[tech_joe]

> I don't believe for a second that you can have proficency at all these skills. That's just not possible. You may have cobbled things using these techs or worked with people who knew these things well, but you can't possibly be an expert at all these things.

Thanks for your comment.

It's always interesting to me when "That's just not possible", or a similar comment, surfaces. Not much I can say other than, no, it's true. And, no, it isn't about cobbling things together and claiming the work of others.

There's nothing on that list that I could not do immediately or get back up to speed within, say, 30 days or less. For example, last time I used LISP or FORTH was probably in the mid 90's. When I did work with these languages, I built non-trivial applications and worked on them for years. Can I write a Forth application today? Well, no, not without getting back into it, which will take just a few weeks. It's like ridding a bike, you don't really forget.

> you can't possibly be an expert at all these things

Not what I am claiming at all. In fact, almost nobody is an expert at most of what they put on their resumes. I have a few areas of expertise that I would consider to be much deeper than the average engineer. And, in fact, those are the areas where I find consulting work most readily. If I had to describe myself in one sentence I would probably say something like: I can fully engineering just-about any product from scratch, no matter the technology or disciplines involved. Of course, there are boundaries, I am not about to claim I can design a nuclear reactor. We have to be reasonable. I've worked on everything from embedded to robotics, aircraft simulators and things that have gone into space. So, yeah, those skills are real and applied.

Like I said, I don't sit idle very well. Always learning.

[d--b]

> I have a few areas of expertise that I would consider to be much deeper than the average engineer.

That’s what needs to stand out. For the rest, it’s better to talk about the things you built rather than the tech you used to build it.

Say: “I designed a smart thermostat from hardware to plastic injection”, and then if the guy asks what you used, brag about the tech, it’ll impress a lot more.