|
Advertisement
|
« What's the Bright Idea? | Main | Top 20 Engineering Breakthroughs »
June 7, 2005
Newsflash: There is NO Engineering Shortage
Many commentators lament that there won't be enough engineering students to fill future openings because of the profession's image problem and a declining interest in math and science. But hold up--there's something terribly wrong with that statement:
In the recent EDN article, No shortage of 'engineering shortage' talk, executive editor Bill Schweber sets out to make one thing clear: we are NOT facing a dearth of U.S. engineers. Heck, we don't even know how many engineers we'll need, he points out.
And what of the two reasons stated for this so-called future shortage--a) the fact that engineering is not favorably perceived and b) students are shying away from math and science? Yes, they're both true statements, says Schweber, but they do not imply that there will be an engineering shortage.
He points out the circular reasoning that's confounding even the most knowledgeable people:
Insufficient number of engineers entering the field LEADS TO:
Companies recruiting engineers from overseas IN TURN LEADS TO:
Poor job outlook for U.S. engineers WHICH LEADS TO:
Insufficient number of engineers entering the field
To make a case for the engineering shortage, you can begin your reasoning from any point in this circle, he points out.
Instead of being trapped in this roundabout way of thinking, he encourages people to mull over three points when they're confronted with such "shortage" talk:
1) "The globalization of technology, design, and manufacturing makes worldwide design an inevitable and unavoidable fact," he writes. The number of engineers in the U.S. has little bearing on the global market, he points out.
2) Similar to what's happening in other industries, engineering productivity has soared in the last few decades, rising so rapidly that it has outpaced the increase in complexity of projects.
3) Most significantly, Schweber notes, the people bemoaning the so-called shortage often have something to gain from perpetuating the myth, from schools concerned about enrollment to companies looking for a richer pool of candidates to consider for their projects.
The truth is, says Schweber, no one can pin down what the demand for engineers will be. The number of engineers that our society needs is influenced by productivity advances as well as the type of design work that will be required.
He notes that even IEEE has taken a less than firm stand on the matter. While the Institute as a whole considers the shortage a fact, the IEEE-USA--the segment of the organization that represents working engineers in the U.S.--talks about "diminished opportunities, unemployment, underemployment and uncertainty."
And a quick look at this Web page by the Bureau of Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, supports Schweber's contention that there is no impending engineering shortage. Over the period of 2002-2012, the bureau expects that the "number of engineering graduates should be in rough balance with the number of job openings" despite factors such as slow growth in overall engineering employment and offshore outsourcing.
In short, enough with the shortage talk already, says Schweber, unless you define an engineer as someone highly skilled with two to five years of experience and is willing to put in long hours and tackle complicated challenges for so-so pay and little recognition. Then we're looking at a real shortage, says Schweber, in the same way that you'll have a hard time getting a supply of gold for dirt cheap.
Sources:
No Shortage of 'Engineering Shortage' Talk
Bill Schweber
EDN, May 26, 2005
www.edn.com/article/CA529820.html
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2004-2005 Edition
Engineers, on the Internet at www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://news.thomasnet.com/mt41/mt-tb.cgi/72
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Newsflash: There is NO Engineering Shortage:
» US education: we don't test well, but we sure acheive a lot from Discarded Lies
Fareed Zakaria has an interesting piece at Newsweek with a comparison of US and Singaporean education. But one thing puzzles me about these oft-made comparisons. I talked to Tharman Shanmugaratnam to understand it better. He's the minister of Education... [Read More]
Tracked on January 3, 2006 3:31 AM
|
Advertisement  |
Comment
37 CommentsThere's absolutely no engineer shortage in the US, as evidenced by the salaries and perks. There's only a shortage of engineers willing to work for non-skilled labor wages, ie $30-45,000 per year.
The engineering labor market is no different than any other market: prices reflects supply and demand.
June 7, 2005 11:47 AMThe shortage that really exists is in our engineering education system that, in my opinion, does not include educating engineering students about the actual construction in factories of what they design or are responsible for using and maintaining. Computers and analytical methods such as finite element analysis are wonderful tools, but the users of these tools should have enough hands-in experience to see the results
June 7, 2005 12:17 PMI live in Southern California and yesterday afternoon a local radio station had a guest commentator on the Michael Jackson trial. [Don't worry I'm going somewhere with this]
The focus was on the person identified as the jury foreman as the case has moved to the jury and speculation has increased among those who monitor these things as to what a verdict might be.
The foreman is described as a Hispanic man in his 60's who during the trial took copious notes and paid close attention to the proceedings. He is characterized as an engineer and the commentator gave special recognition to the skills which are typical of engineers and how important they would be in moving the decision process forward.
So, what's to be taken from this anecdote? The perception is that the masses don't have the ability to organize their thoughts and move the ball down the field. We leave that to engineers. Now that's a compliment to the kind of education one receives in becoming an engineer but also speaks volumes about the rest of our culture that emerges from K-12 education having not been taught how to think.
The same phenomonon exists with lawyers. Most who attend law school do not go on to become litigators, but craft careers by being surrogate thinkers for a wide range of individuals and organizations that lack the talent to do the same for themselves. JD's are wonderful in places where one needs to know what is right and what is wrong.
Which brings me to my conclusion. Contrary to the author's contention, it is terrible that the United States lacks engineers because it is this discipline which is plugging the hole in the dike of our lacking problem solving culture. A culture that increasingly neither knows right from wrong, but lacks the capability to move itself from the cave to the light of Truth. Another article on this site on the variety of engineers in a range of professions and vocations supports my case.
June 7, 2005 12:34 PMOf course there is no shortage of engineers, just send everything offshore to the foreign educated engineers that are willing to work 80 hours a week for a meager salary. It is difficult for Americans to compete with that, especially when they have families to support and actually want to spend time with.
June 7, 2005 12:41 PMThere is not a shortage of engineers - just attend a WIND meeting in any location or stop by a career fair. I see plenty of engineers. As Roger Imerman stated some of them are not willing to work for the lower wages, while engineers like myself are open minded about the decline in wages sionce the dot com bubble burst and are willing to work at the prevailing scale. However it is the companies that need to change their attitude and perception of us "older" engineers as being set in our ways or the old "can't teach a old dog new tricks" mentality. It is us experienced engineers that can move projects faster because we have been there and done that and know it doesn't work. It saves valuable time and resources.
We are a valuable asset not a liability.
"IF you are "thinking outside the box" it means that you limited your possibilities from the start!!!", Joseph Mullin
I do not believe that the reputation of engineers is as low as some perceive. Many of the people I speak with, while they may not understand what engineers do, have great respect for the profession.
I think that the pay and perks of engineers is being kept low due to the perception that there is a shortage of US engineers year in and year out. Considering the work wnd responsibility and affect on safety that even the average engineer has in the normal course of a work day does not corresponsd to the salary received which is the same as that of the average union laborer. The US allows many thousands of foreign engineers into the US labor market with work visas due to the "shortage". Just read the quote from the above referenced web site of the US Dept of Labor "There is a large number of well-trained, often English-speaking engineers available in many countries who are willing to work at much lower salaries than U.S. engineers." 'Nuff said.
It is the shortage of English language speaking engineers that is one of the most troubling problems we face. In 2005 there will be about 65,000 engineers graduating from US schools. Nearly 30% of them are from foreign countries. Small companies are under continuous pressure to compete with the offshoring of their business. Prime contractors see price as the only means of competing. We need a national policy that helps to develop small companies and provides incentives for them to hire the best possible talent. People become engineers because they like to solve problems and small companies have lots of them to share.
The problems I see with our profession are multiple and most of them were touched by other speakers. What I would like to describe here is what happens to a good percentage of graduates when they hit the job market.
1. They become "educated supervisors" for example when working for one of the "Big Three"
2. Without getting enough engineering experience they become "Project Managers" which most of the time means "paper pusher"
3. They end up in some positions related to the latest "buzz words" like ISO 900?, or Lean or 16949 or Black belts in 6 sigma or Kaizan or whatever the flavor of the day is and either are trying to cope with the burocracy or fight it, they end up wasting a lot of energy here instead of towards the profession.
4. They get trapped "inside the box" which is a computer with some software and they become "Cad operators"
There are so many traps along the way, that sometimes one wakes up 40, unemployed, with 1.5 kids and family, mortgage and what not, realizing he or she's out of it.
One "older engineer" told me one time that most of the time to be an engineer, all you need is pen, paper and your calling. In Canada there is a ceremony at graduation named "The Calling of an Engineer" and is true one needs to have a calling to become a good engineer, but for sure one also needs a lot of luck to steer clear of the traps along the road. Now I become the old engineer and I put my 2 cents in it.
I agree though with one of the speakers that is going to be tougher competition for the younger engineer. What I would suggest to young graduates, and my son is one of them, is to find a job that is challenging, professional and dynamic. Hopefully one would like what is doing for enough time to get that field experience and if you are not getting what you expect (what you want, what you think you deserve, advancement, more money, etc) move forward, don't be afraid. However, most of the time, the ones that wait are awarded.
Engineering is a tough field that expect you to keep jumping through hoops with new technologies, but the high pay goes to managers.
Are'nt there plenty of foreign educated non-American mangers out there? of course there is but the issue is that corporate America looks at engineers as a necessary evil... but mangers are them.. so America is going to loose becasue of its corporate politics.
The statement should be shortage of "qualified" engineers. Many companies do not want to recruit overseas due to the immigration laws and regulations. It is costly to sponsor employees with out knowing if they will stay as an employee or stay in country. Many engineers go into other fields other than engineering. I have been an engineering recruiter since 1978 and I say from what I see there will be a shortage of qualified engineers with positive attitudes and good work ethics. Too add to this shortage many companies now want the engineer to match the culture of the current employees. Engineers make excellent employees and many industries hire engineers to do non-engineering jobs. A recent engineering graduate with a good GPA (3.0 or better) with a good personality can find a job. The other engineering grads who don't look for a job until after graduation have trouble finding positions. Now this may create what may seem like there are plenty of engineers available.
June 7, 2005 2:25 PMReal is the extreme shortage of good engineers, good politicians, good lawyers, good judges, good educators, good people. The defination of good is subjective and left to the right judgement, left of the right, or extremely right. Born with a left heart, good professionals get the heart right and what's left will be right. The question is, "Where to get good replacements for those left?"
June 7, 2005 3:18 PMShortage of engineers, NOT. Seems funny how with so many people un or underemployed that there is this great shortage of workers; that there are so many jobs American’s just don't want. Humbug... Our so called captains of industry have created these myths purely for their own benefit. There is only a shortage of Americans willing to work for third world wages in the leading country of the first world. Illegal immigration, outsourcing, and massive 401b programs are their true goals. For over 2 centuries it has been a given that our children would have a higher standard of living than us, no more. Our median income is now in decline. Who do these so called captains think will buy their products? It won't be Americans making $8.00/hr with a BA.
June 7, 2005 4:39 PM"In short, enough with the shortage talk already, says Schweber, unless you define an engineer as someone highly skilled with two to five years of experience and is willing to put in long hours and tackle complicated challenges for so-so pay and little recognition. Then we're looking at a real shortage, says Schweber, in the same way that you'll have a hard time getting a supply of gold for dirt cheap."
YES, That is exactly the definition of an Engineer, what planet is this guy from?
So, because of technology, we can do 4 or 5 peoples jobs now, and in the future we should be able to 8 or 9 peoples jobs, so don't worry, and besides ALL our jobs are going overseas.
Oh, and I love the one about, "hey just take a job for $30K a year, why does it matter that it's half of what a bus driver makes." Huh? Just how lousy is this guy at being an Engineer? I live in Los Angeles, and bus drivers make $55K to $85K with full bennies, so I figure we should be making about $350 to $400K a year, but then that's just me trying to be fair. Keith
There will never be enough engineers,at least those who design and implement new science and new technology that can improve the quality of life and extend life itself through their knowledge and innovation. Every building, every highway,every product, most every item you encounter in your every day life had an engineer behind it.To slow the evolution of new engineers is to slow the benefical technological progress of mankind. Which engineer not given the opportunity to create would have defined the next great breakthrough invention that could create a better life for us all? How many would be engineers should we stifle in the interest of short sighted, greedy, live for today and for themselves CEO's and their PUBLICALLY held companies who cut R&D, who first eliminate engineers because production has reached an all time high and they are no longer needed? This to add a few pennies to their current earnings and their personal bonuses!We definitely have no shortage of these types in the USA.I am greatly in favor of outsourcing their functions into the global marketplace for real visionaries.We need to preserve our homespun talent for the needs of all as the incubator for innovation for the world. A role we should not relenquish, a role we should fight to maintain. We want to attract the best of the worlds talent to OUR SHORES as we have always done, to maintain our leadership position in the utilization of new science and technology for the benefit of us all. Who is better qualified to do this than the USA? Mr.Schweber's position would also make my list for outsourcing since his short sighted views fit in with those of the aforementioned CEO's and their companies. Ron Hunter P.E., CEO
June 7, 2005 5:44 PMWe do not have a shortage of either international or US engineering students or future graduates. We do have in educational institutions a shortage of federally funded projects to allow us to engage more graduate students, especially with all the federal funds headed to Iraq and to single-minded federal initiatives. If private industry needs low-cost R&D, they should certainly look at educational institutions as a potential resource. Also, if the federal government is only funding low-cost impractical "modeling with no concept testing", as several government agencies are attempting to do, private industry has the option of stepping up to the plate to pay for experimentation on items that are conceptualized in literature already. They are able to pay people whose expertise they do not have to incur constant costs for; this will produce both future engineers and in some cases education tailored to the needs of a company on a higher level.
Howdy from the desert of Arizona , I think that given the climate for finding engineering jobs , being victims of the outsourcing B. S> too , like evrything else , A engineer would be better off doing his own gig , building your own creations , and going back to the idea of becoming a self sustaining do all .
June 14, 2005 11:58 AMI think that engineers are going to be in short supply based upon the supposed predicted needs and given the output from U.S. Schools.
If we assume that its important to have our engineers homegrown or U.S. generated in the future to reduce the dependence on foreign countries then we do have a shortage.
If we want to import our engineers, then no maybe not. However, what is to keep the engineers in the U.S. if they came from another country. It also seems to me that it is something like having Japan make all the steel products that used to be made in the U.S. Is that really good in the long run for this country?
Many companies are finding out that outsourcing is not working out. I think if you outsource your engineering its a mistake.
June 17, 2005 2:53 PMI think that its unfortunate that most of our campuses have foreign students to the tune of about 80% in subjects such as engineering at the graduate level.
What this really means is that most of our potential educated engineers could be overseas working at jobs in foreign countries.
This could also mean that most of our jobs in this country take a downturn along with the economy because engineers are the driving force in new inventions, all along the way from conception to final product.
There are many challenges in the future to be overcome and without enough engineers we could be in serious trouble.
July 25, 2005 9:53 PMIf there was a shortage the price would go up. I see industry firing experienced EEs and hiring new grads just to reduce the payroll. If you demand a salary and regular hours then you are fired. It does not matter if you got the work done on time. I'm now unemployed. If I had to do it again, I would not be an EE.
September 12, 2007 12:16 PM
