Posted on 06/04/2013 8:04:45 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A popular meme of the immigration debate has to do with the claim from technology companies that there's a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) worker shortage in the United States.
This is frequently used to bolster the argument that the U.S. should increase the number of temporary visas issued to foreign-born workers in order to fulfill demand in the tech industry for techie talent.
A new report from the esteemed Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce presents a pretty significant rebuttal to that claim.
Released on Wednesday, the annual report looks at how new college graduates are faring in the recession-era economy.
That it's titled "Hard Times" should give you a decent idea on how millennials are doing.
Most interesting is the technology sector numbers. Were there truly a STEM shortage — were demand for STEM majors to exceed supply — one would expect that unemployment statistics for recent STEM graduates would be outstandingly low.
The reality? Nope. From the report:
Unemployment seems mostly concentrated in information systems (14.7 %) compared with computer science (8.7%) and mathematics (5.9%). As noted in an earlier report, hiring tends to be slower for users of information compared to those who write programs and create software applications.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
STUDY ON COLLEGE MAJORS, UNEMPLOYMENT AND TRENDS:
http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/HardTimes.2013.2.pdf
There’s a host of issues I believe and the answer not always obvious. But some of the moves by companies to hire foreigners seem pretty cynical and short sighted.
We’ve known here at FR for years of the H1-B visa scam and the perennially false claims of “engineer shortages”.
What is the difference between computer science and information technology?
“Tech worker shortage?” LOL! They deserve nothing better than ridicule and spite. Start a small shop or office as a hobby for now.
And there is the perennial wrangle between free marketeers and patriots.
CS involves things like developing software and such (think developing operating systems, graphics, etc., whereas IT is more about using data to gain useful information (handling large databases, querying, etc.).
Just because someone has graduated and earned a degree doesn’t mean he or she is employable.
This is a case where statistics may not tell the whole story. One of the challenges in my own STEM field is finding competent talent among recent graduates. Turning out more graduates into the workforce doesn't help matters if they are not capable of doing the work we need them to do.
RE: What is the difference between computer science and information technology?
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A Computer Science curriculum is typically more, well, scientific: lots of theory, math, algorithms, etc. Information Technology is, well, more technical and focuses on the PRACTICAL: lots of hands-on with a focus on more practical business applications.
Again, each school will be a little bit different. Don’t be surprised to see a computer scientist who doesn’t know how to setup a home network, and also don’t be surprised to see an IT “expert” who has no clue as to how computers and software are designed.
Which one is best? That’s up to you. If you are more inclined to research, analysis, and design, then pick Computer Science. If you want something more practical, then IT or CIS will do.
Sorry, James — you beat be to it by less than two minutes! LOL.
Two problems in many or most of the big tech firms...for many many years...
1. they almost won’t hire anybody over 30 or 35 years of age, and at 40 you’re dead meat in their job market...
2. they keep importing Chinese and other foreign workers.. some of whom are quite good .. but that’s not the point. The point is, they should hire capable American workers first ...and only import foreigners if they (really) run out of American workers, or for some sort of special knowledge we don’t have here (a rare situation to be sure)
American engineering schools are chock-full of foreign students, largely (but by no means exclusively) from Communist China. Again, these include some very good students but again, that’s not the point. The point is that the schools should educate American kids first.
We are so screwed.... our own corporations and schools (including some public tax funded universities) are shafting Americans every day of our lives.
RE: American engineering schools are chock-full of foreign students, largely (but by no means exclusively) from Communist China.
So, where are the American kids? Why aren’t the schools chock-full of them?
Public "education".
Chinese/Asian students are PAYING top dollars to attend our STEM schools. They KNOW the value of receiving such an education and they SACRIFICE their savings for it.
Why aren’t more Americans doing the same?
because the schools like the foreign students (often they pay higher fees, too)
and with the preferential hiring of foreigners by many of the big tech companies, some American kids decide it isn’t worth the effort. of course, some do study engineering anyway...
the schools are not 100 percent foreigners... but yes many of the schools have very high percentages of foreigners ... more than you’d imagine in some cases....
see for instance:
and
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/97-746.pdf
Because Asians value education, look at the Japanese. American public education has failed our kids, but created an infinite supply of RAT voters.
Some time back, there was an international scholastic competition in Belgium. The US decided to send the best and brightest students from New Jersey.
Now the big joke in Belgium is how stupid Americans are.
American kids don't study the maths and sciences, they get worthless degrees in subjects taught by Marxist anti-American professors.
yes, the Asians value education and the parents make sure their kids do their homework and know their lessons.....
when Chinese immigrants move into (or, in other wording, “take over” a city, the schools start really rockin... upgraded student performances ... higher achievement scores across the board....much higher school ratings as result.
it is as if a big dose of adrenelin were suddenly injected into the schools
the university engineering and science faculties like the foreign students (largely from Commie CHina but also from other places) ... because they study hard... and the administrators like the foreign students because (often) they pay higher fees (make the colleges more money).
Some classrooms you hear pretty much only Chinese (or Farsi if petroleum engineering, or whatever) ... oh, the professor still speaks English but if a room has a majority of native Chinese speakers then what do you expect.... they tend at least... to switch over to their native language to discuss the lecture... and the American student in the room is left out in the cold.
Again, I applaud the diligence of most of the Chinese and other foreign students. I only mean to say that our American universities are doing American students a great disservice by, in effect, giving so MANY seats away to foreign students... thereby in effect denying academic and career opportunities to our own people.
We will always have some foreign students and I much approve of that. But when a third, or half, or even 3/4 of the available seats are given to foreigners.... a lot of American kids wind up having to study Revolutionary Marxist Lesbian Community Organizing Techniques instead of engineering and science.
Pray for America
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