The Myth of the Science and Engineering Shortage

[ALBballer]

[QUOTE]Everyone knows that the United States has long suffered from widespread shortages in its science and engineering workforce, and that if continued these shortages will cause it to fall behind its major economic competitors. Everyone knows that these workforce shortages are due mainly to the myriad weaknesses of American K-12 education in science and mathematics, which international comparisons of student performance rank as average at best.

Such claims are now well established as conventional wisdom. There is almost no debate in the mainstream. They echo from corporate CEO to corporate CEO, from lobbyist to lobbyist, from editorial writer to editorial writer. But what if what everyone knows is wrong? What if this conventional wisdom is just the same claims ricocheting in an echo chamber?

The truth is that there is little credible evidence of the claimed widespread shortages in the U.S. science and engineering workforce. How can the conventional wisdom be so different from the empirical evidence? There are of course many complexities involved that cannot be addressed here. The key points, though, are these:

Science and engineering occupations are at the leading edge of economic competitiveness in an increasingly globalized world, and science and engineering workforces of sufficient size and quality are essential for any 21st century economy to prosper. These professional workforces also are crucial for addressing challenges such as international security, global climate change, and domestic and global health. While they therefore are of great importance, college graduates employed in science and engineering occupations (as defined by the National Science Foundation) actually comprise only a small fraction of the workforce.

A compelling body of research is now available, from many leading academic researchers and from respected research organizations such as the National Bureau of Economic Research, the RAND Corporation, and the Urban Institute. No one has been able to find any evidence indicating current widespread labor market shortages or hiring difficulties in science and engineering occupations that require bachelors degrees or higher, although some are forecasting high growth in occupations that require post-high school training but not a bachelors degree. All have concluded that U.S. higher education produces far more science and engineering graduates annually than there are S&E job openings

[CelticBaller]

Well, business it is

[Thorpesaurous]

This is interesting. My degree was in Math, and I went on to work in the engineering field. I work at a small manufacturing house that does build to print work for the aerospace industry. We're a very small house, about 25 people, and I have my hands in a ton of things.

The aerospace industry has been on fire for 8 years that I've been here. And we've seen turnover of employees quite a bit, with a ton more on the near horizon. And as much as the research in this article is I'm sure solid, out here in the practical world, I'm just not seeing it. We suffer to find people to work for us. And my theory is that their is very little hands on experience in the fields that they're accounting for in their numbers. "Engineers" that I deal with from the main houses, have almost no practical understanding of the procedures required to manufacture what they want. And businesses have chopped up and outsourced everything, including engineering and quality. Everyone is a specialist, and there's no one with their eye on the big picture, unless that big picture is money and how to step on profit, which isn't really a skill. Machinest's which would probably fit into their definitions of "engineering related jobs", are a dieing breed, and while there's plenty of people who went to school to tell you how something should work, there's fewer and fewer who can actually make it happen. And the divide between those groups is bigger than ever, as the gap between how much the "know hows" got paid, and their access to the "get it dones", the less they were willing or able to listen to them, and I can totally see the industry grinding to a halt someday. The demand far exceeds the capacity of the supply chain. And hiring middle managers to act like assholes is a complete waste of resources. It's getting the small things accomplished at the moment, and keeping things running a bit, but it's sputtering, and eventually won't be able to keep running under it's own weight.
Truthfully what we really need is an extended period of peace, where the supply based isn't pushed to the level it's been pushed, so there's a chance to trim some of the fat from the big houses, and an opportunity for the smaller ones to train and grow.

[Raymone]

Simply too long; didn't read.

[Bandito]

So me as a programmer, when I graduate I would be screwed? great!!!

[Balla_Status]

Gonna take a read but I'll be damned if every person I know with an engineering degree got a job before graduating.

If it is a myth, there will definitely be some issues. My alma mater has a goal to enroll 25k engineering students by 2025. That goal is a result of the perpetuation of the massive shortage of engineers/scientists.

[Bosnian Sajo]

Trust a random article or trust the owners of these businesses who are saying there are shortages of good engineers.........I'm gonna go with the latter. There will always be a need for Engineers, they are literally in every line of work. Hospitals, construction sites, laboratory's, etc. etc. etc.

[RoseCity07]

I'm a college student myself about to enter Calc III. I found engineering kinda boring this year so I might just get my degree in mathematics. Anyway, in my summer job a few years ago I cleaned a building for a company that makes drones.

I think the company is called Insitu. That was in 2011 that they were really starting to get big. Now they are building this huge building because they are expanding. The drone business is getting huge. They aren't just used for military purposes either. One of the guys told me that they use them to help control fires.

I don't know if there is a shortage or not but I do know that if you're a competent engineer you should be able to find work.

[RoseCity07]

So me as a programmer, when I graduate I would be screwed? great!!!

You won't be screwed. I assume you're getting a degree in computer science. My brother struggled for years after graduating from University of Oregon. It turns out he was just being lazy. His wife found him his job on craigslist almost immediately. I think he started at 60 or 70 thousand a year but he gets so many bonuses and raises based on performance that the number is higher. You just have to look for a job. Many people give up or are just too lazy to search for a job.

[ALBballer]

Trust a random article or trust the owners of these businesses who are saying there are shortages of good engineers.........I'm gonna go with the latter. There will always be a need for Engineers, they are literally in every line of work. Hospitals, construction sites, laboratory's, etc. etc. etc.

The random article brings up a good point. These business owners you speak of mainly say such things to put pressure on the government to allow foreign engineers to work for longer hours and less pay.

The article is only stating that there is no data to support the conclusion that there is a shortage of engineers.

[nightprowler10]

Only thing I can say is that I've been in the pharma industry for 12 years and I'm surrounded by Engineers, from my General Manager, half of my customers, production managers, half of the directors, even some quality assurance people and of course, our small Engineering department that employs 6 engineers. Everyone aside from the Engineering dept makes 120K+ easily. My bro-in-law is a mechanical engineer and in the few short years since graduation, he's done dredging on the East coast and now does pump designs in Wisconsin making as much as I do after 12 years in pharma. Why? Because I don't have my bachelors yet.

Kids, stay in school, get an engineering degree if you're interested, and get into manufacturing, ANY kind of manufacturing. Once you're in, if you have any type of ambition and work ethic, you'll do more than fine.

[Swaggin916]

If you involved with anything technical... you are getting a job. Anything wishy washy good luck.

[Swaggin916]

If you involved with anything technical... you are getting a job. Anything wishy washy good luck.

[Balla_Status]

The random article brings up a good point. These business owners you speak of mainly say such things to put pressure on the government to allow foreign engineers to work for longer hours and less pay.

The article is only stating that there is no data to support the conclusion that there is a shortage of engineers.

Ever read the atlantic's article on diamond rings from 1980? That's a great article.