English / 日本語

Gregory J. Durnan, PhD, CEng, FIMarEST

Real Engineering — Twenty Articles From the US Tech Trenches
San Diego, CA, USA · Contact · durnan.org

Real Engineering

This page contains a set of twenty articles about producing products, written some years ago around the beginning of Covid — the humorous and not-so-humorous side of life in the US tech trenches of big tech: semiconductors, the auto sector, and healthcare, as pictured by a senior staff member, manager, radio scientist, and R&D engineer in each of those fields. I'm the real industrial deal — a ship's radio officer, turned engineer, turned radio scientist PhD. I've seen QA directors scared the FDA would take them out of the building in handcuffs. I've had SPEs who can't solder, and I've spent a career releasing product. It's a crazy time in tech — deep hardware tech perhaps more so — as I write this in 2026: fake jobs, fake resumes, and fake companies. So I hope you find an interesting article in here, directly from the trenches — and yes, I really do have the scars to prove it.

Note: each article is available in both English and Japanese. Hover over either thumbnail for a closer look at that edition's cover before downloading.
All twenty Real Engineering articles, English and Japanese editions.
# English 日本語 Title DOI Download
1 Real Engineering 1 English cover Real Engineering 1 Japanese cover Marketing and FailureUniversities, Marketing and Industry Failure in Electronics 10.5281/zenodo.22743394 Download
2 Real Engineering 2 English cover Real Engineering 2 Japanese cover Risk ManagementDonkeys, Foreign Buyouts and the FBI 10.5281/zenodo.22743696 Download
3 Real Engineering 3 English cover Real Engineering 3 Japanese cover Product DesignThe Art of Product Design 10.5281/zenodo.22743828 Download
4 Real Engineering 4 English cover Real Engineering 4 Japanese cover Financial AccountingThe World of Private Equity and Tax Avoidance 10.5281/zenodo.22743973 Download
5 Real Engineering 5 English cover Real Engineering 5 Japanese cover Operational Project ManagementGetting Screwed Slowly — US Style 10.5281/zenodo.22744111 Download
6 Real Engineering 6 English cover Real Engineering 6 Japanese cover Change ManagementThings Change, Screw You Sunshine 10.5281/zenodo.22744319 Download
7 Real Engineering 7 English cover Real Engineering 7 Japanese cover Engineering Qualification FrameworksFrom 2-Year Fluff Degrees to the Old 6-Year Guilded Degree 10.5281/zenodo.22744463 Download
8 Real Engineering 8 English cover Real Engineering 8 Japanese cover Managing DesignTransistors — Making the Best of a Wobbly Device 10.5281/zenodo.22744587 Download
9 Real Engineering 9 English cover Real Engineering 9 Japanese cover Managing Towards LightSimple mm-Wave Constructs 10.5281/zenodo.22744723 Download
10 Real Engineering 10 English cover Real Engineering 10 Japanese cover LNAs and General Dangers in RF 10.5281/zenodo.22744851 Download
11 Real Engineering 11 English cover Real Engineering 11 Japanese cover Invention vs Project ManagementInvention and TRIZ 10.5281/zenodo.22744963 Download
12 Real Engineering 12 English cover Real Engineering 12 Japanese cover The Financial Markets5G, the Sky is Falling, and Saying No 10.5281/zenodo.22745100 Download
13 Real Engineering 13 English cover Real Engineering 13 Japanese cover Legacy EngineeringThe Benefits of Old Software and Looking Back to Old Tricks 10.5281/zenodo.22754258 Download
14 Real Engineering 14 English cover Real Engineering 14 Japanese cover EntrepreneurshipStartups, Hybrid Entrepreneurship and the Run Rate 10.5281/zenodo.22754681 Download
15 Real Engineering 15 English cover Real Engineering 15 Japanese cover Engineering Mis-EducationCurrent Baluns, Voltage Baluns, and General Mystery 10.5281/zenodo.22755107 Download
16 Real Engineering 16 English cover Real Engineering 16 Japanese cover Managing the Easy WayMNC Cultural Differences and Changes in the Workplace 10.5281/zenodo.22755307 Download
17 Real Engineering 17 English cover Real Engineering 17 Japanese cover Managing NarcissismCrazy? Corporate Confusion Could Be Just What You Need! 10.5281/zenodo.22755454 Download
18 Real Engineering 18 English cover Real Engineering 18 Japanese cover Government RegulationProduct Safety and Industry Entry 10.5281/zenodo.22755594 Download
19 Real Engineering 19 English cover Real Engineering 19 Japanese cover Marketing MistakesTall Poppy Syndrome and De-Commoditization 10.5281/zenodo.22756481 Download
20 Real Engineering 20 English cover Real Engineering 20 Japanese cover Managerial LessonsGet Your Screw-You Money and the Broken Work Compact 10.5281/zenodo.22756601 Download

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