Hi Lizzie, not everyone had the privilege of attending the Little Bo Peep school that you said you attended.
The lower school system is not as good as overseas lower school systems.
It's hard to tell if you realize this?
Our lower school system is at least one grade behind on mathematics, compared to India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Indonesia. Ask around and compare.
Here's what our kids will have, if the schools don't improve:
bushin30seconds.org
Fortunately, our universities are better, but how long does that last, if the lower school system isn't improved?
RE: "The NSB doesn't know why the U.S. is producing fewer engineering graduates."
Well, it's not exactly like they try to increase the number of people, by increasing the number of women in science. If they tuned in to 50% of the population, they could increase the volume by 50% if they focused on increasing enrollment of women. Professors have no motivation to increase the volume, just more headache for them to teach yet more students according to professors I know. Most importantly and most detrimentally, professors prefer to fund guy-based research programs (e.g. car performance vs car safety), which gives men preferential studies over women.
And then they wonder why they have this:
cnn.com
"Women hold between 3 percent and 15 percent of full professorships in science and engineering at the schools surveyed"...
"only 8.3 percent of math professors were women."
"it found no black, Hispanic or Indian women who were full professors at any of the top 50 computer science departments."
"The report, which Nelson co-wrote with Diana C. Rogers of the University of Oklahoma, urged male and female professors to encourage women to enter science and engineering."
Only industry has the power to fix the disparity in the university system, thru more control around the type of projects granted. And getting rid of tenure, ought to help improve things.
RE: " Someone who recruits at Berkeley told me Cisco was trying to hire new software graduate students last year for $30/hr, no benefits. She said they have been cut by 40% since 2000."
Do you have her name (thru PM)? Demand is picking up. Unrelated, what positions were they interviewing for and in which group? I don't steal employees from companies, so am just curious.
RE: " The Bush administration is launching an all out attack on the engineering profession with their new immigration program."
If more people like started companies, we wouldn't need to import so many immigrants, but the reality is, 50% of startups are started by immigrants.
If you don't get the cream of the crop into the USA, they are going to be developing their innovations elsewhere.
Don't you want to continue living in the USA?
RE: "This is the same excuse they used to try to expand the visa program last year even though US engineering unemployment is at an all time high. It is simply an effort for large firms to induce severe wage deflation."
Lizzie, they don't have to hire in the USA, so your argument (on this point) is invalid. You know as well as I, that a company can offshore if the rates for an NCG hit $105,000 like they did during March 2000 - that was a challenge I believe you would acknowledge.
Their interest in the immigration visas isn't about wages, their concern is legitimately about getting the best PhD hardcore scientist here, rather than see them go to Europe and other countries. Don't you see the concern here?
RE: "This Bush plan essentially will shut down every engineering school in the country for lack of interest"
Not getting the world's best into this country, has a higher risk of shutting down our engineering schools, because there will be 50% fewer top scientists to start companies that can then hire engineers.
RE: "In times past, when there was a labor shortage the economy handled it differently and smartly, with efficiency."
We are no longer global.
You are essentially suggesting Communism works better than Capitalism when you suggest a closed market system. Communism is simply not a successful business model.
RE: "My personal opinion is that the offshore design centers are not delivering"
I'm plugged into what many offshore sites are delivering.
Regards,
Amy J PS An article on cell phone innovation, with absolutely no mention to Dru Sjodin whose cell phone was poorly designed, resulting in an inability to save her life. "Survey: Cell phone most hated, needed invention" cnn.com |
