Nickname: sniperkitty

Review: As a chemical engineering undergraduate, I was excited when I heard about the so called "shortage" of engineers, figuring that pretty much ensured me a job right off. But if forigners are taking all those open positions in US corporations, then indeed, what do I have to look forward to? A mediocre job that was left over? ChE classes are very difficult, and I do believe the secondary education needs to improve if the US intends to have more people prepared for the challenge of engineering. I was in the top of my class, and yet I can barely make it.

Date reviewed: Sep 22, 2007 12:52 AM

Nickname: Asian student

Review: I am an Asian undergraduate. I believe it's true many US companies have come to this part of the world to lower their bottom line - this is a cost-driven decision and inevitable. Unless Americans are willing to work at comparable wages, Asian workers will always be the choice. A free market economy is never perfect I guess.

Date reviewed: Jun 24, 2006 4:25 AM

Nickname: Ron Mexico

Review: This is an obvious question, but why are people not doing science and engineering? Is it because it is too difficult? Is it because high schoolers and college students do not see a payoff in the short term or long run? Reading this, it seems as if they are throwing solutions to a problem where they have not understood the root cause. This is typical of how American corporations work. Perhaps it is not so bad if the majority of scientists and engineers are located in Asia. If America is so good at innovating whereas our Asian counterparts are not, we can just churn out more MBAs who have great ideas and use the Asians to implement them, correct?

Date reviewed: Mar 17, 2006 5:35 PM

Nickname: BT

Review: The bemoaning of the lack of graduates in math and science is an attempt by all the corporations who want to increase profit by reducing their people cost to deflect attention from what is really going on in the marketplace. The companies who make the most noise about the lack of graduates are also the ones you read about doing the most hiring overseas, cutting their pension programs, and laying off their U.S.-based workforce. I hear continuously that offshoring isn't about money but a lack of good talent. Yet I see more and more talented and competent U.S. workers laid off each year and more underskilled workers being hired in China and Indian. Already I see the mentality that a software developer is just a number and overseas we can get three or four for the cost of a U.S.-based worker. I don't think they really see the loss of talented, hard-working U.S. employees as an issue because in their project plans and budgets everyone is just one unit regardless of talent or skill level.

Date reviewed: Mar 17, 2006 3:19 AM

Nickname: michael

Review: As a current student I have witnessed this atrocity throughout my academic career. Ever since I was a child, my parents told me that education in America is horrible and slow for elementary to high school. Education in many other countries, especially Asian countries, is so much better. We don't pressure our students enough and do not challenge them. We lag behind and don't start difficult courses earlier. We could probably learn from private schools, seeing as how they are much more advanced than public schools. We should probably just learn math and science courses earlier than we are doing now so that high school material is covered in middle school (such as alegbra).

Date reviewed: Mar 17, 2006 3:00 AM

Nickname: Craig

Review: Tell that to the school boards and teachers who no longer have control over their classrooms. Liberal regulations that don't give teachers recourse when a student misbehaves are leaving them without student respect which lowers initiative to learn. Also school boards are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Home owners don't want to pay higher taxes so funding for schools is down. So what's their only recource? Cut programs that are not required by the federal government like advanced math, art and music. But, watch how communities scream when you try to cut sports programs. It's a sad state of affairs in the USA.

Date reviewed: Jan 23, 2006 7:43 PM

Nickname: the builder

Review: I concur with most of the comments expressed, most science and engineering degrees & professions have been reduced to a commodity. Janitors, demolition workers, garbage men, many protected by unions are paid at a higher wage scale than many scientist & engineers. It is common knowledge by the young that Wall Street & securing the an MBA will provide financial comfort. Why pay an engineer 70K a year when you can get one from India for 25K, Supply and demand is how I see it. We protect construction labor in our contry through the "Davis Bacon Act" i.e. Prevailing Union Wages, most of whom make a higher wage than most of the engineers and architects in my office with master degrees. There is no financial incentive to pursue these fields. It was scientists, engineers, inventors rooted in engineering & science that in the 20th century built this country into a industrial & technological superpower. Edison, Ford, Kelly Johnson, Noyce, Shockly, Norththrop, Goddard, Welsh on & on.

Date reviewed: Jan 22, 2006 11:28 AM

Nickname: Tom

Review: Engineering and science are both a constantly evolving field. The same ideas might not work for generations. By being innovative in the workplace one can ensure job security. Is it possible that some older engineers fall behind the times?

Date reviewed: Jan 20, 2006 8:01 PM

Nickname: aha

Review: I simply can't understand what Mr Barrett talked about. Intel has just invested roughly 1 BILLION for R&D in India instead of the US! Those Intel STS kids are bright enough to soon find out that engineering is no longer a respected, decent career in American society, which now values only lawyers, corporate executives and highly over-paid CEOs. With tens of thousands of unemployed engineers in the US (and many other experienced engineers will join them soon), why do we want our bright kids to be engineers?

Date reviewed: Jan 20, 2006 1:13 PM

Nickname: TopProf

Review: I have long tried to hire top U.S. students to work for me. These days it is hard to even see good applicants especially for the phd program. This is true in many of the top universities. Why then are the others complaining about H1's. Now the top international students are themselves not coming to the U.S. and many are going back to their countries. In fact this is a major loss to the U.S. If good U.S. students go to higher education, we will not have a problem. But this is a major problem with no solution yet. NSF has struggled to increase the native student pool, and have also failed.

Date reviewed: Jan 20, 2006 5:40 AM