Notice how I mentioned I would edit all sensitive details a few posts above?
I don’t know why I even bother responding. You only read what you want to read.
The point is for some of this you don’t need to send actual documentation - like for the health policy you can just summarize the information.
Then retract your statement that I “sold an idea”.
If you’re not willing to accept my evidence to the contrary then you can’t make statements that you won’t allow me to disprove.
Very well, if you feel you must, but please do remove personal information prior to sending it.
My e-mail is in my profile.
In engineering companies, when you fill out paperwork for the job ,there is a sheet that says all patents you come up with, belong to them. That is in the Detroit area. I can not speak for the whole country.
Your post is disingenuous. The original claim was that today it is basically impossible for a person from a poor family, like bump’s grandfather, to rise from an entry level position to upper management without a college degree. Almost every person on your list comes from a well off if not outright wealthy family, began their career over 25 years ago and attended college for varying amounts of time. Some of whom only left when the demands of the company they started forced them to.
The lone exception (aside from Ty Warner, on whom I could find no information) is Dean Kamen, who not only attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute for 5 years of advanced research studies, but is also by all accounts a genius of Thomas Edison proportions.
Your right to say that it isn’t impossible, but it is basically impossible. In other words, the chances that a 2011 high school graduate from a low income family will be able to rise from the mail room to upper management is essentially zero.
Then why did you bring it up… ?
I just want to say thanks to those of you who are posting. It’s really opened my eyes.
CNN ran a story this morning that poverty is “moving into the suburbs” this illustrates what the people here have been saying.
Because you said you generously sold one for a buck that was worth more. Even that option does not exist for lots of professional people. You don’t even get a buck.
I was going to school full-time and living on a part time job and student loans. I finally got to the point where I was completely out of money and my bills were just outpacing my my income even after I dropped out of school and began working full time. A year later I was on the verge of being homeless so I made the decision to join the Army even though It was really the last thing I wanted to do. I joined at the tail end of 2008 before the recession really hit although the signs were already there. I got a $40,000 bonus as well as the student loan repayment program option. Including my bonus spread out over my four year contract and my money for food and housing because I am married I make around 50k a year, I also have the much added benefit of free health insurance. I’m still 36 credit hours short of my bachelor’s degree because I changed my major so damn much but its a work in progress. Joining the military was the smartest thing I ever did. I have friends that have Masters and cannot find work or make significantly less money than I do and also have to worry about insurance and healthcare related bills. In a lot of ways I am immune to the troubles of the economy or so I thought. The economic woes are finally making their way into the departent of defense and we are going to see a significant reduction in the force, I mean they are even talking about doing away with the 20 year pension when you retire, thats still unreal to me, it blows my mind. So many people are trying to get into the military now and they just aren’t needed anymore. I’m somewhat scared about the future. I was going to reenlist next month but the Army just changed its policy and now I’ve been told I will have to wait six more months till March to reenlist and thats cutting it too close in my mind. Since I’ve been in I’ve had a child, had a squamous cell carcinoma removed from my nose, and had arthroscopic shoulder surgery not too mention tons of doctor and ER visits and many medications prescribed to me, all absolutely free. I shudder to think what might have happened regarding the skin cancer on my nose had I not been in the military, I very well might have just spread and eaten my nose simply because I wouldn’t have had the money to even diagnose it let alone get it surgically removed. The economy is sobad out there right now, I see it all around me, it is very easy to become poor if you aren’t careful or even if you are careful.
Just to second this: I think it’s standard practice in many technical fields. I’m a british programmer and all my contracts without exception have explicitly stated that any ideas I come up with belong to the company. And that it applies to things done in my own time, if they’re at all related to the field I’m employed in.
…Even when I went to University I had to sign a similar waiver, though I haven’t heard many stories of Unis trying to take 100% ownership of an IP.
Sign up for EOD or something like that? That’s an insane bonus.
I didn’t work for the company, I do not currently work for the company.
I contacted the company after the patent had been filled.
I sold the patent, and rights to it, to the company. The patent is still in my name. In fact, in reviewing the company history, I saw that their most notable patent was filed in the names of 3 of their top engineers and remains that way to this day, in addition to a number of other patents.
No actually it was for Satellite Communications, which was really in demand at the time, and that was for a four year contract. I could have gotten a $60,000 bonus if I had signed up for EOD and a six year contract but I really didn’t feel like getting blown up. I talk to people that are just now coming in with the same MOS I chose and they got no bonus at all. 
Oh but I forgot to add sorry that $20,000 was for my MOS and the other $20,000 was for a quick-ship bonus because I left for basic less than a week after I signed up.
I think this is standard at nearly any company where a patent is possible.
With that said though, my wife’s company has a standard policy of payments depending on what you did towards the patent. She’s got her name on three now, coming up with the idea that leads to the patent is worth a $500 bonus I think. Having your name on it can be worth $1000 or more.
What’s interesting there is that the bonus has nothing to do with the potential profit from the patent, simply the act of having it filed.
There was the argument before about whether or not joining the military was a good economic decision for the poor. A study just came out addressing it.
One thing I’ve always wondered about the military…The United States is in deficit and we are in a couple unpopular wars…wouldn’t ending the wars and reducing the size of our military be in order in the foreseeable future? Beyond that, won’t it be a problem when the survivors flood back into an already strained job market? I don’t know how it works, so I’m genuinely curious.
Hey, I just found this interesting game where you have to manage your money like the American poor for a month. I (surprisingly) made it through the month with a few hundred bucks left, but then my car crapped out on me, which screwed up my rent payment for next month. 
I remember I went to the recruiter’s office with a friend took their pre-ASVAB test with him (just to see what I could do and get a feel for what was available - no real intent intially). My score indicated I could pick whatever MOS I wanted.
They ask you for your top 3 MOS choices.
I was interested in being a welder, machinist, and then EOD. Honestly, at that time, if the spot for welder was open I would give it serious, serious consideration. Well, I was told welder was open and to come back the next week to bring supporting documents, etc. So, I spent the week mulling it over. I decided, you know what, it’s a good oppurtunity and I’d love to get some professional welding training - I was completely self taught up to that point. There was no bonus of any kind for that MOS which I was completely fine with.
Anyways, the next week rolls around and suprise, suprise welder wasn’t open and neither was machinist. EOD was! Go figure. They tried really hard to convince me with bonuses, which was on par with the 6 year amount you stated. I went to another recruiter, took their pre-ASVAB, similar score, welder again was open. By that time, I knew the gist. It left a bad taste in my mouth and I declined to both recruiters. I wish they wouldn’t have wasted my time and told me welder wasn’t really opened from the beginning.
After talking to a friend that just got back from Iraq I was told that recruiters were basically hard pressed to increase high-demand MOS’ jobs like EOD and infantry. They’d basically pull the bait and switch, whatever it took. And to think, I was gullible enough to believe those guys were truly interested in helping me out. Not saying they’re all bad, but I wasn’t impressed with my experience.