SpectrumTalk

FCC Has Started Recruiting Lawyers from the 2008-9 Academic Year Class

When Will Engineer Recruiting Start?

Last week a press release announcing the recruiting of new lawyers for next year at FCC appeared on its web site. This is a reminder that in recent years FCC has been much more systematic about recruiting lawyers than recruiting engineers. Experienced lawyers and engineers are critical for effective policy deliberations at FCC. Most people agree that a mix of people entering at entry level and entering midcareer is helpful. Entry level hiring is also important for an agency with perpetual budget problems in that entry level salaries are less than midcareer salaries.

Readers may recall that I previously reported that 2008 entry level engineer recruiting began in March and in 2006 it began in in August. When will it begin this year? A high level staffer told me recently he expected it to begin soon, but the lack of any visible sign makes me fear that there has been a bureaucratic hangup. However, the lawyers are marking full speed ahead with their hiring. I hope regulatees and the press put pressure on FCC in this area.

FCC has to compete with other federal agencies for civil service engineers. Many of them will guarantee funding for master's degree program. Some have permission from Congress to pay at higher rates than the normal federal pay scale. FCC has a limited master's degree program because of continuing budget uncertainty. Technical conference attendance by FCC employees is also problematic under usual prioritizations of travel funding within FCC. (It is much easier to get funding to attend an industry trade show than to attend an IEEE or similar professional conference.)

At a meeting sponsored by George Mason University today, both Chairman Powell and Chairman Kennard spoke about the urgency for the Commission to rebuild its staff and motivate them. I hope FCC starts engineer recruiting promptly for this academic year and starts preparing an effective training programming, like it used to have, when the new graduates arrive in the Summer.