Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Shortfall of U.S. Engineering Graduates(?)
You've seen the news stories. The U.S. is falling way behind China and India in the number of engineering students it graduates, threatening to transform the country into a nation of Britney Spears fans and Fear Factor viewers (wait, that's already happened). The numbers quoted are along the lines of 15 total engineers graduated in the U.S. in 2005 versus approximately 800 million in India and China (I'm going from memory here; please forgive me if I'm off somewhat). However, a recent study conducted at Duke University indicates that, in the words of Sportin' Life, it ain't necessarily so. The numbers coming out of China and India are greatly inflated due to the inclusion of three-year degrees (the equivalent of U.S. associates degrees) in the tally, whereas the U.S. generally includes only bachelors degrees and higher. No word as to why the typical U.S. number is so grossly underestimated though.
If you're an engineer, you probably had a strong inkling that the projected shortfall of U.S engineering grads is highly exaggerated--just a bunch of made up numbers so the beancounters can bring in more H-1B workers, right? Now you have some data to back you up. However, make sure you read the report in its entirety before you get too complacent. We're doing better than the news stories would have you believe, but we can't afford to rest on our laurels either.
If you're an engineer, you probably had a strong inkling that the projected shortfall of U.S engineering grads is highly exaggerated--just a bunch of made up numbers so the beancounters can bring in more H-1B workers, right? Now you have some data to back you up. However, make sure you read the report in its entirety before you get too complacent. We're doing better than the news stories would have you believe, but we can't afford to rest on our laurels either.
