Share...sure, I have about 30 seconds...busy busy ya know Managing contractors. Well, with some you have to just try to keep them happy by telling them enough that they feel they are in the loop, while not exposing them to EVERYTHING that is going on. We have some very long term relationships, and its worked out well with those. They are committed to us, because they have been doing work for many years, even before I arrived on the scene a few years ago. Others, well...its been a struggle. You never know when or what they are doing till you finally either go see them onsite, bring them in or have a 'goto meeting' and expose them. I have one right now that is VERY capable, Im impressed with his firmware, but his time is like a rollercoaster...sometimes he puts in a good day, othertimes he is busy with other things....ie..gone fishing. It really depends on the project. If its a single 'thing' thats self containted, much much easier to have the contractor just do the work. MUCH more difficult if you have multiple resources working on different pieces in differnt parts of the country or world. Don't get me started on outsourcing to lands far away...... (not saying only the good engineers are in the USA...its more of the time difference, and the way some remote engineering firms are managed..leave it at that). However, its a struggle from a management side (me) in that I have to make sure the communications are working...if team A needs something fixed that team B is doing...call em up, or something. I have to almost anticipate what is going on in order to keep things moving forward, and if something isnt going right, or a quick change in code or hardware is needed, I'll just do it in order to try and stay on schedule. Flip side...me the contractor. First might say...you manage contractors and yet you are one. Yes, for several reasons. I always say the best engineers are contractors, because of the wide variety of projects you are exposed to. I know many,many,many engineers that have been stuck in one job doing one thing, and finally they are forced to look for new work. Skill set is gone, or no longer current, so what do they do? I can count on one hand (maybe half the other hand) the number of engineers I have worked with over the last 20 years that can do code, hardware (analog/digital), pcb layout and know how to use test equipment. Most can capture schematics, but have NO clue how that relates to PCB layout. No clue. So I contract out myself on a limited basis, and have a small list of clients that continue to feed me work, plus now and then one-off jobs. I undertand that its ME that they are depending on to make the payroll, or to introduce a new product, or that they have a customer that needs a change or fix TOMORROW because of other deadlines. I've come in and cleaned up messes left by others, so that someone else who might come in later can actually understand what was done. For some local guys, I go spend my lunch hour at their shop or office...seeing what that bug is, so I can have a fix that night. I charge a fair rate, but on the other hand, I also don't nickle and dime them for everything. If I get a call...hey I need that file...I zip and send and I dont charge them. Hell, I might even spend an hour fixing something and never send a bill, but they come back to me because they know I service them in times of crisis, and give me the new work that I make good money on. Do I give away my time for free when they call and say....ever seen this...or...this part went obsolete can you find a replacement. What goes around, comes around. Ok..spent too much time answering, hope that gave you some insight. --- On Tue, 4/21/09, Vitaliy wrote: > From: Vitaliy > Subject: Re: [OT] Hiring contract programmers > To: "Microcontroller discussion list - Public." > Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 12:49 PM > alan smith wrote: > > And what is your dream contractor? > > My dream contractor? He reads my mind, works around the > clock, and works for > free. :-) > > I post various projects from time to time here, but we > haven't had the > courage to outsource a project, since 2005. > > > > Bob is not far from you, and he appears to be a pretty > smart guy! > > No argument there. Maybe we'll get to work on some > future project. > > > > I do contracting > > > > I manage contractors > > > > Its interesting to see both sides of it > > Care to share? :) > > > -- > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist