Posted on 07/10/2005 4:51:09 AM PDT by voletti
More than half a century of US dominance in science and engineering may be slipping as America's share of graduates in these fields falls relative to Europe and developing nations such as China and India, a study released on Friday says.
The study, written by Richard Freeman at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Washington, warned that changes in the global science and engineering job market may require a long period of adjustment for US workers.
Moves by international companies to move jobs in information technology, high-tech manufacturing and research and development to low-income developing countries were just "harbingers" of that longer-term adjustment, Freeman said.
Urgent action was needed to ensure that slippage in science and engineering education and research, a bulwark of the US productivity boom and resurgence during the 1990s, did not undermine America's global economic leadership, he added.
The United States has had a substantial lead in science and technology since World War Two. With just 5 per cent of the world's population, it employs almost a third of science and engineering researchers, accounts for 40 per cent of research and development spending and publishes 35 per cent of science and engineering research papers.
Many of the world's top high-tech firms are American, and government spending on defense-related technology ensures the US military's technological dominance on battlefields.
But the roots of this lead may be eroding, Freeman said.
Numbers of science and engineering graduates from European and Asian universities are soaring while new degrees in the United States have stagnated -- cutting its overall share.
(Excerpt) Read more at expressindia.com ...
True, and that should be taught in grade school. But for a solid high school physics course, algebra and trig are needed.
--------------------------------------------
I think you're mistaken, at least what I see contradicts that. My neighborhood is in NW Nassau County on LI. Thirty minutes to mid-town, surrounded by world class medical complexes (North Shore, LI Jewish, St, Francis Heart) and the PS system is ranked number 4 in the country by USNews & World Report. In the past year six houses have sold within two blocks. Every buyer is Asian or Indian. Every buyer is a Medical or Technology professional. They could all have gone home and prospered but they all chose to stay here.
At least our students know how to put a condom on...
Good point. It was immigrants like Einstein that gave the US its edge.
We should get rid of a lot of crap in college i.e. Lesbo Studies, I hate America Studies, and fluff fluff courses.
But even lawyers better be a partner or own their own firm by their mid 30s. You can't just be an associate forever.
"You don't know anything about the profession."
LOL...well as long as my customers continue to think I do, I'm ok with that.
Whether you want to admit it or not, there are things you can't do as well in your 40's as you can in your 20's. Aspects of engineering simply require the flexibility of mind that you (unless you are an unusual specimen) can't do as well in your 40's as your 20's.
I did not mean to imply that there are no engineers in their 40's.....I'm one. but there are engineering things I did better in my 20's and that I hire folks in their 20's to do for me.
Perhaps...different locales may provide different perspectives.
My 8th grade science teacher told me the same, am now an engg grad student.. I still worship him for his encouragement !
"....I still worship him for his encouragement"
Your hard work is just beginning......but strangely, I hear no whining from you - which, according to folks on this thread, shouldn't be so, because according to them, you are doomed to a life of misery because you are pursuing a graduate education in engineering.
Thanks for adding a reality check to this discussion.
"We should get rid of a lot of crap in college i.e. Lesbo Studies, I hate America Studies, and fluff fluff courses."
Why? we have a tremendous lead in those fields. China and India might catch up if we don't keep funding those fields fully.
You are willing to give away our only advantage........
I dont think devout christians are primarily responsible for this reduced inclination of high school students to pick science/engg in college.
Blame lies more with liberals who try to malign engg and science as boring and ill paying, even making drone professions like Law and accounting as cool, as they dont need smart inventors or geniuses in those fields anyway (which suits the liberal agenda of dumbing down people to the same low IQ levels).
Afterall, just pick any TV show, the smart Engineer/ scientist is usually typecast as a Geek and outcast, just like a religious person (as long as he is Christian, being a religious muslim is A.OK with them) is depicted as a bigoted and stupid redneck.
And liberals are the first to accuse others of "anti- intellectualism", and by intellectuals they usually refer to social scientists/liberal arts professors !
Who needs math and science when you can play kick ball or stick ball? Priorities, people!
Hey, all you have to do is a free republic search of "autism," "vaccines," or "fluoride" to discover how ignorant most people with regard to science.
Its slightly true that technical people are usually honest and nice to one another. You can probably find such people only in USMC.
I have no idea what India's TV is like but what I remember of American TV - I threw my TV away almost 10 years ago in disgust -- I'd say that, if India's press is any indication, their TV is superior.
So add to the 10 - 15 per cent most of the MSM print and electronic media jobs.
As far as education goes there's been several India press articles critical of India's system as being geared too much toward passing tests, not enough creative thinking. That is why no doubt so many come here.
As far as Asian countries in general go, search for "universities cheating [country name]"
Not all Asians are ten feet tall.
We've been through this tech scare before, the children of the "greatest generation" beat the scare -- but that was in the days before the Internet, greed and labor arbitrage.
"Free tradin'" away our technology, wealth, and production, especially to enemies like the U.S.S.R and Red China, was absolutely forbidden by the "greatest generation."
Not so today. The New Democrat Third Way "progressive" one-worlders rule along with their conservative "free trade" lackeys (useful idiots as Lenin called them). The Davos World IOW, soon to be spurred on by Clinton's global initiative coming in September.
We heard a related argument back in the 50s when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. The United States was falling behind the Soviets and we needed to reform education to keep up. The reforms made in High School back then in the sciences and mathematics were a huge mistake. It made those subjects less comprehensible to beginners. Reformers forgot that to teacher a beginner, the subject needed to be presented as simply as possible, artificially if necessary. Complexity can only be taught properly after basics are mastered.
The problem isn't India or China. It is the way schools teach science and math. There has been a lot of talk about getting back to basics. Not only do we need to get rid of the theraputic education designed to create perfect citizens, we need to go back to the way math and science were taught 70 years ago.
If you are an engineer you would know that a starting salary of 55K is a joke today. 55K is starvation wages. To go through all of the training to earn then earn so little is a truly a shock to me. I graduated in 1980 with a B.S.C.E. and thought my 28K starting salary was a joke. Starter homes cost about 80K in D.C. back then. You're telling me entry level Engineering pay is only 55K? Starter homes in D.C are now 400K. It is a joke, really....
Obviously, science can be farmed out as any other service industry to countries that are mired in 19th century social development. It is not practical that our children should waste time and money studying science in college when the job prospects for science-related careers are extremely poor.
"...entry level Engineering pay is only 55K? Starter homes in D.C are now 400K. It is a joke, really...."
Surely you jest.......An entry-level engineer can get a roommate, rent, or any number of things. If you think $55k starting salary is a joke, then you would truly guffaw over starting salaries for, say, business majors, psychology majors, history majors, and all the rest of the stereotypical "good time" majors.
Please tell me you aren't serious and I am simply too dense to understand your humor.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.