Jalopnik 
Enter your username and password.
-
posts about #emails more → 
Being An Engineer At Honda Must Be Nice
Detroit, 5:35 AM
Tue Dec 8
29 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip your editors:
Editor-in-Chief:
Ray Wert | | AIM
Road Test Editor:
Wes Siler |
Weekend Editor:
Murilee Martin |
Associate Editor - Houston:
Associate Editor - Detroit:
Editor-at-Large:
Contributors:
John Krewson |
| posts about #emails more → |
Being An Engineer At Honda Must Be Nice |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/21/08
I am a mechanical engineer and I have worked for two Japanese companies. After my last experience I was ready to start putting B-29 models on my desk.
I've dediced I'd rather work in retail than work for a Japanese company again. I'm currently actually enjoying my engineering job working for an American company.
11/21/08
And sweeping generalizations are always fun too.
11/21/08
So exactly which Japanese company in America DOESN'T have a Japanese corporate culture? One that I worked at was better than the other, but the culture is still there and just doesn't agree with me.
11/21/08
I would love for my Japanese boss in Japan to read that. He had one of the best blank expressions I've ever seen in a human being. I always wanted to tell him on one of my trips, "Sir, I'm madly deeply in love with you and want you to run away with me to San Francisco where we can start a new life together."
Comedy was not one of his strong suits.
Hell communicating in a business setting was not one of his strong suits. Talking to him was like talking to an angry samurai who would just as soon cut your head off as tell you what he expected from you in your job. It was a freaking crazy guessing game which I took to be a part of their system to break you down as any employee.
Didn't work though, I just got up and left to work in Hollywood making movies. Seemed like the right choice at the time.
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
Then they basically told me that my quality expectations were too high and expensive for their cars. It was all very weird for a first interview.
11/21/08
11/21/08
Now I'm just imagining this guy getting yelled at for wasting time while typing this at work.
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
"Oh Bother," said Pooh, "Working at Honda is Ever So Hard."
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
1) It's well written. Engineers can't write in anything but the passive voice.
2) The author goes on and on about getting to pursue whatever they'd like, but there's no mention of trebuchets, flame throwers, or supercharged lawnmowers.
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
As a technical writer who has to rewrite everything the engineers write, you speak the truth. The level of difficulty varies by country of origin but engineers from East Asia typically have the most interesting sentence construction.
Now go build me a supercharged, gas-powered trebuchet that throws flaming balls of lawnmowers.
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
It was alright, but when no punkins are actually chunked an A or B is suddenly less satisfying.
11/21/08
Dude, we all know trebuchet chunkers "blow" compared to compressed air cannons.
Last I saw, I think the winner went a mile? That is one haulin ass punkin.
But you're on to something, the punkin should always be on fire in my mind.
11/21/08
11/21/08
We were trying to think of ways to destroy our (auto studio) clay models from this year. I think a trebuchet sounds pretty good, now that you mention it.
11/21/08
I bet. And you just happened to fart out that suspension for the S2000 after chugging a cup of glitter.
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
Makes you wonder then about the timing of this Honda as edenic candy-land disinformation.
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
11/21/08
@seaninc: And someone'll buy it, too.
11/21/08
Everyone was encouraged to speak freely at any time about how to improve processes or costs. Wages are ~20% higher than similar jobs in the local economy, a calculated move to reduce motivation for unionization. A plant in the heart of NASCAR country (Talladega county) has a parking lot full of Accords and Odysseys and Pilots and MDXs. It's an interesting sight.