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<h2><b>Demand surges for students who can design cool products and keep
the U.S. ahead</b></h2><b>BY ROBERT (BUZZ) KROSS<br><br>
</b><i>April 19, 2005<br><br>
</i>As high school seniors begin selecting their college courses, they
must consider what fields hold the most promise of a solid, successful
career. Biotechnology? Political science? Economics?<br><br>
The surprising answer is that electrical engineering and mechanical
engineering are two of the three most sought-after bachelor's degrees,
according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' 2005 Job
Outlook survey.<br><br>
Demand for engineering graduates will grow as much as 9 percent per year
through the end of the decade, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. College hiring is also expected to be on the rise this year,
13.1 percent over 2004, according to the study.<br><br>
Mechanical and electrical engineering graduates will find employers with
open arms -- and generous offers -- especially in the Midwest, home of
some 40 percent of the employers in the survey.<br><br>
But these rosy job prospects mask an enormous problem for American
competitiveness. The plain fact is that the demand for mechanical and
electrical engineers to design the next hybrid automobile engine,
high-efficiency electrical turbine or complex machine tool far outstrips
the expected supply. To make matters worse, the nation's current
engineering workforce is rapidly getting older, with the average age of
engineers in many companies now in the late 40s.<br><br>
Educational and engineering organizations, such as the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers, have warned that the number of students
selecting engineering as a college major has fallen far behind the need.
Especially troubling is the lack of female and minority engineering
students at a time when those groups make up the fastest-growing segments
of the U.S. population.<br><br>
The loss of engineering talent in the United States is immense, and far
greater than simple jobs. Innovation is the last competitive advantage
U.S. manufacturers enjoy against hungry global competitors. U.S.
manufacturers simply can't compete with producers in China or Eastern
Europe on price; to succeed, they must compete on innovation -- new
products, superior designs, new manufacturing techniques. If we don't
fuel that innovation with a steady crop of young U.S. engineers, it will
spell the ultimate demise of manufacturing in this nation.<br><br>
The decline in the quality of our math and science education is
well-documented and a very real issue. As early as middle school,
American students are behind their top international peers in these
subjects, and by the time they are ready for college they need remedial
classes just to be able to begin studying engineering. But that's just
part of the problem.<br><br>
The simple fact is that engineering has lost something important for
young people.<br><br>
In the era of the Space Race in the 1950s and 1960s, engineering was the
height of cool. That's no longer true today, even though everything from
today's hottest consumer electronics to the technology behind tsunami
relief depends on engineering. As a society, we have simply failed to
show just how much engineering makes a difference in lives of
kids.<br><br>
When a high-school kid dials up the volume on her iPod, does she realize
the role of mechanical engineering in its stylish design? Or in the tiny
disk drive that makes it work?<br><br>
When a college freshman begs his dad for a Mini-Cooper, does he fathom
the engineering that gives that car its cool personality?<br><br>
If they don't understand that, chances are they don't understand what
engineering does for humanity, how mechanical and electrical engineering
are vital to providing clean water, food, health care and communications
to victims of the Asian tsunami.<br><br>
We owe it to our kids -- and to our future -- to show them how cool
engineering can be. Only then will we be able to create the innovation
that has always made America great.<br><br>
<i>ROBERT (BUZZ) KROSS is vice president of the Manufacturing Solutions
Division of Autodesk of San Rafael, Calif., which has offices in Novi.
Write to him in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 600 W. Fort St.,
Detroit, MI 48226.<br><br>
</i><b>Copyright © 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc.<br><br>
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