AM radio as a job

[W3RSW]

I wouldn't be quite that harsh, but a lot of that's true. 

Ah, but the romance of the high seas....
I see QST's had recent ads looking for shipboard electronic operators.  I think sponsored by AFL/CIO or somesuch.   

That's how a lot of we radio people see ourselves... in mind's eye that is, tied down by nothing. Unlimited pay for goodies, all of Roo's wimmin one could handle.........

Yes, we're romantics.  So it holds some of us back... and propels others to greatness.
(we wish!) 

[K1JJ]

Its simple technical people are their own worst enemy look at how they dress, the types of conversations they have with others, how they bore others, their interests in life and in general how they represent themselves.

You've hit on something important here.

Our conversations with others - and as someone else here said, the ability to communicate well, is of prime importance to advancement and higher pay.

Quick story:  Back in the early 70's when I first started working in industry, I thought that people liked us because of how SMART we were - how well we could troubleshoot, figure stuff out, etc. That is totally wrong. If anything, that will piss people off (peers especially) and cause resentment. It held me back in the ranks for a few years.

By trial and error I realized that people couldn't care less about how smart we were...they like us because we take a sincere interest in THEM and talk in terms of THEIR interests. The respect of our knowledge comes much later, once they like us. Once I crossed that hurdle, I was put in charge of 30 other technicians. I worked at improving their lots and taught trouble shooting classes and anything that they needed to improve themselves. It worked out well for both them and me.

I can remember some early shops where everyone was always competing with each other, trying to look good themselves. Dead end road for everyone with lots of conflicts and frustration. I was right in the middle of it all with them, beating my head against the wall.  It reminds me of being in a bar with everyone yelling their own opinions. After it's over they all go home and nothing's changed - they just do it over again the next day.

The bean counters had it figured out long ago. To be a leader and advance, we (we techies) need to become more "people persons" - and that seems to be a tough thing for many technical people to do.

I've always thought that if we can mix that rare combinations of skills - a person who is a natural salesman, likes people and has a strong technical ability; they will become superstars in whatever field they pursue.  I think most technicians (and some engineers) neglect this important aspect and just keep trying to become more technically proficient at the cost of dealing better with their peers, management and customers.

It's really a balancing act of compromises and doing what most people are unable or too lazy to do. Also a matter of figuring out what talents the market is willing to pay big for -  at any point in time. It's usually a rare set of skills that most people cannot do well.  If it were easy to do for the majority, the market would immediatly discount the pay offered.

Tom, K1JJ

[K1JJ]

Tom, we need to discuss on 75 this weekend..

Bill,

Sounds good for 75M, OM.

I plan to fire up the 4X1 PDM rig this weekend, so hope to catch you either Fri or Sat night, depending on condix.

Looking forward to hearing that big Colorado mawl!

T

[W1UJR]

Right on point as always Tom.

A technician can fix something, producing exactly "A".

A "people person" with basic technical skills, can direct a team of technicians fixing something, producing "A * X".

As a business owner, who is worth more. 


We used to have this very specific ad for service techs when we were hiring.
They had to be ASE certified, 5 years experience, Maine State Inspectors, specialist in a certain car make.
It was draining, we only got the "prima donnas", high maintenance folks.

"Exceptional employment opportunity. A progressive state of the art European automotive facility is seeking a highly organized, motivated professional ASE Certified Technician. Applicants must have own tools and minimum of 5 years experience, dealer trained preferred. Full time position 5 days a week. Compensation based on experience and ability. To schedule an interview please call XXXXXXXXX and ask for Bruce. Thanks!"


Late last year we switched to a new ad, much simpler, see below.
I hired two of the best folks who have ever worked for me in a period of a couple of months.
The key is not what they know as much as it is that they work with well with others and have a upbeat attitude.
Like night and day. It went from managing a bunch of kids, to working with happy adults.

"AUTO TECHS - ARE YOU UPBEAT&POSITIVE - BUT YOUR CURRENT SHOP ISN'T?
Busy, upbeat Auto Repair Shop looking for Techs to join a Positive Team.
Excellent pay, benefits, IRA and A+ customer base.
If you have the right attitude, solid experience, desire a professional work environment,
and if you want to be at a place where people like to come to work, contact us at xxxxxxxxxxx. Thanks!"

[WA1GFZ]

Tom,
Imagine what LaPointe could have become if it wasn't run by monkeys. They could have become as big as say Harris comm. They could build anything at one time.

[K1JJ]

Bruce,

Amen, OM!

Your improved ad had the phrases, "upbeat - attitude, etc" four times in the text. That is sure to attract people who think positively.

You are correct:  If we were managers/owners, who would we want to represent us... someone who was a loose cannon that could blow up at any minute; who had thin skin and a big ego easily bruised?  OR someone you could depend on, who you knew could handle most any crisis or social situation with confidence?   

The funny part is that the guys with the best attitude usually are the best troubleshooters too. They know that getting the job done is all about controlled, focused persistence. How can someone function in the hurley-burley game of servicing with a short fuse?  Impossible.

Quick story: I learned a good lesson when Dave, W2APE/W2VW came over to deliver 1,000 pounds of mod iron and Heising reactor one winter's day. There was deep snow on the ground and we had a heck of a time dragging this iron up the steps into the house. It took us about three hours - inch by inch with levers, rollers and sweat.  We were getting frustrated, but were motivated. Dave kept saying, "It's all a matter of attitude".   That stuck with me and is really something to live by.

It's amazing what can be accomplished during adversity by a group of people with the right attitude - and how quickly people with bad ones give up and collapse in failure.

Frank - yep, Lahunt had everything going. There was a time in '82 when the stock sat a $1 even.  Someone could have come in and bought the WHOLE operation for about $2 million.  Of course, they ended up running it into the ground a few years later... sigh..

BTW, please send me over your estimate of the positive operating grid bias voltage those 3-500Z's should run at with 1500V, class A, OK?  Tnx, OM.

T

[N0WEK]

Walt, How much was gas selling for in 1940?

From a late 70s article, in Omni magazine on fuel prices, they quoted the US average price in 1940 as 19.1 cents/gallon; which means that gas is cheaper in real dollars now than it was in 1940.

[W1RKW]

Generally, in my career as a engineer (computer hardware/software, not radio), I have found that the farther you get from actually doing anything hands on, the more money you make.

I agree with that.  I'm now in a position that deals with directing a bunch of people on the computer side of things. I'm not a computer engineer but more of an IT type in the job I'm in and I'm not an IT type either though I can do it. I'm directing these folks, operating and maintaining a computer lab to keep things afloat and supporting the new Virginia submarine fleet and our system.  I never dreamed of doing what I'm doing but I'm doing it and the pay is very good. It certainly wasn't what I thought I'd be doing at this point in time.  I figured I'd being doing more hands on stuff and getting into the nitty gritty stuff.  In a way I'm glad I'm where I'm at. Getting dirty, the aches and pains in the bones and joints is something I can not do any more. Let the youngin's do it to earn their keep.

[KB2WIG]

  "  Getting dirty, the aches and pains in the bones and joints is something I can not do any more. Let the youngin's do it to earn their keep.  "

Spoken like a true old Buzzard.... ..

klc

[W2DU]

Frank, I don't remember what the gas price was in 1940, but I remember in the two or three years prior to that I would pay the filler one dollar and get exactly five gallons, making it 20 cents per gallon. That was for my 1927 chevy. I bought a 1934 Dodge in 1940 for 85 dollars, paying the owner 5 dollars per week out of the 16/week I got paid at WMFJ.

Walt, W2DU

[WA1GFZ]

Well let's see 1/3 of your pay for 17 weeks to buy a 6 year old car.
1/3 of your pay for 5 gallons of gas.
We sure are spoiled today.

[W3LSN]

We've all seen the things that have glorified AM broadcast stations over the years, WKRP being one of the funniest.. I'd work there.
But what is it really like to work on the technical side of an AM BC station? Or just work at one in general?

I've always said that broadcast engineering is more of a lifestyle choice than a career. I also tend to find that it is a rite of passage for many engineers on their way to doing something else. Radio can get into the blood though, and while many have left the business, some still dabble as consultants or sales engineers for manufacturers.

While certain aspects of the job may prove to be quite rewarding, you will tend to find it a very lonely existence as you may in fact be the only engineer on staff with responsibilities that include several stations. You will be on-call 24/7/365, and can expect calls at 3:00am every day, including Christmas morning, for any emergency, including the transmitter being off the air, to (my all time favorite) the coffee pot not working. You never really have time off, you just get to go home for a while. If you are lucky, they'll let you sleep. Some engineers adjust to this better than others. You need to have a very tolerant spouse.

The reality of the situation today is that many AM stations are money losers and most of the attention is focused on their FM sister stations. Also, many AMs are now part of a cluster of stations in any given market and the engineer's time is divided across as many as six or seven stations, each competing for his attention and resources. Many AM stations, many FM stations for that matter, cannot afford an engineer anymore and thus rely now on contractors. Changes in the industry have put thousands of engineers out of work in the last 30-40 years, and the days of WKRP type operations (single stick, locally owned) are basically gone. Those who remain, though, are working for Herb Tarlek.

73, Jim
WA2AJM/3

[Opcom]

We've all seen the things that have glorified AM broadcast stations over the years, WKRP being one of the funniest.. I'd work there.
But what is it really like to work on the technical side of an AM BC station? Or just work at one in general?

... and the days of WKRP type operations (single stick, locally owned) are basically gone. Those who remain, though, are working for Herb Tarlek.

73, Jim
WA2AJM/3

That is enough to make me very afraid. But then, Herb did have good taste in car seat upholstery.
IIRC their engineer Bucky Domster had a habit of breaking things.

Well I guess all of that is gone the way of the single income family, two chickens in every pot, and the like. Back to the grindstone..

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

A better haul than what I would have ever dreamt of from a hamfest! 

Love it! I got my first ribbon mic - a nice little black RCA 74B/"44jr" that way from the FM station where I DJed back in the early 80s. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of other good stuff to be had, though two Collins mixing consoles from that station surfaced at NEARFest last year. I got the older blue-painted 212B I'd used in '82 for $40 and W2XR ended up with the newer 212F or G (forget which) for an equally nice price.

There used to be a lot of good stuff hanging around at stations, probably not much left these days. The first upgrade to a new SS transmitter or even a tube transmitter with a much smaller footprint often leads to tossing anything not related nowadays. Then there's the 'change of ownership' thing...

[AG4YO]

Being an AM engineer was like any other job.  There were many many times I loved it, and a few I hated it.  It was days of bordom followed by a few minutes of huge excitement when something went ZZZZZZZZZTT.  My first mentor was JD Bloom in New Orleans.  The best I ever saw was Ralph Hartwell who's involved now with the 500kHz experimental group.  The funniest was Max Mipro.  One of my "still buds" is Keith Luke here in Jackson who was Chief at WDJX here for years before retiring.  I spent a few minutes with him this past Saturday. 

I was never a great design guy, but I could fix anything with or without a print. I LOVED being called for an emergency off the air outage by a desparate station owner who could not find their own engineer, to work on an AM box I had never seen before.  And I am proud to say I had a 100% success rate.

I admire most all the guys here who design and build their own gear.  You get a big tip of the hat and a bow from an old AM mechanic.

KY5U former AG4YO

[KE6DF]

I usually tell young people that you are likely to make more money in almost any business if you are on the product or service creation and delivery side of the business rather than in a support role.

I've never been a broadcast engineer, but I suspect it's like any support job. If you do your job perfectly, and there is never any unscheduled down time, then you are ignored and taken for granted. But, if you ever screw up, then your name is mud.

So the best you can hope for is to be ignored.

Also you are a cost center, so the less they can pay you the better the management likes it.

I think if you want to make money as a technologist, then you are best off getting into the product development side of a company the produces technology products. It's no guarantee of success, but there at least you have a chance of doing things that make the company money. Develop a successful product, redesign something just as good as an older product but with a 20% lower manufacturing cost, etc. Another option is become really good at selling technical products.

In either case, your pay will look to senior management as an investment with a potential profitable return rather than as just one more cost of doing business.

I read a great example of this one time.

The article was about a Central American immigrant woman who came to the US with no job skills and hardly speaking English.

The only job she could get was emptying waste baskets and some clean up in an office -- I think it was a bank.

After a couple years, and after improving her language skills, she joined a janitorial firm that serviced other businesses in the area. She joined at the bottom as a janitor's helper.

BUT, she now was working at a job in the product/service delivery side of a business.

Fast forward 25 years, and she rose to be the CEO of a national janitorial firm making big bucks and employing thousands.

But, had she stayed in the support role in the bank, what was the best she could even have done? Become the head janitor at one bank branch?