So here it is, readers. You can decide for yourself whether you like the products or services.
You will now "interpret it, that's your right, but as I leave you, I want you to know, think how much you are going to missing. You won't have [Rocker] to kick around anymore."
Oh, I'm sorry, do I sound bitter, too?
"Defense Industry a Win-Win for Engineers
Jobs in sector prove recession-proof
The best defense against layoffs? For job-seeking engineers, it just might be employment in the defense industry itself. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) continues to roll out hefty contracts, despite a deepening recession, drawdown of forces in Iraq, and uncertain war strategies in Afghanistan. On Tuesday, for example, it announced more than $407 million in commitments to U.S. companies for electro-optical sensors, audio-frequency amplifiers, maintenance services, and construction work -- and that was a single day alone.
And I got a HISTORY DEGREE!!!
Defense, in fact, is one of the largest employers of skilled engineers in the world; in the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Statistics's estimates a defense labor force of more than three million people. Defense-related spending accounts for 4.6 percent of the Bay State's economy, with top defense contractors including Raytheon, MITRE, Northrup Grumman, BAE Systems, and Textron.
There are also numerous opportunities for small businesses to subcontract with MIT Lincoln Labs, a DOD research lab, and Hanscom Air Force Base. And in the thriving I-495 beltway alone, rapidly expanding technology companies associated with homeland security government contracts as well as the defense industry are working on projects ranging from bomb-detection products to embedded computing.
"Engineers are needed in the defense sector for [making products from] the science, especially in key areas such as electronics, computers, and advanced propulsion," says Wayne Plucker, an analyst at Frost and Sullivan.
"Right now the military is all about network-centric warfare, meaning everyone is on network, down to the individual soldier, so defense companies are especially involved in communications, command and control technologies, information assurance, cyber security, all these things play into the network," says Don Quenneville, director of the Defense Technology Initiative, a coalition aimed at establishing New England as the global leader in the defense technology industry." And companies are diversifying to not only support the defense industry but also re-channel into other high-tech domains."
IKE?
You didn't listen, America.
The Massachusetts military sector is not about building tanks and aircraft; it's about technological innovation.
Then again: Meet Your Antiwar New England Liberals
The U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick and the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base are among the preeminent military academic, and industrial technology complexes that conduct cutting-edge research and development, with technology often transferring from the military out to the public. "There is sort of a synergy that goes on in the broader defense community," says Rogers Starr, president of the Jacobs Technology, a Boston-area company that works on DOD electronic system command systems. "All of our work is converging together into connected technology and devices."
They way they talk about their "community" of fascist, mass-murdering, war-profiteering ways makes on ill.
Although individuals programs will come and go, due to long-term contracts and military contracts that are determined years in advance, the defense industry overall has been shielded from economic ups and downs and is expected to be stable for the next five years, says Placker. A shortage of specialized scientists and engineers continues to plague the sector, especially because of the need for security clearances, which limits the pool of available workers. "The supply of engineers is nowhere near what the demand is, especially for females and minorities," says MIT Lincoln Labs recruiting manager Dave Gentes. "The engineering is constantly shifting, and we're looking for people who are able to apply technology to tough problems."
Jacobs Technology, like many government contractors, is weathering the recession quite nicely, helping to develop military systems and providing technical support for defense and aerospace. With recruiting programs aimed at hiring engineers, from project engineers to electrical, "name any engineering discipline and we usue it in the defense and aerospace work we do," says Starr. "We couldn't do the work we do without engineers. They're the heart and soul of what we do."
And working for the defense industry has intrinsic benefits as well. Over at MIT Lincoln Labs, Gentes says, "Like almost everyone here, I feel good knowing that the work that I am doing is important and helping to contribute to the national security. It's challenging, interesting work with smart people, backed by good resources."
Don't forget to Sig Heil when you say that!
The special advertising section was produced under the auspices of the Advertising Department of the Boston Globe. It did not involve the reporting or editing staff of the Boston Globe. Editors: Spence and Sanders Communications LLC (Boston Sunday Globe November 6, 2009).
Oh, so the AGENDA-PUSHING, WAR-PROMOTING BUSINESS AGENTS at the BOSTON GLOBE OVERSAW the WHOLE "advertisement," huh?
By HELPING, SUPPORTING, and PROTECTING?
I just lost my appetite, readers -- just in time for lunch.
