Posted on 07/26/2016 11:08:51 AM PDT by Kaslin
(Editors’ note: This column is co-authored by Chris MacFarland)
New, robust partnerships between the public and private sectors are needed today to attract and educate the young scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians for tomorrow.
A stem is the main trunk of a plant, and STEM — short for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — is the main trunk of our economy.
A plant that gets too little water will fail to grow. Unfortunately, that’s also what’s happening to STEM education in our country today.
We’re simply failing to attract and educate a sufficient number of young scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians. Demand for these workers is growing fast, but our pool of talent isn’t.
The situation is especially perplexing, given that a career in STEM would seem to be highly attractive. Consider:
· Demand for STEM jobs is growing fast. Jobs across all occupations are forecast to increase by only 14 percent between 2010 and 2020. By contrast, jobs in biomedical engineering are expected to increase during that same period by 62 percent. In medical science, jobs are expected to grow during that period by 36 percent. And in systems software development, to grow by 32 percent.
· STEM jobs pay well. The average wage for all STEM occupations in the United States is $85,570. That’s nearly twice the average for all occupations.
· STEM is an equal-opportunity employer. Women with STEM jobs earn 33 percent more than those in non-STEM occupations. They also experience a smaller wage gap relative to men.
Despite these positive benefits, interest in STEM careers is limited. The U.S. government now expects that 2.4 million STEM jobs will remain unfilled by 2018. And only 16 percent of our high-school seniors are proficient in math and interested in a STEM career. As a result, the STEM job gap does not appear likely to be bridged anytime soon.
A for Effort
However, we can’t blame the STEM challenge on a lack of concern or effort. In fact, a myriad of schools, government bodies, corporations and non-profit organizations have been trying for years to close the STEM gap. They’ve conducted studies, awarded grants, held contests with valuable prizes, even run technology summer camps for inner-city kids. Yet despite all this well-meaning work -- not to mention the literally hundreds of millions of dollars these efforts have collectively cost -- the nation’s STEM gap is expected to be serious.
What’s wrong? We believe many of these efforts, while certainly well-intentioned, have missed the mark. For example, too many of our university business schools still teach the traditional subjects of accounting, finance and economics. Instead, they need to focus on STEM topics such as information technology, cybersecurity and analytics.
But that’s not all. We’re convinced that too much STEM emphasis has been placed on older university students. Instead, we need to capture the interest of students who are much younger --ideally, youngsters in elementary and middle schools. We also need more effective STEM programs that reach out directly to girls and members of minorities, both of whom are disproportionately underrepresented in technical and scientific job markets.
What’s Needed Now
So what’s the solution? We believe what’s needed is a much stronger alliance between our nation’s business leaders and its educators -- and not just at the university and college levels, but also in our K-12 schools.
To be sure, there have been some early and laudable efforts. For example:
· Intel has committed $300 million to STEM education. This supplier of microprocessors and other computing gear is focusing on K-12 and college classes in previously underserved regions.
· Microsoft is this summer offering free workshops at some of its retail stores. These programs, some of which are being offered to children as young as 8 years old, teach kids how to have fun writing software code.
But more is still needed. Otherwise, our schools will continue to operate in a vacuum, and the STEM gap will widen.
Industry executives, educators and philanthropists must solve this issue by working together. Companies need to get involved with their local schools, too. Masergy is helping to lead the way with a new scholarship program that will help students earn STEM-related degrees. Masergy engineers have also volunteered in Plano, TX area schools. With a challenge this big, this stubborn, and this important, we all need to do our part.
One third of USA STEM graduates are not employed in a STEM job.
The wages paid in many STEM jobs - specifically the biological sciences and Information Technology - have been stagnant for almost 20 years.
The influx of millions of foreign high tech H-1B workers (many obtain Green Cards) has displaced millions of home grown American STEMs (most of them over age 40) and suppressed natural wage growth in most STEM occupations.
About 80% of completely “average” STEM PhD candidates from Russia, India, China, and Eastern Europe are still working in the USA five years after they graduate.
This has effectively wiped out demand for “average” American STEM PhDs, and crushed the wage scale.
It sounds more like diversity problem than a workforce shortage problem.
Start your own business. You will never strike it rich by working for anyone else, in or out of STEM.
Looks like West was PAID by Masergy to put his name on their article.
It is my daily experience that there are many companies needing stem grads that have no significant foreign competition and will continue to manufacture here.
Curiously that applies to foreign firms with large facilities here as well
Demand is growing fast- for foreign workers. Most recent US STEM grads are having a tough time.finding jobs in their field.
Re: “Start your own business. You will never strike it rich by working for anyone else, in or out of STEM.”
Words of Wisdom!
I come from 5 generations of small business owners.
The good news is that the greatest problem in business ownership - finding, managing, and retaining employees - is slowly but surely being eliminated by business software, engineering software, and labor saving machines.
I think we are within a couple decades of being able to say that all sole proprietors or family staffed businesses will have the potential to generate an upper middle class income.
Which engineering? My son just graduated with a B.S in EE ... his starting salary is more than my starting salary was 20 years ago ... and I started my career having attained a PhD in EE.
Starting salaries in EE have at least doubled in the last 20 years.
Why knock yourself out studying hard science and engineering for 5, 6, 7 years when so many of jobs go to communist Chinese, Indian, and other foreigners. Either by our “American” corporations exporting the jobs or importing the workers.
I’m a Chemical Engineer. We have the average highest starting salary for decades. When I graduated in 97 the average was around $60K, now it is about $68K-$70K on average. If you look at starting salaries across the engineering disciplines, the data curves look almost unchanged over the last 20 years. Of course certain areas and specialties have considerable variance, but the general trends stand. An individual is simply a single data point. 1/3 of engineering grads never work as an engineer. With in 10 years of graduating, some 80% are no longer practicing engineers. If you are over 50, and laid off, the odds are that you will never work as an engineer ever again. If knowledge is worth, then why is it almost impossible for the more seasoned engineers to reengage? All we here is how we don’t have enough, but senior engineers are being replaced by kids or cheaper foreign workers every day. Just post an engineering job and you will get 100s of foreign engineers looking for sponsorship and willing to do anything for it. Brilliant PhDs working for $40K or $50K as line engineers but doing PhD level research.
Bummer ... my middle son in a junior in Chem E ...
Bummer ... my middle son in a junior in Chem E ...
The point is, an education is for your personal edification, not getting a job. Armed with drive and cunning, one can build a career of choice. I learned little in college that was applicable to my career: I grew in knowledge and experience through time.
The single biggest mistake people are making with their education is mistaking it for a trade school.
And being redundantly redundant.
Yes. But I know where top grads of top ranked schools can’t even get interviews and — even can’t get acknowledgements of their job apps sometimes. A LOT of jobs are being given to foreigners — a LOT.
Grad school, brother...maybe an MBA.
Foreigners actually work very hard in order to gain the privilege to come here to work. Many American students are more party animal than student. I had trouble finding American born students who had taken appropriate course work in school for truly technical jobs. Sometimes the schools don't offer appropriate curriculum any longer. For example, few schools these days offer classes in C and C++, which are fundamental for "down to the metal" engineering. We either had to train newbies in C/C++ or hire the ones from abroad who already knew it.
Sure, it is not fair to paint with a broad brush. That being said, many American kids are more into playing video games and social media than about actual learning or experiences. They are Halo warriors, if you will. That is easily detected with a simple programming or electronics engineering test.
I think a big problem is inummerate teachers. There was a story about half the teachers in Chicago being functionally illiterate. I can imagine its only worse when it comes to math.
My limited experience is that most USA students with MS Engineering from good schools have learned a lot of what is needed to work
not all of course
the party animals seem to concentrate in the liberal arts...
its damn hard to be a party animal when you got 100 pages of highly technical/mathematical homework to do each week, ha!
but yes, there are some MSE grads I wouldn’t hire, indeed have not hired.
I have knowledge of number 1 or 2 graduates of best engineering school(s) in USA...not even being able to get interviwed by local major engineering corporations that ARE hiring (but mostly from overseas)
and if you go out to SillyCon Valley (Palo Alto region) you will see half or more foreign workers in many of the firms there
even though they are right next door (some are right on the property of) major leading school of engineering
so... there IS a serious reason why many USA students decide against serious STEM studies..... when all is said and done, why knock yourself out for 5 or 6 or 7 years with the hardest study programs on campus.... only to wind up begging for some sort of sales agent or paper-pushing job (IF you can get one, even that can be difficult in Obama’s Great Depression)
but at any event, if you get a job it likely won’t use your training much... and will pay low too.....so you could have been a campus party animal taking sociology and ethinic studies!!!!!!!!!
so why not do that from the git-go, and save yourself 6 years maybe of strenuous STEM studies?
You should do what makes you happy. STEM is a lot more interesting than that other crap. I'd "do it" just for the pleasure of learning it.
Then I'd go setup my own company, hire the sons-of-bitches HR people from those nasty firms, and then fire them after a few months.
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