Perspectives: Empty Promises in the STEM Fields
Are efforts to broaden diversity leading to empty promises of increased employment opportunities in science and engineering? The U.S. Government has been promoting and funding programs since the 1980s to increase the number of American women, underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities in the nation’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:23 am
I do think minorities should be encouraged. But, the question is how much more could be done than being lucky to be born in the most powerful country in the world.
US has grown because of STEM talents from all over the world. US got a boost in the spece race by using german scientists. The stealth bomber was designed based on research by russian scientists. Google was founded by a person from abroad. The list goes on..
If you do not want america to be the best place for science and loose its superpower status, you can increase protectionism and nepotism which by the way is prevalent in the US.
October 4th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Another failed social engineering project. You can’t force people to be interested in or good at anything if they don’t have the desire. As long as foreign talent is a better value than homegrown talent then we should be importing it. A strong economy means more jobs, more long-term growth and unfortunately, more money to waste on more social engineering projects whose results will fall far short of their goals.
October 4th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Recruiting foreign workers through the H-1b program has everything to do with cost and hardly anything with talent - there are already plenty of overeducated workers holding menial jobs. An easy and possibly sufficient solution could be to address the substandard interpretation of the “prevailing wage” condition for H-1bs which has allowed the downward pressure on salaries in the first place. As far as recruiting minoroty students, I think we have to consider how much easier it is for institutions to attract first-generation college students (i e from “non-academic homes”) among whom socially challenged and minorities will dominate. If there are no role models with fine diplomas but lousy jobs in the family, no alternative view of future prospects to that given by the school recruitment officers interfers…
October 5th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Here are some cold hard numbers, I hope the comment accepts html
Myth: Labor Shortage in Computer and Math
Misinformed, or simply telling lies? Bill Gates and others are selling fairy-tales.
http://immigration-weaver.blogspot.com/2007/10/myth-labor-shortage-in-computer-and.html
October 6th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
What is truly amazing is the foreign H1$bs think that they are an international gift to the US.
There are millions and millions of bright people in the world, including US citizens. Why don’t the H1$bs start admitting the truth about themselves, and as well start discussing their countries’ problems honestly, and then we can start a dialog. Of course, that would not be as easy accepting a reduced salary and taking a qualified US citizens job in the US —impressing their friends and family back home with their new found pot of stolen dollars.
Lets face it, many countries and governments around the world are either completely stifling to creativity that little innovation can be achieved. And of course corruption and dishonesty kills productivity, eventually the money is valve is shut off (either by business or government) because of the complete money waste.
Speaking of Google and the case of Sergey Brin. Had not come along some one else in the US would have taken his place. It is the opportunity afforded by the US system, not the superior genetics of the immigrants (immigrant Einstein syndrome).
In Soviet Union, the fact of the matter is that Sergey Brin would have become a nothing, able to achieve very little, unable to overcome the immense obstacles, including the fact that the Soviet Union is now a complete and utter oligarchy. (So now, even if he returned to the oligarchy with his billions and superior immigrant genetic endowed creativity, the billions would probably not remain his to control for long.)
Now, the truth about the US, the US companies have an agenda — cheap labor. The US companies rationalize their need for cheap labor and dishonest evaluation of job skills because of globalization pressures. (For that matter even the US citizens hire cheap (sometimes illegal) labor for lawns, child-care etc. And the goods (Wal-Mart exclusives) have to be cheap so they are made on the backs of $100/ month workers.) The mainstream media are bought off by advertisement from companies, as well they are big business, so the media are just shills in the cheap labor game touting the foreign students/labor and lack of skill of the US citizens.
The US senators are basically also bought off, by corporate contributions. This includes the democrats such as Hilary Clinton whom shows up in Silicon Valley and leaves with a brief case of money called campaign contributions, just great- the new “pro-business” democrats. This leaves some grass roots organizations such as NumbersUSA and labor unions, which have been completely down-trodden by business/media smear tactics, using their so-called independent research reports, as the only ones left to try and protect jobs.
As of yet the parents’ of US students have not woke up to the facts that the very place they are sending 10s of thousands of dollars of their hard earned dollars, the universities, are destroying the value of their children’s investment in education. This also boggles a sane person’s mind.
It goes like this, the universities want to keep wages for faculty low and at the same time obtain grant money from the US research money pool $$$ and get as much work as possible done on the cheap. Cheap labor foreign postdocs from basically 3-4 year degree PhD programs around the world without dissertations can devote full time to the university grant agenda, unlike the US citizens struggling with dissertations and 7-8 year programs and classes. (As well, the US citizens have had their pockets already emptied and need a paying job to pay back the university loan immediately.)
At the next level up, the H1B or J1 faculty member fits this university strategy as an endless replacement temporary, a no benefits PhD at the universities and government labs. If the foreign or US assistant faculty member can not obtain grant money the universities want to dispose of the faculty member immediately, and get a new young one and try to obtain a grant $$$ again.
The universities are already exempt from the H1B caps and by continually importing foreign cheap labor under these so-called training postdoctoral programs they destroy any chance of a US students’ dream of the lofty position of the PhD professorship. (By the way, do we really need a post doc degree after 7- 8 years for a US PhD? If so.. what are the skills acquired and the accreditation necessary?)
If the foreign engineers, scientists and ITers are such a gift and they should be able to overcome the odds anywhere because of their intrinsic genus, why don’t they stay where they are and make something of themselves and help out their country, their communities.
This brings us to the scary truth: our world governments, businesses and politicians are so corrupt and intellectually dishonest that there is nowhere to look for any guidance.
There is one simple fact that is clear and that is everyone loves cheap labor.
US-PhD
October 8th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Free trade, whether it be in the form of talent, goods or services are what make our economy the strongest in the world. STEM people create jobs for the rest of us by coming up with new technology and better ways of doing things. Who cares if they get coveted professorships, the do so because they are a better fit for the job. There are two results from competition: winners and losers. When we attract talent from any country, the nation wins. When people cry over being beaten out by a foreigner they are the loser.
October 16th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Lloyd Hansen wrote, “…our economy the strongest in the world.
The U.S. Dollar is in free-fall and the housing industry is tanking. (Housing over-inflated through demand from excessive immigration and causing mortgagees to share jobs with immigrants.) The biggest losers will be those who assumed unyielding equity in American real-estate values.
Let’s examine Mr. Hansen’s statement, “STEM people create jobs for the rest of us by coming up with new technology and better ways of doing things.”
Creating jobs: June 2000 – June 2007
Men 16 and over:
Increase in civilian noninstitutional population (June, 2000 – June, 2007) = 5,858,000
Increase Employment (Jobs, June, 2000 – June, 2007) = 241,134
Jobs required to attain June, 2000 Employment-population ratio of 72% = 5,616,866
Additional jobless persons
June, 2007 Unemployment Level – Men = 3,829,000 (4.7%)
Series Id: LNS12300001
Series title: (Seas) Employment-Population Ratio - Men
Labor force status: Employment-population ratio
Age: 16 years and over
Sex: Men
Women 16 and over:
Increase in civilian noninstitutional population (June, 2000 – June, 2007) = 9,063,000
Increase Employment (Jobs: June, 2000 – June, 2007) = 4,254,265
Jobs required to attain June, 2000 Employment-population ratio of 57.5% = 4,808,735
Additional jobless persons:
June, 2007 Unemployment Level – Women = 3,104,000 (4.4%)
Series Id: LNS12300002
Series title: (Seas) Employment-Population Ratio - Women
Labor force status: Employment-population ratio
Age: 16 years and over
Sex: Women