not too soon. I'd rather be working than administering for now. Advancement as in nature or complicity of work is something i look forward to. New challenges are like a push forward.

13) How many close friends do you have? Well.. atleast 7 very close friends.. i have a large circle of friends, but after taking up a job i really cant stay in touch with them as much as i used to.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? Well it came sooner than 40 and is still kinda going on.. Life is changing too fast and there are times when i think that i cant match pace.

Welcome Mavra!,

You realize of course that you are now a statistical outlier in almost every catagory, and now I am going have to figure out what to do with since you don't fit the distribution!

I guess that make the maths more fun though!!

A statistical outlier!!

Glad to be of service!!

"I'd rather be working than administering for now. Advancement as in nature or complicity of work is something i look forward to."

This is wisdom far beyond your age! And far beyond many of us to truly understand. menauingful work rather than 'position' is paid lip service to, but most will still take the empty promotion...

Good for you.

milo

Its very simple actually. Its a matter of what makes me happy. Being an engineer makes me happier than being the "boss".. Very frankly being the boss is the most boring and the most unhappening job. All rank and no fun!

Steve.S, After cricket and culture now Psychology! "Engineer" a silent worker who either works in four walls of factory or in the feild for marketing, servicing. He works in hostile envoirment filled with smoke, heat and noise.He is sandwiched between Labour and Lords who own the facotry. Rarely gets public recognision like Doctors,Politians and others. Normaly paid low but always under pressure. Poor chap I feel pity for him eventough I also belong to the same profession.Well here is my answer to your survey which I dont know how it may help you:- 1) Are you male or female? Male 2) What is your age? 67 Years 3) What country have you spent most of your life in? India 4) Do you have children? What ages? Son 35 and Daughter 32 5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) Not at present but earlier with my children 6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? I used to train sales and service engineers as additional responsiblity. 7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? I am retired now, earlier yes always tried to motivate them. 8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Yes, they are going to be to-marrow's leaders. 9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) No, I would love to but now I am retired also it is noble profession to teach. 10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? No I had a dream to own a small factory but looking at my friends who owned them and had miserable life I changed my dream. 11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Yes as per 10 above. 12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? I am retired now, but I have acheived target of my life. 13) How many close friends do you have? As Marketingman many, but around 15 close ones. 14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40th birthday? Yes I devolped Slip Disc problem and was down for 3 months. Such problem come and go in everyone's life. Please post your final report on CR4 for benefit of all of us.

1. Male

2. 48

3. Australia

4. Boy 19, Girl 17, Boy 15

5. Tutor neighbourhood kids in Maths, Physics, Chem, English weekly.

6. Yes, if asked by them.

7. Of course.

8. It's fun spreading the engineering meme to new minds.

9. Have in past.

10. No, the dream changes daily.

11. Yes

12. Never cared about advancement, just want interesting projects and challenges while being paid large quantities of money.

13. Six, depends on how you define close.

14. Yes, every couple of years.

ffej

1) Are you male or female?

Male

2) What is your age?

52 (How did that happen?)

3) What country have you spent most of your life in?

Australia

4) Do you have children? What ages?

2 boys, 21 & 19

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?)

Yes, Sunday school & every opportunity I get with my boy's friends.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? Every opportunity I get.

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed?

Yes.

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you?

Yes.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school).

Yes.

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life?

Many of them, but they just naturally keep expanding and modifying.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life?

I gave up on the idea of staying single about an hour after I first met my wife. We have been married over 30 years now, does that count as a change of goal?

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement?

I never saw work as the "Main Game", it was just necessary to support my habits of eating and having a house to live in.

13) How many close friends do you have?

Probably around 10.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday?

There were a lot of major decisions that had to be made around that time to set things up for the run down to retirement from working life, but no real crisis. Just analysis and plans.

While you are Psychologising Steve can you tell me why it is that most engineers seem to have trouble with spelling? In 30 + years I have only met 1 engineer that would actually claim to be a good speller. I'm no sure if it is the way that we're wired or that the English language is so inconsistent with its rules. What is your guess?

Here you go mate, you'll like this! The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5 year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English". In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter. In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away. By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a rel sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru. Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa!

U outdid urself Stev. Gud 1

Eine was für Metamorphose! Ich wußte, daß sie zu diesem kommen, mein lieber Watson!What a metamorphosis. I knew that they will come to this, my dear Watson!

That was great, Steve! 'Mind if I share it with my friends?

Sure, Vulcan, I found it elsewhere on the internet. Share away...

How about net short forms like U, HRU, Thx , BRB, da, C U, I C, GTG, T.C etc.

This new language sound something totally different to what I've got used to! I just could not read the last few lines! Is is really English now? Let's call it Gerlish!

AC Wing.

HAHAHAHHAhHAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhahhhahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Das ist sehr gut mein freund!

Trying to break the model...

1) Male, but on the look out for a female, (I think the specs are too tight tol's)

2) 41 I think... I don't feel any different either side of that day, still hiding in the '20s groups

3) Australia, but have been overseas (Tasmania & New Zealand)

4) None that anyone has admitted to, needs more practice I think (Refer point 1)

5) I was in the scouts, then ended in Rovers, got the interest of Off road buggies there, now building a new one, huh? where was I again... Ahhh yes, I instruct Karate classes, and help out there too

6) Mentoring? instructing? teaching? nah, I think parents that know me too well keep their kids away from me, I'm not evil to the kids, but what they learn may not be home safe.... Silastic a coffee mug to the inside of a cupboard door, silastic a Caffee cup to the table (Silastic, cause most of the time it can be removed easier than super glue or epoxy)

7) Help the younger ones, older ones, help them with work too

8) Well, I don't go out to find people to Mentor,

9) Refer point 5, guess that also applies here.

10) Dream? living in a nice big house on a farming property, Tractors and Race Bugy in the shed, a gorgeous wife, and kids who adore me, a few dogs, no cats (Sorry Del)... Sorry, I have yet to find the dream, still living with Parents...

11) Dreams are still there, but when I find the prick who keeps moving the Goal posts, watch out..

12) Father was self employed, the idea of moving to Management/VP is not a direction I wish to go, I'm doing extra schooling to help me get the little pieces of paper to help job hunting

13) Ummm, Family, or outside family? I actually don't know, not really needed to find out, I'll go ask mum, see what she said.

14) I cannot imagine getting to that stage in my life, no wife or kids (refer point 1 again) the only crisis I have (almost every morning) is waking up 10 mins after I'm supposed to be at work

15) Other engineers in family, Parents, not that way inclined, 1 brother is Lighting design (lit a face of the opera house in Sydney), the other is auto industry components manufacturer, me, Electronics & Mechanical

1) Are you male or female? Male

2) What is your age? 51

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? Australia

4) Do you have children? What ages? B-22, G-21, G-19

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) Coaching Judo

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? Yes for undergraduates

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? Yes, good to see them squirm when they are asked to think.

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Yes, it's the future

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) No

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? No, but getting closer

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? No

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? I enjoy where I am now but I still look at new jobs.

13) How many close friends do you have? ~8

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? No

1) M

2) 56

3) Germany

4) zero (sometimes employees are like children, especially if you feel personal responsibility ....)

5) no

6) yes

7) yes, they have the right to get as much help as I once got decades before

8) yes

9) yes

10) Some yes, some not. Sometimes they MUST change dynamically in order to stay healthy and well.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Yes. I get more and more tolerant, mainly against me ... ;-)

12) No. Yes.

13) 5 very close, additional 5-10 "only" close

14) If a change in partnerchip and a company breakdown is something like that, yes.
(who has not ??)

Regards Uwe

Another statistical outlier, at least in age...

1) Are you male or female?

Male

2) What is your age?

27, almost 28

3) What country have you spent most of your life in?

USA

4) Do you have children? What ages?

None, although I have one on the way and he/she is -1 month old. I'm getting very nervous!

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?)

I do a little work with kids at church but that is it.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers?

I hope I still qualify as a young engineer, at my work there is no technical career path per se, although the HR people would beg to differ, so the mentoring is tough to find but I work at it.

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed?

Yes.

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you?

Yes, and will be more so in the future.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school)

No, not at this time.

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life?

Tough to say what my dream is right now, although I expect impending fatherhood will come pretty close.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life?

I have modified them a little bit, I came out of college thinking that I wanted to be in design, but after a year of design and a year of operations, I figured out that I like operations quite a bit more.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement?

Actively seeking additional advancement, to the never-ending dismay of management that would rather not have to continue to do reviews with me.

13) How many close friends do you have?

Not really any, other than my wife, a bit of a Steppenwolf.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday?

I'll let you know in 12 years.

1) Are you male or female? Male

2) What is your age? 53 (arrested my development @ 15)

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? 50% USA, 50% abroad

4) Do you have children? What ages? 32(F), 17(S), 14(S), 14(GS)

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) Coached youth sports for ten years.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? I help when I can

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? Yes

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Yes

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) Drug and alcohol counseling in a Rehab facility.

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? The initial dreams yes but I keep dreaming

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Modified. I've the raised the bar on the expectations I have for myself.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? I continue to receive higher profile/echelon projects

13) How many close friends do you have? 5 +/- (2 exes and 3 or 4 pals)

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? Yes.

1) Are you male or female? Male

2) What is your age? 44

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? USA

4) Do you have children? Yes What ages? 7, 10, 15, 18, 21

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? Yes. How often (weekly, monthly?) Weekly.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? No, I am the youngest.

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? I enjoy helping the older engineers succeed. Seriously.

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Yes.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) Yes. End Users, Sunday School and Cub Scouts

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? Some for sure. Not finished yet.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Sure. What did I know back then?

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Yes. I have no desire to go through that kind of torture. I have gone through 7 bosses in 7 years. I have spoken to several ex-engineers who would give their left nut to be back in the trenches away from the stresses of management. Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? There is one more notch before management, that I would like to do.

13) How many close friends do you have? 9

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? Not yet. Too busy. Maybe I had it but wasn't paying attention. Too focused.

Hi Steve

I could use this as my biography at CR4. It could shine some light on me which will create shadows but that is what you are after I think.

1) Are you male or female?

Male

2) What is your age?

56

3) What country have you spent most of your life in?

Germany 25 years. Australia 26 years. 5 years all over the place.

4) Do you have children? What ages?

One boy age 36. Two grand children 3 and 6.

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?)

Yes, any time I see they could hurt them selves or others by taking the wrong approach, be it the choice of tool, chemical, material or time to get things done. Teaching patience is most important and the hardest thing to do.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers?

Yes and the older ones much to their dismay.

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed?

Yes.

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you?

Yes.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school)

See Q. 5

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life?

No.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life?

Never given up and modifying on a daily basis.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement?

Two for the price of one? I am seeking advancement beyond that.

13) How many close friends do you have?

Never counted them but many can count on me if it is for a good cause.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday?

Life has been turbulent since the word go. I hope it stays that way because I hate boredom.

Thanks again to everyone! I have started compling the data and in many ways it confirms the work of Erikson and Levinson. My plan is to keep gathering data until this Saturday, Feb 9th, and then I will finish compling and put together my report and presentation. I plan to present the findings in class on February 12th.

So next weekend I'll post the results...

How do you know you are geting statistic from engineers and not just many guys who want to be perceived as engineers, e.g. quality assurance engineers or sales engineers, or are those fringe careers that use title engineer, e.g. maintenance engineer, railroad engineer, operating engineer. You should ask about their job title and education

I am interested to see if the experience engineers, scientists, or technical people makes a difference, I am not really so concerned about specific education or job title. The demographic of CR4 varies across the spectrum of technical people, but there are few if any book keepers or car salesmen that read these pages, and if they do it is because they are techy at heart I would think. I would suspect that the perspective of a maintenance engineer is going to be pretty similar to that of an operating engineer. At least that is my premise... What do you think I could gain by asking about education and job title? Are you suggesting that an engineer is more or less likely to experience a mid life crisis than an electronics technician? That might be an interesting research area to pursue, but I have what I need for the current assignment... Also I am having a hard enough time drawing conclusions based on what is arguably no where near a sufficient sample statistically without paretoing it further. Thanks for the suggestion though!

you could almost go on to tabulate the sex/ages of kids, and see if Engineers breed brighter kids, or more boys against girls :P

One of things I was after was to find out if mentoring kids is related to having young kids in the house, and if you have older kids does that stop.

I need to parse the data a bit, but my first impression is that if you don't have kids, you are not likly to be involved in mentoring kids, and if your kids are grown, you probably don't do so anymore. There were a couple respondents that still teach Karate or what not to kids even though their kids were grown, but the majority don't.

There may be a connection between the overwhelming positive reaction to mentoring younger employees, and no longer having kids around to mentor. Again there is not enough data here to necessarily make that connection. (and MRDPE below proves the exception!)

Hi Steve,

Interesting replies to your post. Regarding question #8, "Is mentoring younger people important to you?"

With the exception of Mavra (#29); "I think so" and Snaketails (#45); "I don't go out to find people to mentor.", everyone answered a resounding "yes".

What does that tell you about us? We're all just a bunch of likeable old farts that really enjoy helping folks, especially the younger ones. I think most of us would probably be the same way with, or without, kids around.

-John

My wife and I were involved coaching and managing two teams in little league baseball when our son played. We acted as cub leaders when he went to cubs. We did not do this because we had an all consuming urge to help, but rather because, at the time, there were not enough parents or other adults prepared to do it. So if we didn't do it there would be no baseball and no cubs. The need for volunteering in this way became known to us through our son. When he no longer was involved in these activities, we did not have the same incentive to continue.

When my grandchildren played soccer, hockey or basketball, we attended some of their games but did not become active in coaching or managing because there were plenty of adults involved in these programs already. In other words, we were not needed.

Perhaps we will become involved once again with the activities of our great grandchildren.

I just started a Mechatronics course last night, and the teacher talked about when you get to the "Perspex or Glass years"

Your young, you say hi to a chick, and you could have a date later that day

a bit older, and they say Hi back

older again, they smile or wink at you....

Then you get to the clear perpex years.

you smile, wink or say "Hi/Hello" and its as if your not there, they don't even see you..

You start to notice a difference when someone comes up and says "Excuse me Mister" or Sir

Then you notice that all the hot looking actresses on TV and in the movies are about the same age as your daughter.... that really messes with a mans mind...

You can't blame your daughter for her genetics.

Not having kids, I don't have that problem.

Think about it, you see a hot chick, she is someones daughter.

You. "Hey, look at the rack on that chick", Mate "Oh yeh, she has a fine set"

Then the other way

You. "Hey, look at the rack on that chick", Mate "She is my daughter, thats SICK, stop or else"

Mate She's my daughter, thats SICK, stop it or else! Lets go piss on some blokes BMW instead...

Pissing on some blokes BMW must be a city thing....

Not as bad as the country version (cars are generally older too)

Out there, they piss in some guys fuel tank (or the local copper)

Well, it is unleaded isn't it.

Not if you live in Port Pirie!!!!

It gould be worse!!!!!!!

1) Are you male or female? MALE

2) What is your age? 42

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? USA

4) Do you have children? What ages? NO

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) YES - WEEKLY

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? YES

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? YES

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? YES

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) YES

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? YES (but always looking for a new challenge)

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? NO

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? YES Or are you actively seeking additional advancement?

13) How many close friends do you have? 5

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? NO

MRDPE

TheProfessionalEngineer.com

1) Are you male or female? Female

2) What is your age? 56

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? USA

4) Do you have children? What ages? No

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) For many years I taught Sunday School; for ten years I was active with a church Youth Group; for twenty years I was the advisor of an Explorer Post. All three were weekly endeavors. Not doing any of these right now, but intend to get re-involved.

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? I don't have that opportunity at my current job.

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? It would be fun!

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Yes.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) For many years I taught computer classes for a living (OS internals, performance, etc.). I also give "freebie" lectures on astronomical topics for clubs, scouts, etc. And, as mentioned above, I've done a lot of Sunday School.

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? I wanted to have horses and a bunch of kids - so, no, I guess I haven't achieved either of those!

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Very much so. Life keeps handing me things I hadn't expected - much more interesting than I would have imagined. Getting optimal results in each situation has become much more important than long-range plans.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? I've don't want to be in management. I like being hands-on, making things happen. I have turned down several management opportunities; I don't think I'd be good at it, and I KNOW I wouldn't like it.

13) How many close friends do you have? Maybe a dozen.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? Yes - a divorce.

1) Are you male or female? Male

2) What is your age? 35

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? United States

4) Do you have children? What ages? Son(4), Another due in 5 weeks

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) Yes, weekly

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? Yes

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? More than almost anything else

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? Very

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) Yes

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? Some of them

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? No

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? Own the company

13) How many close friends do you have? 2 - neither of which do I see more than once a year

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? Not yet...

Hey Steve.

1) Are you male or female? --- M

2) What is your age? --- 45

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? --- USA

4) Do you have children? What ages? --- no

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) --- Nothing in particular

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? --- Online

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? --- Sure

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? --- Yes, they need moral guidance.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) --- Online electronics group

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? --- Still at it

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? --- At times it's hard, but persisting.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? --- N/A

13) How many close friends do you have? --- 4 or 5 counting mom and brother.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? --- It peaked around 2002, it seems.

You might find Dr. Leik Myrabo to be an interesting subject.

I couldn't find his answers to Steve's questions. Can you provide a link?

^{_{1) Are you male or female?}} Male

_{^{2) What is your age?}} 38

_{^{3) What country have you spent most of your life in?}} USA

_{^{4) Do you have children? What ages?}} 1 son 4 yrs old. 2 stepsons 2 & 9 and 5 stepdaughters 16, 15, 12, 6, 5

_{^{5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?)}} Please see above

_{^{6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers?}}No

_{^{7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed?}} Yes, though I am not a degreed eng myself. I have, for many years 'helped' engineers. Yeah I've 'helped' 'em quite a bit.

_{^{8) Is mentoring younger people important to you?}} Yes

_{^{9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school)}} No, not as you have listed. I spend a very large amount of time working with men and women of all ages and background who are alcohol/chemical dependant though

_{^{10) Have you achieved your dream for your life?}} My dreams - No for the most part. Dreams I did not know I had - yes beautifully so.

_{^{11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life?}} As long as there is air in my lungs and blood in my veins I shall work toward them. I keep basically the same lofty goals and work towards them, along the way much is revealed and good things are accomplished

_{^{12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement?}} I always do the very best I can. If it is good enough i am rewarded in some way. If my employer makes it difficult or does not appreciate my efforts I move on. So - no and yes.

_{^{13) How many close friends do you have?}} More than many it seems. But we are like survivors of a shipwrecked vessel if you know what I mean. Rejoicing in life and trusting one another fully for having endured such trials we have a bond that is difficult to describe. Truly close long term friends - about 7 and many more of the aforementioned.

_{^{14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40th birthday?}} I don't think so. Could be goin' through the damn thing right now though. Hmmmmm.

Hi TexasCharley, I reckon that you have just stuffed up Steve's statistics, what with 8 kids.

How do you find time to work??? It would be a full time job looking after them.

I know what it's like having 9 grand children and when they all come to visit together, boy I can't wait for them to go.............at least I can get rid of most of them. I live with 3 of them permanently(my wife and I live in the granny flat I/we built about 5 years ago.) I think they spend more time in our place than they do in their own.

Anyhow good luck to you.

Another good thread, I knew you'd be fun from the start!

I'm not an engineer [isn't that the guy that wrecks the train?] We should be heaping you with abuse as we normally would any student.

I've always fixed/broken things.

1) Are you male or female?

Male

2) What is your age?

47

3) What country have you spent most of your life in?

USA

4) Do you have children? What ages?

1 deceased, for me this is 1 of those questions I can never quite decide how to answer, in a social situation saying no will probably elicit a sharp nudge from my wife. Saying yes will make everyone else uncomfortable [shuffling of feet & downward glances]

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?)

just my nephews, monthly

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers?

I've always had to mentor new maintenance mechanics, out of necessity! The only way to keep from being totally overworked, was to continually train. I've learned alot about pacing & how to use practical methods[work orders] to increase skills

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed?

I've helped a few over the years gain a more practical perspective on real world applications.

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you?

Yes, I hope to do more in the future.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school)

See above & draw your own conclusions.

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life?

That wouldn't be possible, there's always bigger & better to be done

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life?

Never give up, always adapt & change.

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Or are you actively seeking additional advancement?

Well that's a little hard to answer. I left my long time employer to start my own thing & we're in a bit of turmoil right now & i'm Job hunting, working on the side & generally scraping by while we get through various planning/permitting hurdles.

13) How many close friends do you have?

3

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday?

I seem to be in the middle of it, been going on for a few years.

1.Male

2.57

3.USA

4. 29,25,23 Male Male Female

5.Yes. I teach at a college and tutor most days.

6.I used to before getting this job.

7. Yes.

8. Somewhat.

9.yes

10. for the most part. I don't own a large yacht yet. I probably never will because I really don't look forward to the maintenance.

11. I have never given up but I have modified younger ideas to more mature Ideas.

12.I run an internet business repairing/rebuilding older carburetors. I have been busy enough to not have time to consider more employment. I never wanted to be management. I quit working for Intel because their "culture" did not match mine. I have occasionally missed the high income, but am much happier than when I worked for them. Besides they gave me a lot of money to leave. It was win-win for me.

13. Quite a few.

14.When I was 39 I got rid of an ex-wife who could not be trusted with money or other men. I think it was her midlife crisis not mine.

Steve; Hope it's not absolutely too late to respond, didn't see this until just now. Anyway, it'll let people know more about where I'm coming from, and that's OK too.

1) Are you male or female? Yes (OK, male)

2) What is your age? 19 going on 61, or as I usually put it, 'forty-twenty'

3) What country have you spent most of your life in? USofA less time overseas in US Navy & on projects

4) Do you have children? None I am aware of What ages? N/A

5) Are you involved with mentoring kids in any way (coaching kids sports, boy scouts, Sunday school, etc)? How often (weekly, monthly?) Have in the past assisted with martial arts classes and did a weekly session for a 6th-grade teacher friend's class in building a radio set with improbable components; always willing to help friends' kids, but always warn them that I'll make 'em dangerous - I'll tell 'em the truth!

6) At work do you participate in mentoring programs for younger engineers? Yes, mostly scientists, though, as I'm not an engineer (majored in environmental biology, minor in chemistry), but have worked amongst many engineers.

7) At work do you enjoy helping younger engineers succeed? Younger everyone, for they will have to take charge eventually, so they damn well better be prepared!

8) Is mentoring younger people important to you? You betcha! Keeps me young, helps my perspective, passes lessons learned on to the future.

9) Do you teach in any capacity? (Sunday school, college, night school) A large part of my job has always been training (as distinct from 'teaching'), which recharges my batteries every time.

10) Have you achieved your dream for your life? One original, to make a career of SCIENCE, several others, partially to no.

11) Have you given up on or modified your dreams or goals for your life? Of course - things change, gotta change with 'em or face extinction. My standards, however, have remained high...

12) Have you given up on further advancement at work (ie promotion to management, becoming a VP)? Never really wanted to be "da man". Or are you actively seeking additional advancement? I seek more challenges, whether advancing or sideways is unimportant.

13) How many close friends do you have? A baker's dozen, have had more, but not all are still with us.

14) Have you been through what you would consider a "midlife crisis," a turbulent time in your life somewhere around your 40^th birthday? And then some! The beat goes on...

Good fortune with this, please share your conclusions, if any?

Ok, so I am now compiling data and doing the analysis. So any surveys after this post will not be included. Thanks again to all, and I will post a summary and breakdown later this weekend..

Here's my responses:

1. Male
2. 32
3. USA
4. No
5. No
6. No
7. I like to help people succeed if I can (doesn't have to be an Engineer)
8. I like to give advice, but I think part of that is that I love the sound of my own voice (I wish I were kidding)
9. No
10. No
11. I've made compromises, but on the whole I seem to be on track
12. I've given up on further advancement at this particular job
13. 2
14. I'll let you know, though my quarter life crisis was profound

"Higher than expected incidence of midlife crisis"

May also be explained by the fact that engineers and Technology types are "where the rubber meets the road" fact based rather than emotive based and thus more candid than general population aurveyed byt Mac arthur foundation.

"Appears that as men age they become less involved with mentoring children"

This statement does not attempt to explain if that fact is an attribute of the men (less interest) or the millieu (Less appropriate access to children in society to mentor) as men age.

Your analysis of the problems of your analysis was satisfactory. However, failing to point out sample size (number of respondents) is problematic.

Nice job Steve-o.

milo