Fighting for engineers
Sponsored by more than 100 professional organizations and high-tech companies in the U.S., this week celebrates National Engineers Week. Universities take advantage of this event to promote their specific engineering programs to attract students into engineering and technology careers.
Engineering has become very competitive from a global standpoint. More than 70,000 BS degrees in engineering are granted in the U.S. every year, compared to 98,000 in Japan, 350,000 in China, and 235,000 in India. While these statistics have been well documented, the statistics for annual doctorates granted in engineering—8,400 in the U.S., 3,900 in Japan, 4,300 in China, and 1,000 in India—are more encouraging and a strong endorsement of our higher educational system.
Continuing growth in science and engineering is vital to any nation’s economic growth. However, due mostly to budgetary restrictions, science and math education courses are being neglected by some U.S. elementary and secondary school districts. My wife is an elementary school teacher and one of her co-workers, for example, was criticized just last week for not doing her primary job and instead teaching her students about science—there is no science in their specific curriculum. I’m sure that this is the exception in most school districts, but one of those exceptions that we must continually challenge.
So while eweek is an event celebrated by those ‘in the know’ about engineering, let’s also not lose track of ‘getting down to basics’ every week and making sure that our children have the necessary exposure to science, engineering, and technology in their formative years. This will only enhance the likelihood they’ll choose one of these careers to pursue a decade from now.
Tim Studt, BS Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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