Time really does fly when you’re having fun. It was three years ago today that I quit my job at semiconductor test equipment manufacturer Teradyne, Inc. in Southern California to head north and then head further north a couple years after that … we still never really look back.

The job market must be pretty awful for U.S.-based engineers these days. As I understand it, the facility where I worked in Agoura Hills that, at the peak of the tech boom had over 2,000 employees, is now down to about 10 or 20 percent of that.

I’m glad I only think about thinks like this once a year – on the anniversary of my departure in 2007 when the following post was offered up. It is reproduced in its entirety below.

After more than seven years, today is my last day at Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE: TER), a major manufacturer of test equipment for the semiconductor industry.

I’d like to thank all the great people I’ve worked with over the years and I wish you all the best of luck in the future.

Since joining the company in January of 2000, time spent here has been mostly enjoyable – writing software for a world-class semiconductor test platform has had more than its share of excitement and challenges.

I can’t say that the last year or two have been as enjoyable as some of the earlier ones. Maybe it was because I was distracted by other interests.

Maybe too it was because “perpetual fire drill” is no way to live and there’s been a steady stream of talented engineers out the front door. Despite assurances heard by employees, the attrition rate doesn’t look normal to me.

Yes, I know things are changing – good luck with that.

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