Silke
14.01.2001, 17:54
sehr interessant http://www.stock-channel.net/Board/smilies/wink.gif - denk das kommt gut:
Fiber-Optic Industry Speeds Ahead
While Other Tech Sectors Cut Staff, This One Is Still on a Hiring Binge
By Anthony Zurcher
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, January 14, 2001; Page L03
The fiber-optic sector didn't just survive last year's high-tech shakeout -- it flourished. As a result, many local companies involved in the creation of high-speed telecommunication networks still are on a hiring spree.
Linthicum, Md.-based Ciena Corp., for instance, has grown by several hundred employees over the last year and is bringing in another 30 to 40 people a week. The software division of Corvis Corp. in Columbia, alone will double its size, with 80 programmers and developers by the end of the year. Ocular Networks has grown to over 100 employees since its founding slightly over a year ago, and last month it moved to a larger headquarters in Reston.
"The recent dip in the technology sector hasn't seemed to slow down fiber optics," says Nancee Ruzicka, a product manager with the Yankee Group, a market research firm. "Unlike the dot-coms, there's a lot of good, strong technology associated with these firms. Some smart people are doing some really amazing things."
Washington has been a hotbed of fiber development since 1992, when Ciena was founded by optical guru David Huber (who later left the company in an acrimonious split and set up Corvis nearby). Since then, new companies such as Ocular Networks, Yurie Systems, Codeon and Chromatis Networks have sprouted, as Ciena executives started their own spinoffs and other competitors moved in. Networking heavyweights Nortel Networks Corp. and Lucent Technologies Inc. have also arrived on the scene, snapping up some of the start-ups and developing their own enterprises.
The area has proven to be a natural choice for these businesses, thanks to the presence of the numerous telecommunications companies. All of which means that developers and technicians with advanced knowledge of lasers and optical networking may not have to look very hard around Washington to find employment -- in fact, they may be the subject of bidding wars among companies eager for their skills.
Job opportunities for those without advanced degrees and years of experience, however, are likely to be somewhat harder to come by.
For instance, because of the highly complex nature of the fiber products it creates, Ciena expects its sales force to have electrical engineering backgrounds or years of experience in the telecommunications business. Just having good sales skills typically isn't enough to qualify for a job.
"The purchaser of our products is not an end-user, but often a highly technical person," said Rebecca Seidman, senior vice president for human resources at Ciena. "You have to have enough knowledge to be able to discuss intelligently the features and benefits of the product. If you were fairly senior in a sales organization like financial services or heavy industry, you would not be able to make a lateral move to director of fiber-optic sales."
The going is somewhat easier for those who are developing the software applications that manage these dynamic fiber-optic networks.
"I don't have to have PhDs or people with 20 years of experience in telecom," said Gil Tadmor, vice president of software engineering at Corvis. "As long as people are good software engineers, they could come with experience from the insurance industry, the health industry, government projects, wherever. It will take them some time maybe to learn some of the telecom-related standards, but that's not a show-stopper. We have a wider pasture to choose from."
Corvis's software division is currently hiring recent college graduates -- who can expect to earn $55,000 to $65,000 a year -- as well as more senior people. It's all part of a push to develop new applications and features for the new fiber-optic network standards that are scheduled to be announced later this year. But this ability to bring in less experienced -- albeit bright -- younger employees is a luxury not every company can afford.
"When we were in an early start-up mode, all we could really afford to hire were very experienced people," Seidman said. "We only had a couple of positions, so people had to be able to do everything. And we didn't have anybody to nurture an unskilled person."
Perhaps the easiest way to break into the fiber-optic field is through employment on the operations side, assembling and installing the systems being designed by the high-paid researchers.
Companies such as Ciena have well-developed training programs for college and even high-school graduates, which teach them the basics and give them a shot at advancing into the sales and development divisions. The positions are definitely entry-level, however, and they pay accordingly. For example, a starting assembly-line worker at Ciena can expect to make $8.20 an hour.
"If you're coming out of a very high level in a declining industry, I think it's very tough to make the transition," Seidman said. "But it's great out of high school. It's an entry job, but with a fast track. It is very different from coming out of high school and having a dead-end job."
According to Seidman, prospective employees need to demonstrate energy, zest, drive and the ability to work with small components. They should also be able to operate under sometimes intense deadline pressure with lots of overtime.
Because of the fast-growing nature of the fiber-optic sector, virtually any position is going to have the potential for rapid advancement -- whether it's operations, sales, or software and hardware development. The companies tout it as one of their major selling points.
"There's a lot of opportunities for personal growth, as people can take on more responsibility and take on different types of positions," Tadmore said. "This is going to become their own personal résumé-builder. Four years from now they'll have valuable experience that will help them down the road. They could market themselves really anywhere in the world with that type of experience."
In addition, Tadmore said he gets to use the latest software and hardware, and see his team's efforts actually make a difference.
"It's almost like a no-brainer for a software person to grasp an opportunity here," Tadmore said. "What we have to offer is physical; it's something that is not virtual. So every contribution you make, you get that satisfaction of seeing it actually work in the field. The whole industry is advancing in such a rapid fashion you see the fruits of your work almost on a daily or weekly basis."
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
<font size=1>[Dieser Beitrag wurde von MaryMeeker am 14.01.2001 editiert.]</font>
Fiber-Optic Industry Speeds Ahead
While Other Tech Sectors Cut Staff, This One Is Still on a Hiring Binge
By Anthony Zurcher
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, January 14, 2001; Page L03
The fiber-optic sector didn't just survive last year's high-tech shakeout -- it flourished. As a result, many local companies involved in the creation of high-speed telecommunication networks still are on a hiring spree.
Linthicum, Md.-based Ciena Corp., for instance, has grown by several hundred employees over the last year and is bringing in another 30 to 40 people a week. The software division of Corvis Corp. in Columbia, alone will double its size, with 80 programmers and developers by the end of the year. Ocular Networks has grown to over 100 employees since its founding slightly over a year ago, and last month it moved to a larger headquarters in Reston.
"The recent dip in the technology sector hasn't seemed to slow down fiber optics," says Nancee Ruzicka, a product manager with the Yankee Group, a market research firm. "Unlike the dot-coms, there's a lot of good, strong technology associated with these firms. Some smart people are doing some really amazing things."
Washington has been a hotbed of fiber development since 1992, when Ciena was founded by optical guru David Huber (who later left the company in an acrimonious split and set up Corvis nearby). Since then, new companies such as Ocular Networks, Yurie Systems, Codeon and Chromatis Networks have sprouted, as Ciena executives started their own spinoffs and other competitors moved in. Networking heavyweights Nortel Networks Corp. and Lucent Technologies Inc. have also arrived on the scene, snapping up some of the start-ups and developing their own enterprises.
The area has proven to be a natural choice for these businesses, thanks to the presence of the numerous telecommunications companies. All of which means that developers and technicians with advanced knowledge of lasers and optical networking may not have to look very hard around Washington to find employment -- in fact, they may be the subject of bidding wars among companies eager for their skills.
Job opportunities for those without advanced degrees and years of experience, however, are likely to be somewhat harder to come by.
For instance, because of the highly complex nature of the fiber products it creates, Ciena expects its sales force to have electrical engineering backgrounds or years of experience in the telecommunications business. Just having good sales skills typically isn't enough to qualify for a job.
"The purchaser of our products is not an end-user, but often a highly technical person," said Rebecca Seidman, senior vice president for human resources at Ciena. "You have to have enough knowledge to be able to discuss intelligently the features and benefits of the product. If you were fairly senior in a sales organization like financial services or heavy industry, you would not be able to make a lateral move to director of fiber-optic sales."
The going is somewhat easier for those who are developing the software applications that manage these dynamic fiber-optic networks.
"I don't have to have PhDs or people with 20 years of experience in telecom," said Gil Tadmor, vice president of software engineering at Corvis. "As long as people are good software engineers, they could come with experience from the insurance industry, the health industry, government projects, wherever. It will take them some time maybe to learn some of the telecom-related standards, but that's not a show-stopper. We have a wider pasture to choose from."
Corvis's software division is currently hiring recent college graduates -- who can expect to earn $55,000 to $65,000 a year -- as well as more senior people. It's all part of a push to develop new applications and features for the new fiber-optic network standards that are scheduled to be announced later this year. But this ability to bring in less experienced -- albeit bright -- younger employees is a luxury not every company can afford.
"When we were in an early start-up mode, all we could really afford to hire were very experienced people," Seidman said. "We only had a couple of positions, so people had to be able to do everything. And we didn't have anybody to nurture an unskilled person."
Perhaps the easiest way to break into the fiber-optic field is through employment on the operations side, assembling and installing the systems being designed by the high-paid researchers.
Companies such as Ciena have well-developed training programs for college and even high-school graduates, which teach them the basics and give them a shot at advancing into the sales and development divisions. The positions are definitely entry-level, however, and they pay accordingly. For example, a starting assembly-line worker at Ciena can expect to make $8.20 an hour.
"If you're coming out of a very high level in a declining industry, I think it's very tough to make the transition," Seidman said. "But it's great out of high school. It's an entry job, but with a fast track. It is very different from coming out of high school and having a dead-end job."
According to Seidman, prospective employees need to demonstrate energy, zest, drive and the ability to work with small components. They should also be able to operate under sometimes intense deadline pressure with lots of overtime.
Because of the fast-growing nature of the fiber-optic sector, virtually any position is going to have the potential for rapid advancement -- whether it's operations, sales, or software and hardware development. The companies tout it as one of their major selling points.
"There's a lot of opportunities for personal growth, as people can take on more responsibility and take on different types of positions," Tadmore said. "This is going to become their own personal résumé-builder. Four years from now they'll have valuable experience that will help them down the road. They could market themselves really anywhere in the world with that type of experience."
In addition, Tadmore said he gets to use the latest software and hardware, and see his team's efforts actually make a difference.
"It's almost like a no-brainer for a software person to grasp an opportunity here," Tadmore said. "What we have to offer is physical; it's something that is not virtual. So every contribution you make, you get that satisfaction of seeing it actually work in the field. The whole industry is advancing in such a rapid fashion you see the fruits of your work almost on a daily or weekly basis."
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
<font size=1>[Dieser Beitrag wurde von MaryMeeker am 14.01.2001 editiert.]</font>