5 ms·

One of the janitors in my high school once gave us a lecture on linear algebra. I don't know what he did before he left the former Warsaw Pact country he was fr

One of the janitors in my high school once gave us a lecture on linear algebra. I don't know what he did before he left the former Warsaw Pact country he was from, but it was one of those whoa kind of experiences.

inglor_cz 4y ago
In the 1990s, when the former USSR had gone to shit, you could meet a lot of menial workers from the ex-Soviet republics who had academic degrees and could hold a conversation to prove it. I studied mathematics in Prague in 1996-2003. More than once I met a janitor or a taxi driver who, albeit with a heavy Russian or Ukrainian accent, knew what a uniformly continuous function was and what does the Chinese Remainder Theorem say.
- actionfromafar 4y ago
  I hope those days don't come back. This migration wave hopefully can get jobs more according to their area of expertise.
  - nisegami 4y ago
    The scale has changed, but those days have never really ended. I'm from a Caribbean country that people are usually quite eager to leave. I've seen numerous cases of people with post-secondary education and jobs to go with it leave for the US or UK and end up doing "unskilled" labor because their qualifications don't carry across.
    - spaghettiToy 4y ago
      >because their qualifications don't carry across. New (US) grads have significantly less qualifications than anyone wants to admit. It's getting 2 years of experience that makes the difference. When looking to hire people from South America, there was lots of manufacturing experience, but we needed Design experience. When we hired CAD guys, they followed directions fine, but possibly too literally or would stop too prematurely. When getting local, non engineers to do CAD, they would read our mind more. Not that this is a show stopper. If we met 3 times a day for a quick meeting with our SA CAD guys, we achieved just as much. It just required more meetings/phone calls.
- RalfWausE 4y ago
  Yep, can confirm that: The time i was working in an hospital in germany (around 2001) an older dude worked in the janitor department, turned out, he had an doctor degree in mechanical engeneering and was designing jet engines for MiG before the soviet union collapsed... and now was repairing toilets and changing lightbulbs. Sad stories...
  - yaseer 4y ago
    We can all joke about how Big Tech shovels some of the finest technical minds towards clicking ads. But on the plus side, the size of the tech sector in 2022 does make for much more efficient job market for technical skills, than in decades past. I would hope someone with a doctorate in mechanical engineering, who used to design jet engines, would be able adapt their skills to go work somewhere like Tesla, or a self-driving car company, or any other similar startup.
    - spaghettiToy 4y ago
      I'll tell you the realities of Mechanical Engineering and auto. You typically will make a single part. Maybe its the plastic to cover the car's metal. Maybe its the screen user interfaces with, maybe its airbags. Whatever the case, the plastic and screens are deemed necessary by society to sell a car. Some mechanical engineer will have this job. At least you make cars right? Well there are over 20 major car companies, if your company disappeared tomorrow, life would move on with minimal interruptions. The most you can claim is that you are forcing the automotive industry to be ultra competitive. Strangely enough, startups/Tesla is the last place someone with advanced mechanical engineering knowledge would go. From a quality/feature standpoint, new companies have lower standards. Where an established company would be pushing technology and doing things that no one has done before, new companies are just trying to build a car. It would be a resume hit, because you worked on outdated/low tech. The most you could hope for is additional responsibility and less red tape. I know a manager who was elevated to a director for taking a job at a start-up.
      - nebula8804 4y ago
- spaetzleesser 4y ago
  That happened a lot in Germany in the 90s. Lots of russian engineers and PHDs working on the manufacturing floor.
- nonameiguess 4y ago
  This is why, of all the schools I've gone to, LA City College remains the hardest, even after later graduating from a top ten engineering school. I was originally a biology major, and with Los Angeles flooded with refugees and immigrants, a whole lot of medical doctors and research scientists from former Soviet republics found themselves in a country where their licenses and degrees were not accepted, and they had to start over. Many of them ended up totally obliterating the curves in all of the underclass bio courses in various Los Angeles community colleges.
  - nebula8804 4y ago
    Isn't that a temporary thing though? I assume anyone that was going to come from the former Soviet republic has already come by now?
    - 29083011397778 4y ago
      If really really smart immigrants stop coming to America, the country will be in deep shit, IMO. Per your question: they don't have to be from Soviet countries, just with qualifications that aren't accepted at face value.
taneq 4y ago
I had a great conversation with a hydraulic fitter once, turned out after a couple of beers that he was a chartered mechanical engineer in his home country, and that we shared a passion for heat engines. You never know what someone’s hiding under their hat.
mattferderer 4y ago
Reminds me of this old Big Bang Theory episode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZd8sDquNYw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZd8sDquNYw
mgkimsal 4y ago
Was reminded of Bob's Burgers episodes with Mr Branca, the school custodian. Multiple times he refers to being president "before the coup" in his home country.

inglor_cz 4y ago

In the 1990s, when the former USSR had gone to shit, you could meet a lot of menial workers from the ex-Soviet republics who had academic degrees and could hold a conversation to prove it. I studied mathematics in Prague in 1996-2003. More than once I met a janitor or a taxi driver who, albeit with a heavy Russian or Ukrainian accent, knew what a uniformly continuous function was and what does the Chinese Remainder Theorem say.

actionfromafar 4y ago
I hope those days don't come back. This migration wave hopefully can get jobs more according to their area of expertise.
- nisegami 4y ago
  The scale has changed, but those days have never really ended. I'm from a Caribbean country that people are usually quite eager to leave. I've seen numerous cases of people with post-secondary education and jobs to go with it leave for the US or UK and end up doing "unskilled" labor because their qualifications don't carry across.
  - spaghettiToy 4y ago
    >because their qualifications don't carry across. New (US) grads have significantly less qualifications than anyone wants to admit. It's getting 2 years of experience that makes the difference. When looking to hire people from South America, there was lots of manufacturing experience, but we needed Design experience. When we hired CAD guys, they followed directions fine, but possibly too literally or would stop too prematurely. When getting local, non engineers to do CAD, they would read our mind more. Not that this is a show stopper. If we met 3 times a day for a quick meeting with our SA CAD guys, we achieved just as much. It just required more meetings/phone calls.
RalfWausE 4y ago
Yep, can confirm that: The time i was working in an hospital in germany (around 2001) an older dude worked in the janitor department, turned out, he had an doctor degree in mechanical engeneering and was designing jet engines for MiG before the soviet union collapsed... and now was repairing toilets and changing lightbulbs. Sad stories...
- yaseer 4y ago
  We can all joke about how Big Tech shovels some of the finest technical minds towards clicking ads. But on the plus side, the size of the tech sector in 2022 does make for much more efficient job market for technical skills, than in decades past. I would hope someone with a doctorate in mechanical engineering, who used to design jet engines, would be able adapt their skills to go work somewhere like Tesla, or a self-driving car company, or any other similar startup.
  - spaghettiToy 4y ago
    I'll tell you the realities of Mechanical Engineering and auto. You typically will make a single part. Maybe its the plastic to cover the car's metal. Maybe its the screen user interfaces with, maybe its airbags. Whatever the case, the plastic and screens are deemed necessary by society to sell a car. Some mechanical engineer will have this job. At least you make cars right? Well there are over 20 major car companies, if your company disappeared tomorrow, life would move on with minimal interruptions. The most you can claim is that you are forcing the automotive industry to be ultra competitive. Strangely enough, startups/Tesla is the last place someone with advanced mechanical engineering knowledge would go. From a quality/feature standpoint, new companies have lower standards. Where an established company would be pushing technology and doing things that no one has done before, new companies are just trying to build a car. It would be a resume hit, because you worked on outdated/low tech. The most you could hope for is additional responsibility and less red tape. I know a manager who was elevated to a director for taking a job at a start-up.
    - nebula8804 4y ago
spaetzleesser 4y ago
That happened a lot in Germany in the 90s. Lots of russian engineers and PHDs working on the manufacturing floor.
nonameiguess 4y ago
This is why, of all the schools I've gone to, LA City College remains the hardest, even after later graduating from a top ten engineering school. I was originally a biology major, and with Los Angeles flooded with refugees and immigrants, a whole lot of medical doctors and research scientists from former Soviet republics found themselves in a country where their licenses and degrees were not accepted, and they had to start over. Many of them ended up totally obliterating the curves in all of the underclass bio courses in various Los Angeles community colleges.
- nebula8804 4y ago
  Isn't that a temporary thing though? I assume anyone that was going to come from the former Soviet republic has already come by now?
  - 29083011397778 4y ago
    If really really smart immigrants stop coming to America, the country will be in deep shit, IMO. Per your question: they don't have to be from Soviet countries, just with qualifications that aren't accepted at face value.

taneq 4y ago

I had a great conversation with a hydraulic fitter once, turned out after a couple of beers that he was a chartered mechanical engineer in his home country, and that we shared a passion for heat engines. You never know what someone’s hiding under their hat.

mattferderer 4y ago

Reminds me of this old Big Bang Theory episode - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZd8sDquNYw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZd8sDquNYw

mgkimsal 4y ago

Was reminded of Bob's Burgers episodes with Mr Branca, the school custodian. Multiple times he refers to being president "before the coup" in his home country.