"I needed money." - Charles Ponzi
"I needed money." - Bernie Madoff
"I needed money." - Kenneth Lay
"I needed money." - Qusay Hussein
Because he got paid $0. They hired him as an “intern” or volunteer.
It's responsibility-washing. Like GP said, those answers are totally unacceptable coming from an engineering professional. Which is exactly why they took on interns to do it.
Ah, then we got what we paid for.
Well:
(a) It doesn't appear to actually have come with a salary.
(b) Even if it paid, it slightly stretches credulity given his background that it was the only job that he could get.