EDIT: Here is the original thread.
Jassi is looking for opinions on this as well for a paper. Help him out.
Jassi is looking for opinions on this as well for a paper. Help him out.
Engineers (or people in general): would you work for a defense company
- Thread starter Jumpem
- Start date
But I have no ethical issues at all. I think they are great jobs. YOu get to do what you enjoy and at the same time support the military, your government, and protect you family as well as everyone elses.
I would think job security would be pretty good. The government isn't going to stop wanting weapons, vehicles, aircraft, ships, communications, etc any time soon.
yllus
Elite Member & Lifer
- Aug 20, 2000
- 20,577
- 432
- 126
Why shouldn't I work for the N.S.A.? That's a tough one, but I'll give it a shot. Say I'm working at N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. So I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, 'cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels were hiding and fifteen hundred people I never had a problem with get killed.
Now the politicians are sayin', "Send in the marines to secure the area" 'cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number was called, 'cause they were pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some guy from Southie takin' shrapnel in the ass. And he comes home to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile my buddy from Southie realizes the only reason he was over there was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price.
And of course the oil companies used the skirmish to scare up oil prices so they could turn a quick buck. A cute little ancillary benefit for them but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. And naturally they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and play slalom with the icebergs, and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic.
So my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive, so he's got to walk to the job interviews, which sucks 'cause the shrapnel in his ass is givin' him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starvin' 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what do I think? I'm holdin' out for somethin' better.
Why not just shoot my buddy, take his job and give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president.
Now the politicians are sayin', "Send in the marines to secure the area" 'cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number was called, 'cause they were pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some guy from Southie takin' shrapnel in the ass. And he comes home to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile my buddy from Southie realizes the only reason he was over there was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price.
And of course the oil companies used the skirmish to scare up oil prices so they could turn a quick buck. A cute little ancillary benefit for them but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. And naturally they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and play slalom with the icebergs, and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic.
So my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive, so he's got to walk to the job interviews, which sucks 'cause the shrapnel in his ass is givin' him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starvin' 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what do I think? I'm holdin' out for somethin' better.
Why not just shoot my buddy, take his job and give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president.
ponyo
Lifer
- Feb 14, 2002
- 19,688
- 2,811
- 126
No. There's boom and bust period for defense industry too. Boom usually during Republican pres and bust during Dem pres.
Check out price of defense stocks during Clinton era and during Bush era. Huge difference. Ask any contractor that worked for Raytheon, L&M, Boeing, etc during Clinton years.
Could you please link to my thread. I posted to get some insight for my paper and most people ignored it 
Thanks.
Thanks.
I am not an engineer but I don't understand the ethical issues. Other countries in the world are going to develop these weapons first if we don't, and you can give me all the crap about how we sell them to bad people and whatnot but the fact is I'd rather we had the latest technology than the Chinese or Russians. It may be a stupid part of human nature to be in a race to build the best killing devices, but it is a reality.
With that said, I know a few people who have gone to work for defense companies, and if I was an engineer I don't think I'd want to work anywhere else. They do some really neat stuff and have a lot of resources other engineers may not get.
With that said, I know a few people who have gone to work for defense companies, and if I was an engineer I don't think I'd want to work anywhere else. They do some really neat stuff and have a lot of resources other engineers may not get.
Ethics is more important than money, but in this case there is nothing ethically wrong with working for a defense contractor. I do what's best for my country, just as people over there do what's best for their country.
Sometimes you have to take a step back to reassess the situation. Let's say your liberal beliefs stop you from shooting an enemy soldier. That's pretty shortsighted, because you never considered the fact that maybe he's willing to shoot you. Sometime we're put in bad situations where there's no easy way out. Of course if I got to choose between world peace and being a defense contractor, I'd choose peace. But that's just a utopian dream that will never happen. As long as there's someone out there that wants what you have, there will be conflict. And as long as you don't resist him, he's going to take it. It's a dog eat dog world, I'd rather be the strongest dog.
Originally posted by: Jassi
Could you please link to my thread. I posted to get some insight for my paper and most people ignored it
Thanks.
Sure. Give me a sec.
Rumpltzer
Diamond Member
- Jun 7, 2003
- 4,815
- 33
- 91
I work for a very large company that makes avionics, aircraft, ships, satellites, various defense systems, etc. I work in a research branch of the company, and we also make very specialized semiconductor components for all of the above.
When people ask my wife what I do, it's hard for her to describe it. She's not technically inclined at all, and no one really knows what we're doing to begin with. She told me that she was telling her friends and family in Taiwan that I make satellites (which I really don't), but she's recently changed it to, "he makes weapons."
I kind of like that. I think it's funny.
I told one of my co-workers about this, and he says that there's a minor correction that needs to be made. He suggests that we don't actually make the things that kill. We make the things that allow others to kill more efficiently.
Clearly, I have no problem with it.
However, I'll claim that I'm more in it for the science. The government has a lot of money for "defense". They give it to us to help evolve their toys. Along the way, we discover all kinds of neat stuff. Eventually, that neat stuff trickles out into the world as the Internet, cellular and satellite communication, GPS systems, and crap like that.
When people ask my wife what I do, it's hard for her to describe it. She's not technically inclined at all, and no one really knows what we're doing to begin with. She told me that she was telling her friends and family in Taiwan that I make satellites (which I really don't), but she's recently changed it to, "he makes weapons."
I kind of like that. I think it's funny.
I told one of my co-workers about this, and he says that there's a minor correction that needs to be made. He suggests that we don't actually make the things that kill. We make the things that allow others to kill more efficiently.
Clearly, I have no problem with it.
However, I'll claim that I'm more in it for the science. The government has a lot of money for "defense". They give it to us to help evolve their toys. Along the way, we discover all kinds of neat stuff. Eventually, that neat stuff trickles out into the world as the Internet, cellular and satellite communication, GPS systems, and crap like that.
Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
I work for a very large company that makes avionics, aircraft, ships, satellites, various defense systems, etc. I work in a research branch of the company, and we also make very specialized semiconductor components for all of the above.
When people ask my wife what I do, it's hard for her to describe it. She's not technically inclined at all, and no one really knows what we're doing to begin with. She told me that she was telling her friends and family in Taiwan that I make satellites (which I really don't), but she's recently changed it to, "he makes weapons."
I kind of like that. I think it's funny.
I told one of my co-workers about this, and he says that there's a minor correction that needs to be made. He suggests that we don't actually make the things that kill. We make the things that allow others to kill more efficiently.
Clearly, I have no problem with it.
However, I'll claim that I'm more in it for the science. The government has a lot of money for "defense". They give it to us to help evolve their toys. Along the way, we discover all kinds of neat stuff. Eventually, that neat stuff trickles out into the world as the Internet, cellular and satellite communication, GPS systems, and crap like that.
This company doesn't happen to be L-3 Communications does it?
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