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Where Are All the Engineers?
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
By Gary A. Tanel
Following my May 2007 column,1 I received many calls confirming the direction of the EMS industry and voicing additional concerns on other trends. Another common theme is the concern regarding manufacturing technology skills being lost in the U.S. This takes the shape of American students losing interest in technical fields and the increased interest by hard-working students in emerging Asian countries.
In the U.S., we hold 5% of the world's population, but consume 40% of the world's natural resources. We are becoming a nation of consumers with an entitlement attitude. For generations, we manufactured what our people demanded to consume. We were the greatest manufacturing provider in the world. Now, we live in a global resource pool with people willing to manufacture for us. All you need to do is read the labels on consumer items to see that products made in the U.S. are in the minority, and continue to decrease. As cash flows to manufacturing centers of the world out of the U.S. it ultimately will redistribute our wealth, allowing more populated areas of the world to become greater consumers of the world's resources.
As high-volume manufacturing goes away, along with it goes technical support careers. Mechanical and industrial engineers are trained to develop ways to build factories and products. Where are the big automated factories of today? Fueling the exodus of manufacturing technology to Asia are the seemingly unlimited labor resources, a global marketplace, faster transportation systems, and aggressively supportive foreign governments. As the high-technology job market grows in Asia, it is safe to say that U.S. citizens will not be relocating there only to work for lower pay. There are many capable and hard-working engineers in Asia willing to work for less than their American counterparts.
The appeal of a manufacturing career has lost its luster for many American students entering college, who have a variety in curriculum to choose from that pays more money than technical engineering positions. Careers in banking, marketing, advertising, finance, software, legal, and media somehow seem more exciting and enticing, and offer more of a chance to make money.
In the U.S., we train engineers at universities on the theory of manufacturing and design. But when they graduate, they are placed in product design positions, having never worked in operations to understand the practical realities of actual manufacturing. In Asia and in Europe, engineers must move through the ranks of manufacturing with all the practical knowledge before they are placed in a position to design product and process for others. Being an apprentice engineer, with all the battle scars of actual manufacturing experience, makes the technologist more valuable in the workplace. Individuals, companies, and countries that operate this way have an advantage over those that do not.
Who is obtaining advanced engineering degrees at U.S. universities? Thirty percent of students enrolled at SMU and the University of Texas in undergraduate classes for electrical engineering are of traditional European descent. The remaining 70% primarily are of Asian, Indian, or Middle Eastern ancestry. Many non-U.S. citizens come to U.S.-based universities with full scholarships to gain advanced engineering degrees, and then return to their countries. Enrollments in engineering departments in U.S. universities and colleges consist of significant student populations from many technologically developing, emerging, and maturing countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, and other Asian countries. The majority of graduate-level engineering students are not U.S. citizens. "A growing trend is the return of trained students to their native lands, as opportunities abound to contribute to their country's technological prowess and gain personal economic prosperity for their family," said Viswam Puligandla, Ph.D., professor at the University of Texas, Arlington, and retired senior technologist for Nokia. "This is a natural phenomenon. The foreign student population is bright, motivated, and very hard working."
What the U.S. has that is in demand around the world is outstanding technology training at our universities. "Many U.S. universities are endearing the academic institutions in foreign countries to allow the establishment of satellite campuses to tap into the enormous potential of technological and economic opportunities there," added Puligandla. "We are educating the world, and taking the classes to where students are located."
ConclusionThe U.S. is still a powerhouse of invention, discovery, and entrepreneurship. It is important to maintain that leadership by exploring, developing, and harnessing new technologies vital for the prosperity of future generations. We must find the ways to encourage domestic electronic manufacturing with all creative and technical engineering jobs that can go with it. SMT
REFERENCES:1. Tanel, Gary, "Electronics Manufacturing Trends in the U.S.," SMT, May 2007.
Gary A. Tanel is the SMTA Dallas Chapter president and vice president of EMS Acquisitions for Allegiance Capital Corporation. Contact him at (214) 217-7748; gtanel@allcapcorp.com.