On Jan 5, 8:22*am, axolotl wrote:
Carl M wrote:

I'd provide all the major parts, a lot of the smaller

stuff, diagrams (some pencil on paper, some wire lists, some worse,)
and high quality expectations. *I'm easy to work for, providing that I
don't need to hold anyone's hand,

You asked.

You are lined up on final for a landing at disaster airport. You want to
give someone poor instructions (pencil on paper, worse), have them guess
as to what you really want (high quality), order your parts for you
(smaller stuff) and presumably give you the box you need on time as a
part time activity, in between more important stuff.

If you need a box that does something, write a spec with deliverables
and a date and have somebody as good as you are do the project managment
to get you what you need.

Trying to run a tech not in your firm is not a good use of your
resources. If you need more hands, hire a temp that you can look over
the shoulder of twice a day.

Kevin Gallimore

Our tiny group has a small number of folks in it, all technically
oriented. By the time I defined what I wanted in clear lettering with
dots and crosses, I could have done it myself. To have our company's
contract folks/planners/money wasters get involved, it would take
months and cost ten times as much. Therefore, as I myself have been
able to take vague expectation and convert that to tangible and
functional equipment, I was hoping to find someone who has similar
abilities and put them to work for a while. I understand that I have
high expectations, but if I can do it, surely I can't be the only
one. Hiring a temp is attractive, but that complicates the process
for us phenomenally (unions, legal, etc) but I haven't ruled it out,
either. Just not my preference.
My boss is hiring other techs for other projects, but this
particular one does not rate a full time electrical lab tech,
unfortunately, as in six months my workload will taper off
dramatically for a few more months, then peak somewhere. Given our
labor costs, hiring this sort of work out makes great economic sense.
I can only do so much, unfortunately. I've also learned that folks
with my particular skill set (my knowledge is wide and shallow, rather
than narrow and deep, and can turn ideas into something that actually
works) are pretty hard to find. Most folks know their little world
really well but lack much practical knowledge beyond that, which works
for most folks, and I have no issue with it.