Upper management has turned its head to the importance of experience. Pierce used to pride itself on long term employment with people having 20+ years of fire truck manufacturing experience. Now they bring in college grads, who most likely don't know the first thing about building a fire truck, to manage the place. Pierce is a special kind of manufacturer that specializes in custom designs and options. No two trucks are the same. In my opinion experience is better than a degree in this type of environment. Now a days pierce will let a guy with 30 years of experience retire and replace him with a kid fresh out of high school.