Nickname: Machine Ghost

Review: "Ultimately, most of the challenges require a big change in mind-set in American society at large." Specifically, a true free market in providing education. Only then will highly trained and proficient students be graduated. Even the CEO's missed this one.

Date reviewed: Dec 1, 2005 5:24 PM

Nickname: Concerned

Review: As long as the salary disparity exists, jobs will continue to flow out of America. We will be lucky if the pace and volume of outsourcing stays the same. Young Americans are getting squeezed. College education costs are increasing, and salaries are decreasing. Add modern day 'must-haves,' like i-Pods, Starbucks latte, etc., and students are looking at several decades of student loan repayments. With the entry-level jobs flying out of the country in droves, deskilling of America is the real threat. Innovation is great. But, it may be time for us to focus on quality. 'Good-enough' products or services fail to attract customers. A part from low-cost operations, our foreign competitors are boasting of better-quality products and services. God bless, America.

Date reviewed: Nov 28, 2005 5:10 PM

Nickname: retch

Review: In my wife's family two kids recently got bachelors degrees. One got an aerospace engineering degree from Georgia Tech and is working for Boeing at the usual start rate for that. The other one got a finance degree from the University of Pennsylvania and is making over $200,000 a year after only 1 year on the job. He is doing mergers and acquisitions and is roling in cash--although he's having to work like a programmer, all the hours he can stand. I'm sorry, but much of this problem has been brought on by the US managers and financial people who have rewarded "extract the cash" management of existing companies and played to the stock market. And I will not encourage my two children to go into science and engineering. No one should until the US companies wake up to the reality they have created.

Date reviewed: Nov 24, 2005 2:58 PM

Nickname: JPHL

Review: In France or Germany, students get high level technical training in high school. In the US, the high school system is, in many cases, a waiting line for university if it can be afforded. Instead it could create skilled and trained workers and/or better prepared candidates for the engineering fields. I heard recently that the number of US engineering graduates has moved since the 70s. It doesn't surprise me, because it goes in parallel with the "management" trend. This matches the appearance driven economy of who wants to be a milionaire, makeover, etc. When will we see, who wants to be an engineer? It can be a calling, a passion. Let's raise it early. Broadband, etc is only a tool. The most important tool is the brain, educated early.

Date reviewed: Nov 19, 2005 4:42 PM

Nickname: JPHL

Review: I don't know how many of the previous commentators are foreign born or are working with engineers from foreign countries. Personally, I am French (sorry!) and work in the automotive plastic business for a French company in Detroit. I am working with engineers from Europe, India, Pakistan, Mexico, Canada, and USA. The American engineers that we hired were really good for their practical+theoretical knowledge. But we were surprised that most of the candidates (not hired) weren't even able to make a simple hands-free "napkin" sketch of a common technical feature. Many of them were also unable to visualize in 3D. Computers and all the networking capabilities are great tools (I am using them a lot), but they don't eliminate the prerequisite of some basic communication and creativity tools or intellectual skills. The basic skills aren't taught in the US engineering universities.

Date reviewed: Nov 19, 2005 4:37 PM

Nickname: KMGuru

Review: Americans no longer study engineering due to future job prospects in USA. I sent my kid to study finance, and my friend sent his son to be a lawyer. Our middle class will soon disappear. There is a solution, but no one is listening.

Date reviewed: Nov 18, 2005 11:56 PM

Nickname: VHDLman

Review: The US Congress made the right move to create the SBIR Program that has seeded many important innovations. But what happens next? Large companies would rather sue small companies and destroy them than fund internal research to compete with new technologies. Investors are risk adverse, allowing better ideas to disappear. Don't waste what we already have.

Date reviewed: Nov 18, 2005 9:41 PM

Nickname: aguilarojo

Review: America seems to be in decline for the same proud and failed reason that justifying the theft of land from the Native Americans is a glaring omission in its history. So what "goes around comes around." It is evident that it's time as a leader is passing--as it's population passes from a reasoning culture based on science to a feeling and empassioned culture based on religion and self-worship. I say let it pass, and the world move on.

Date reviewed: Nov 18, 2005 9:25 PM

Nickname: greg

Review: Downsizing in many companies throughout the world has stifled innovation and caused enormous economic damage to those companies. It has been proven that companies that have downsized are actually worse off 10 years down the track. We have enormous pools of extremely talented individuals who no longer contribute to economic growth due to being labelld as past their use by date--ie senior workers. America was built on innovation. Its whole economic future growth is dependant on innovation. To encourage innovation within America the following steps need to be taken. 1.Make innovation groups part of the basic education system. Junior, senior, mature age students 2.Encourage individuals within companies and government to put forth their ideas. 3.Form a national innovation business council to promote idea creation. 4.Develop a national plan to develop high speed/affordable broadband. Existing bandwidth currently used by TV would be ideal once digital TV becomes commonplace.

Date reviewed: Nov 18, 2005 11:46 AM

Nickname: Nazz

Review: Yeah, as a DBA I was making $80,000 in South Florida eight years ago. The housing prices there have tripled and DBA's there are still making $80,000. I consult for more than double that and cannot afford to go full-time again. Everyone else is getting outsourced or replaced by cheap H1 visas. Industry leaders can rant all they want, they are the ones outsourcing jobs. There are plenty of well qualified people here. IT companies, the people who develop the technology, rarely even let their own workers telecommute. Ridiculous. Gimme a break. Head to finance or real estate if you want to be able to afford a house.

Date reviewed: Nov 18, 2005 9:47 AM