Summer's here...

First off I hope everyone is enjoying their memorial weekend. I wonder how many weekend plans have been affected with the high gas prices. With the price at the gas pump increasing almost daily, I wonder if anyone has changed their driving habits. I know I have. I used to drive to and from work everyday. After gas prices hit $3, I have been riding the bus. I had been fortunate (maybe even spoiled) in not having to use public transportation, but with gas prices increasing at its current rate, I have had to consider other alternatives. But now having rode the bus for some time now, its not so bad. I have been able to get 20 minutes of sleep on the bus each way..... not bad huh?

I decided to spend my memorial weekend working on my summer master's research paper. For the engineering management program at UT, during the first summer, the students select a topic to research and write a paper on our findings. During the next summer, students write a master's report on another topic, or continue on the topic from the previous summer. I am still trying to find a topic to research about. I appreciate my professor's assistance on my research paper. I am thinking about researching about knowledge sharing... people's reasons against knowledge sharing, solution for better knowledge sharing, and its advantages. I think the greatest advantage that a company has is its knowledge, and I believe that it is such an important leverage, it can provide means to get ahead of its competition.

During the last couple of weeks, I have realized how unfamilar people are with the area of engineering management. I guess this is the reason why the HR of the company I work for is hesitant in providing me financial assistance. They are familar with MBA, but not engineering management. And so they aren't quite so ready to provide me with financial assistance. I believe students who persue a degree in engineering management will face some difficulties in explaining to people what is engineering management. Because so many companies are familar with MBA's, I think that companies may not be so ready to fulfill a position by a candidate with an engineering management degree. The good news however is that many schools are beginning to provide degrees in engineering management. This will slowly create a better understanding of engineering management among companies and management.