Science Degrees on the Rise
Since 2001 and the beginning of the No Child Left Behind legislation, political leaders have insisted that more needs to be done to attract students into science and mathematics. Politicians contend that America is falling behind other world powers because too few students are graduating with science degrees. It appears that data from the National Science Foundation may take exception to this notion of a science brain drain.
According to the NSF, the number of doctorate degrees awarded in science and engineering has hit an all-time high. In 1996, there were 27,240 doctorate degrees awarded; by 2005, the number rose to 27,974, nearly a 3 percent increase. Plus, during that 10-year span, the number of doctorate degrees awarded was over 270,000. The data seems to indicate that there are plenty of science and engineering graduates.
In fact, it would be counter-productive to “flood the market” with science and engineering graduates. This curriculum is the most demanding and the most expensive in higher education. Graduates typically have debt in the hundreds of thousands of dollars after devoting as much as 7 years to earn their doctorate degree. These students need high paying jobs in order to dent that kind of debt. Flooding the market would only drive wages lower and make it less attractive for students to enter the field. Of course, political people who back big business’ profits want to flood the market in order to drive down wages. Switching gears --
Until there is a “true labor shortage” it would seem advisable to scale back the number of all college degrees. For example in K-12 teaching, there are more graduates than jobs every year. Plenty of qualified and enthusiastic K-12 graduates are denied any teaching opportunities and instead take service industry jobs so they can begin paying back their college loans.
In a recent year (2005) in Pennsylvania, over 13,000 students graduated with teaching degrees yet less than half were offered jobs. Despite that, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell established a “blue ribbon committee” to study how to get more middle school students interested in the teaching profession. From a government standpoint, with more teachers available in the pool, a school district can drive down wages and benefits, making teaching a less attractive profession from a wage standpoint.
Because of the low pay of these service industry jobs, students are forced to move back in with their parents in order to pay bills. The community/neighborhood sees that these bright and intelligent students who have devoted 4 to 5 years at college are now doing jobs designed for high school graduates. How do you motivate the next generation of high school graduates to apply themselves and get ready for higher education when they see the outcomes? Too many graduates are counter-productive to student motivation.
So as this school year begins to wind down for the next set of high school graduates, communities should ask if a goal of 60 to 70 percent going on to college is really a worthy objective. Why not take the bulk of this number of students and invest in vocational training? At least these kids will have a trade to earn some money while they figure out if college is the right move for them.
According to the NSF, the number of doctorate degrees awarded in science and engineering has hit an all-time high. In 1996, there were 27,240 doctorate degrees awarded; by 2005, the number rose to 27,974, nearly a 3 percent increase. Plus, during that 10-year span, the number of doctorate degrees awarded was over 270,000. The data seems to indicate that there are plenty of science and engineering graduates.
In fact, it would be counter-productive to “flood the market” with science and engineering graduates. This curriculum is the most demanding and the most expensive in higher education. Graduates typically have debt in the hundreds of thousands of dollars after devoting as much as 7 years to earn their doctorate degree. These students need high paying jobs in order to dent that kind of debt. Flooding the market would only drive wages lower and make it less attractive for students to enter the field. Of course, political people who back big business’ profits want to flood the market in order to drive down wages. Switching gears --
Until there is a “true labor shortage” it would seem advisable to scale back the number of all college degrees. For example in K-12 teaching, there are more graduates than jobs every year. Plenty of qualified and enthusiastic K-12 graduates are denied any teaching opportunities and instead take service industry jobs so they can begin paying back their college loans.
In a recent year (2005) in Pennsylvania, over 13,000 students graduated with teaching degrees yet less than half were offered jobs. Despite that, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell established a “blue ribbon committee” to study how to get more middle school students interested in the teaching profession. From a government standpoint, with more teachers available in the pool, a school district can drive down wages and benefits, making teaching a less attractive profession from a wage standpoint.
Because of the low pay of these service industry jobs, students are forced to move back in with their parents in order to pay bills. The community/neighborhood sees that these bright and intelligent students who have devoted 4 to 5 years at college are now doing jobs designed for high school graduates. How do you motivate the next generation of high school graduates to apply themselves and get ready for higher education when they see the outcomes? Too many graduates are counter-productive to student motivation.
So as this school year begins to wind down for the next set of high school graduates, communities should ask if a goal of 60 to 70 percent going on to college is really a worthy objective. Why not take the bulk of this number of students and invest in vocational training? At least these kids will have a trade to earn some money while they figure out if college is the right move for them.
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