Posted on 12/03/2006 11:44:21 AM PST by BenLurkin
As the United States embarks on the "Second Space Age," its aerospace, science and other high-tech industries face a critical shortage of skilled engineers, scientists and technicians to do the work necessary for the country to maintain pre-eminence in space.
That message ran throughout Friday's discussions during the California Space Authority's Transforming Space Conference, a gathering of the state's various space enterprise interests.
"The Second Space Age is a new age of space exploration," said Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside, honorary co-chairman of the conference.
This new age is similar to the Cold War space race in one important way, he said: "It depends on American leadership."
One oft-cited - but qualified - statistic compares the number of engineers produced yearly in the United States with other rising high-tech nations.
This country graduates approximately 70,000 new engineers per year, based on a 2004 survey, compared to some 200,000 or more in India and as many as 600,000 in China.
While noting that a wide gap in producing new engineers exists, the speakers were careful to note that the figures from India and China may be somewhat skewed due to those nations' broader definitions of engineers.
"We need to wake up. We will not be the leaders of the world we have been since World War II," Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon said. The Santa Clarita Republican is outgoing chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
"We can't just rest on our laurels. There are always people who want to knock us off that pedestal."
The problem of developing a work force of engineers is a pipeline issue, beginning with too few students willing to study math and science, McKeon said. Only half the students who do pursue such subjects in college actually graduate with those degrees, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
Well, it your job to figure out the next big thing, pay the expense of retraining, and start over again.
"free market" will be curtailed, sooner or later.
It's just not true, or I hope to hell it isn't, cause bunches of Defense Contract jobs, some requiring high level security clearances, some not, are about to go into the crapper, with the incoming Congress. The "Peace Dividend" will be used to buy votes, rather than rebuild our overstretched forces.
Even now things aren't what they were in the Reagan years, or even the Bush I years. Clinton raped the R&D budget, along with the rest of the military budget. The Bush II buildup/increases have all been for the war, not for reversing any (or at least very few) of the late Bush I, and Clinton era slashings.
Much of the what's left of the R&D budget is being wasted by constant reductions in funding, even when as often happens, the funding is partially restored later in the fiscal year. You can imagine what that does to progress , with people coming and going from projects. Design work being set aside to re-plan to suit the level of funding, which changes quarterly.
I think that is more a factor of Vanguard being a NACA (forerunner of NASA) project, while Redstone was military. Now, unfortunately, the NASA culture has bled over into the military one. Only the Air Force seems able to bring a new aircraft design along. They do it by having a competition, a fly off, not just a paper design contest where the best politicians win.
By the way, have you seen the tuition costs for most private colleges these days? Yikes!
My cousin's husband, who is a biochemist, was dumped at age 61, after more than 20 years with the same company. Imagine trying to find a new job when you are 61.
OTOH, with the Pelosi/Reid cutbacks in defense (and don't kid yourself, Space as well, after all how many votes do the Martians have?), I may find myself in about the same situation at 58 or 59. I think I'm OK for this year, assuming our contract is signed off soon by the General for CY 07. FY 08 is when the cutbacks, both in Army civilians and contract dollars are slated to begin.
You know, when I read Jefferson quotes like that one, it make me so grateful that George Washington had Alexander Hamilton in his cabinet to act as a counter balance.
About as many as engineers, chemists or physicists who take anatomy. Although bio medical engineers *do* take anatomy courses, IIRC.
No m'am. I held TS/SCI clearances for almost 20 years, and Secret before that, in fact for a time I held both DISCO and Air Force issued clearances. I even had a local SIOP clearance, and was read into many compartments, both as a civilian and as an Air Force reservist. That didn't stop the company which bought ours from laying me off, after 21+ years, even as I was working on an ongoing project which required just that type of clearance.
I actually liked the new job I found better, but then the work ran out there as well, and it is a smaller shop, less able to absorb the loss of a contract or two. Fortunately they found something for me, and being underemployed is way better than being unemployed. With the next round of cutbacks, already programed by the command I support, and the loss of a major contract back at the "home office", that might not last either.
Oh, well, how bad can "Peter the Greeter" at WalMart be? :)
While I don't disagree, it's hard to explain, and even harder to prove, in strictly econometric terms. I think it has something to do with the people who receive the money actually working for it, and being of a high enough socioeconomic level (except the grunts of course) that they spend more of their income on big ticket items and so called "luxury goods", which seem to have a higher multiplier factor than the bare necessities which most (but not all of course) welfare and other social spending dollars go to.
I can't figure out which is the more hysterical hyperbole.
Meanwhile, Boeing is designing the most advanced composite commercial aircraft ever. And Rolls Royce still builds competitive world class jet engines. And BMW makes a car that some people think is ok.
And China will beat these by doing what? Making lots of cheap jet engines to replace all the ones that fall into the pacific?
As someone who has worked in and around Chinese engineers, I can assure you that "600,000" engineers do not an American BSEE equal. Chinese count technical trade schools as "engineer" producers....and yes, they can get 'engineering' jobs. But you wouldn't trade a 7-11 job for it, and I can assure you, they ain't being hired on H1Bs at Boeing.
"Auto mechanics, plumbers, A/C heat repair is not going to India or China."
Oh don't you worry! When GWB gets his wish of 22+ million "instant citizens" then Hose' , Hose-B, and Juan will flood the blue collar trades and drive wages down to about 6 or 8 bucks an hour.
But, that's "good for America", right?
/sarcasm off.
Why do you have to be so hysterical when you've obviously never worked with the Chinese. And you use the term "technology" like it's a box of nilla wafers.
I suspect that no amount of information or experience would get you out of your tailspin. And, like the MSM talks down the military in Iraq, your 'death spiral' mantra doesn't help those of us Americans who actually DO compete with the Chicoms.
I'm really tired of hearing about the supposed shortage of American engineers. Want us? Pay us more. The fact is, I can increase my income by a factor of five by going to business school. Why would I not? Farewell science.
"By the way, have you seen the tuition costs for most private colleges these days? Yikes!"
Hey, but if you're an illegal you get a tuition break (at taxpayers expense of course).
"By the way, have you seen the tuition costs for most private colleges these days? Yikes!"
Hey, but if you're an illegal you get a tuition break (at taxpayers expense of course).
As someone who did physics and pre-med in undergrad I can assure you that pre-med really is a breeze compared to physics.
You're assuming that huge military expenditures are necessary to peace and security.
In the '80s, my recollection of the situation was that the US and Japan were each graduating about 100,000 engineers per year. About half of ours went into military jobs and about half into civilian industry. Most of Japan's went into civilian industry, giving them a two to one advantage in high tech businesses, despite having a smaller population.
Note that China and India aren't the only other players.
> Relax. I'm sure the Chinese will build us whatever we need.
The sad thing is that there are so many dumba$$ libertarian free traitors who believe this.
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