I'm currently building some mass and energy spectrometers for a few different missions. I work for a research institute that NASA contracts with. To put it in terms of thenewgreen's inquiry, we need more jobs. This is a demand problem. I get infuriated any time that I hear politicians talking about a "shortage" of STEM workers. This is another softball talking point that every schmuck regurgitates while they're simultaneously defunding science and tech faster than you can tabulate. I graduated a few years ago with a lot of capable peers who've wound up working service, retail, and other nightmares with their B.S. in Physics. Me, I was lucky enough that my parents knew someone who helped me get my foot in the door for an internship, and then I went on to get hired after graduation. Even though I'm actively pursuing a PhD (knocked out my Physics GRE a few months ago), the argument that "everyone pursuing Physics needs a PhD to be effective" is bologna. I've contributed quite a bit towards several projects, often incorporating things I've learned in my undergrad career. My classmates could as well, if there were spots on the roster for them. More $'s = more spots. Obviously, this is my personal, anecdotal experience, but I believe it to be a STEM-wide problem. We've defunded science and tech across the board, not just in my sector.
I know I've had conversations with you guys about how most of the politicians say we need more scientists but then do all they can to cut or limit funding. Do you guys think we need more people in the STEM fields or do we need more STEM jobs? Is this a supply or demand problem?And yet, alongside such dire projections, you’ll also find reports suggesting just the opposite—that there are more STEM workers than suitable jobs.
mk and b_b, would you say that there aren't enough jobs in your field or that there aren't enough well paying jobs for up and coming scientists?
Great article. I wish I could find the RIT study showing that there isn't a shortage, but the link is broken in the article. It would be nice, considering that I go there and it's heavily STEM-based and industry-focused. It's funny that a place is publishing a study that shows that there isn't a shortage (supposedly - can't confirm without reading our study), while increasing student enrollment at a place where many students are STEM majors.