Not just STEM — need more graduates, period

A report that came out in June goes beyond studies showing that we’re lacking STEM students, or even CS students, but educated students at all.  But I’m cynical.  Is there really a lack of employees (especially given current unemployment rates), or are employers less likely to hire and more picky who they take?  Will generating more graduates really satisfy the identified gap?

The United States economy is in serious danger from a growing mismatch between the skills that will be needed for jobs being created and the educational backgrounds (or lack thereof) of would-be workers. That is the conclusion of a mammoth analysis of jobs data being released today by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

The new report says that the United States is “on a collision course with the future” since far too few Americans complete college. Specifically, the report says that by 2018, the economy will have jobs for 22 million new workers with college degrees, but, based on current projections, there will be a shortage of 3 million workers who have some postsecondary degree (associate or higher) and of 4.7 million workers who have a postsecondary certificate.

via News: A Jobs Mismatch – Inside Higher Ed.

Explaining to women that Engineering makes a difference

An interesting op-ed piece by a female engineering, talking about how girls are discouraged from going into engineering, and about how engineering really is about helping people.

To young people, the image of the engineering profession has too often been portrayed as solitary and esoteric, a lonely and abstract pursuit. The reality is much different. Engineering offers the chance to connect with the world in tangible and meaningful ways. It means making an imprint that improves lives.

For many girls, this chance to make a difference would be enormously gratifying. To inspire more girls to consider such paths, Chicago is one of four school districts in the nation now taking part in a $2.4 million federal initiative to get women involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers.

via women discouraged from studying engineering – chicagotribune.com.