Well said! Americans gripe about the number of H1-B visas we issue but I can't help wondering if this correlates to the decreasing number of American students who major in hard sciences like engineering and chemistry.
To many American university students would rather spend their college years pulling bong-hits while they major in "Literature of Contemporary Protest" and "Peace Studies" and leave the mechanical engineering classes filled with students named Amir, Singh and Mohammed.
"To many American university students would rather spend their college years pulling bong-hits while they major in "Literature of Contemporary Protest" and "Peace Studies" and leave the mechanical engineering classes filled with students named Amir, Singh and Mohammed."
Yep,
When I did my under grad, I wnet after the hardest subject matter degree program I could find (I didn't go to an Engineer school - but a business school), so I took Economics. Hard economics - mathematical Supply and demand, GNP determination, Econometrics, all that. Not easy stuff, but it makes sense once you get past ECON 101.
College falculty pushes these weak studies so that they can have weak students. Weak students buzzed on drugs and booze are easier to seduce for sex, and the kids are more willing to risk breaking the law to bring more pot and other drugs to the teachers.
You mean there is actually a logical reason we are short of American candidates for technical jobs in the sciences in this country? You mean part of it is OUR OWN FAULT? You mean to say that American education has FAILED American students? You mean that too many of our kids are spoiled brats who don't have to bust their asses studying the hard subjects when they can goof off at parental and governmental expense for four years?
Na, let's just continue to blame foreigners. It's easier.
When I went to engineering school over half the class consisted of foreigners.
"To many American university students would rather spend their college years pulling bong-hits while they major in "Literature of Contemporary Protest" and "Peace Studies" and leave the mechanical engineering classes filled with students named Amir, Singh and Mohammed."
Not necessarily. I was an undergrad in mechanical engineering only two years ago, and my graduating class of 21 students had only three non-US citizens (one from Vietnam, the others from former Soviet Bloc countries). No one from India or the Middle East. At least in mechanical engineering, undergrads were almost uniformly white American males (with a smattering of women and minority men).
The grad students, however, were overwhelmingly from China and India. One professor's lab was known by a rather derogatory name since he was Turkish and had only Turkish men as his grad students. I was friendly with several of the Indian grad students. For the most part the Indians were pleasant and often willing to help undergrads with coursework. Most of them planned to return to India after getting their doctorate. I cannot say the same for most of the grad students from other countries.
In this state, most employers of mechanical engineers are companies in the defense industry. You can't be designing nuclear reactors or submarines for the Navy, or fighter enginers for the Air Force if you're not a citizen - and you usually need a security clearance as well. There is a ready market around here for entry-level engineers with citizenship. I had three job offers from defense contractors AFTER I'd already accepted my current position in the civilian sector.
But I agree, too many students would rather have a fluff major and spend 4-5 years partying instead of working hard and having a good job after graduation. As I told my dorm neighbor (an Urban Studies major) - what's the point in moving out to go to college if you're going to have to move back home with Mom and Dad after graduation?
Oh well, we need someone to flip hamburgers...might as well be the Peace Studies majors...
We need literature majors not only to translate Geekdom into something comprehensible but also to entertain us when Geekdom is off the table. "Literature of Contemporary Protest" classes do a disservice to all concerned.