Saturday, January 28, 2012

Why would-be engineers end up as English majors

This article was on CNN.com back in May, but I thought I would bring it up as it directly relates to my previous post regarding engineering jobs being sent over seas.  The article discusses the dropout rates of young people entering the math and science fields in college, and compares them to the dropout rates of other majors such as the liberal arts or business.  According to the data presented in this article dropout rates for students pursuing math and science degrees are much higher.

As someone who graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts I can relate to this article, but also found a couple of their arguments to be somewhat flawed.  It seems to blame the lack of quality teaching as a reason for the higher dropout rates.  My Freshman engineering classes had about 120 students in them and by Senior year these same classes were down to about 40 students.  66% of my original classmates had disappeared.  Ironically this is exactly what one of my Freshman engineering professors had predicted.  Before passing back an exam he told the class to "look to your left and then look to you right.  Chances are those people want be there when you graduate in 4 years."  However, I don't blame this high dropout rate on teaching.  I found most of my professors to be readily accesible and approachable.  Instead I look to the myriad of other options that college students have.

Engineering is one of the least appealing majors because of the large amount of time and effort required to complete the degree.  There were many times when I would look out my dorm room window to see other students playing frisbee or whiffle ball in the quad while I was doing statics, thermo, or materials homework.  To become an engineer you have to want it.  There are definitely sacrifices that have to be made, and I don't think enough talented people are willing to make them.  College has become more about the party and the other social aspects than graduating with a degree that will be useful for years to come.


2 comments:

  1. Not sure if anyone draw the conclusion, but this also outlines why so many large companies like to move their operations overseas. In some ways, linking the two articles together reveals how America is giving away these jobs to overseas countries. But I do have a theory, I think the job market and the economy has a lot to do with popularity. Let me explain, children back when used to play with Lego blocks, Playdoh, and robots, and that inspired them to make things, to produce, to innovate, and most importantly to imagine. However, children these days have their i-box, x-pads, face-page, and my-book, and that, in many ways made them into simply the consumers of products. At that moment, they cease to be thinkers as they spend endless hours on these entertainment systems. The only way to arrest, or even reverse this is to inspire the youths to imagine again.

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  2. Good post and good insight, Brian. That engineering degree requires a lot if work. But society has changed. Geeks are now cool but fewer Americans are willing to put in the effort. As our standard of living rises, what happens to our work ethic?

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