Nickname: jw
Review: The rewards of a career in engineering has gone by the wayside. I have 10 years of experience as an engineer and haven't had a major promotion, salary increases, etc. Busines grads (the ones who can't hack the math and science for engineering degrees) end up with all the glory, bonuses, promotions, big window offices, golf trips, etc. I am an electrical engineer like my father, but both of us were pushed to back rooms of the company over the years. I sit next to a fellow engineer who has been here 18 years. Both of us discuss how our careers went nowhere while the "executive staffers" reap all the company rewards.
The reason these companies are crying is the executives know deep down that without innovative engineers willing to work for peanuts, creating new cutting-edge products, they can't collect the million dollar bonus! Let's have some incentive to become an good engineer! Show'em the money!
Date reviewed: Jan 10, 2006 5:11 PM
Nickname: VA
Review: Thank you Mr. Wadhwa for taking the debate up one notch. We can all debate whether outsourcing is good or bad, but using bad data leads to bad decisions.
Date reviewed: Dec 28, 2005 1:26 AM
Nickname: bill
Review: I would like to know how Mr. Wadhwa defines an engineering degree. The article talks about not considering accreditation or quality, but that is exactly what is required in the US. Most states require an ABET-accredited degree in order to obtain professional registration as an engineer. Let's not lump all IT and general science degrees in with engineering because there is a big difference in education required. I am a Civil Professional Engineer (PE) and there is plenty of work in the US for PE's due to the construction boom in the US. I don't think the same is true for IT and general science/research jobs based on stories I've read and heard. I chose this profession because I knew I could make a good living and provide a service to the public, but I also knew it wasn't a get-rich-quick profession. We have to teach today's youth that there are good quality technical careers that provide them with the ability to make a good comfortable living for them and their families.
Date reviewed: Dec 22, 2005 2:20 PM
Nickname: truthseeker
Review: If the purpose of this article is to spread disinformation, it has succeeded admirably. But for those seeking the truth, I'd point out that that the single state of Haryana in India (pop. 21 million) offered 12,500 engineering seats (in various 4-year degree programs) in 2005-6. In addition, it offered 1825 MCA seats--i.e. post graduate computer science seats. This puts Haryana's technical output at above 14,000 a year. http://techeduhry.nic.in/seat-distribute/engg.htm http://techeduhry.nic.in/seat-distribute/mca.htm There are similar online Web sites for several other states. If Vivek Wadhwa cared to do a truly exhaustive study, he would find India's annual engineering and computer science enrollment approaching 500,000 (for 4-5 year) programs. India's technical diplomas (which are 2-3 year programs) are offered by polytechinics, not by engineering colleges that offer 4 to 5-year programs. The Duke study has grossly underestimated India's engineering pool.
Date reviewed: Dec 19, 2005 11:32 AM
Nickname: Siddhartha Sachivadi
Review: An amazing piece of disinformation. NASSCOM's Engineering Graduate Pool Study is available online: http://www.nasscom.org/download/Engineering_Talent_Pool_Reseach_Highlights1.0.pdf This study clearly mentions 350,000 engineering graduates. These are all 4-year graduates. It also mentions an additional 45,000 MCA graduate (Masters of Computer Arts) which is a 2-year post-graduate program following a 3-year science undergraduate degree. This puts India's 2004 output at 395,000. This output does not include engineering diplomas, or electronics graduates with 3-year degrees. Nor does it include undergraduates (with science degrees) who go on to get 1-year post graduate diplomas relating to IT/computer science. Other studies have shown that on a per-capita basis, India now leads China, the EU and the US in graduating engineers and IT profeessionals. That lead will only increase in the future.
Date reviewed: Dec 19, 2005 3:16 AM
Nickname: Yggdrasil
Review: This is the typical rah-rah everything-is-wonderful rhetoric that BusinessWeek has become so adept at putting out recently. Why can't we as Americans admit that we have serious problems in our educational system at every level? I teach engineering at a Big Ten university where 80%+ of the grad students come from India, China, and Korea-- and this is not a problem? Fat, dumb, and happy is the rule--and oh so proud of Duke!
Date reviewed: Dec 17, 2005 1:17 AM
Nickname: John g
Review: It is about time that someone reported the facts! Well done. Thanks.
Date reviewed: Dec 16, 2005 8:49 PM
Nickname: Kevin
Review: This report is garbage. Degrees awarded is data that is essentially an echo of enrollment decisions made four to five years ago. You see the problem much more clearly if you look at current enrollment trends. The definitive source for that, at least for computer science, is the CRA web site www.cra.org, which does the annual Taulbee Study on this topic. Also, you can't just look at one year; you need to look at the trend over time. The trend for CS enrollment is down in the US and up in India and China. The Department of Labor predicts the creation of 1.2 million IT jobs in the US between 2003 and 2012. There's lots of demand.
Date reviewed: Dec 15, 2005 5:04 AM
Nickname: Grabe
Review: I've written numerous representatives, colleagues and activists about how corporate America is crying shortage of IT workers while the universities climb the other side of the bandwagon -all erroneously purporting the terrible shortage of IT workers and IT students. I've also mentioned how this scare tactic, used to circumvent visa laws, not only benefits them in the short run, by making foreign workers available to replace the American worker (that I personally witnessed), but also in effect helps them to migrate the U.S. IT job market overseas, like they did some blue collar jobs. Does anyone know how this is possible? Through the news media (propaganda by capitalizing on the propensity for what stories sell). Corporate America knows it works. Politicians know it works. Terrorists know it works. So when will all of us realize the fallacy of public opinion, and stop allowing ourselves to be duped? I guess when pigs fly past frozen Hell's blue moon.
Date reviewed: Dec 15, 2005 2:32 AM
Nickname: Mahesh
Review: Terrific article. Extremely well written, insightful and a confidence booster balancing the global perspectives very well.
Date reviewed: Dec 14, 2005 11:36 PM
" I sit next to a fellow engineer who has been here 18 years. Both of us discuss how our careers went nowhere while the "executive staffers" reap all the company rewards."
All very true. I have one engineer kid (brilliant genius advanced degreed innovtive and creative) who works in DC for a private company and makes so little money he qualified for DC's low income assistance to buy a tiny little falling down row house in a bad section.
Why should he bust his neck developing all these fantastic things get paid peanuts and then get fired so someone can hire a techie from India whose stuff will have to be redone by some American engineer who will bust his back and then get fired?
Bush better think long and hard about what he is doing.