..on the current state of affairs and looking ahead

May 19, 2011 17:23

Technology and unemployment
Yes, this is all coming back to education

education

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Comments 14

hettie_lz May 19 2011, 23:02:50 UTC
Ага...

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elka78 May 20 2011, 15:19:06 UTC
Как всегда, поздно спохватились... Тут тоже нужны будут армии гипнотизеров, чтобы убедить народ, что быть техническим специалистом это круто (а не только бабки загребать на Вол-Стрит)

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go_away_ira May 20 2011, 15:29:12 UTC
Самое главное убедить, что быть инженером - это очень sexy.

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hettie_lz May 20 2011, 15:52:44 UTC
Это сложный вопрос, насколько надо:-) Вот у нас в Пепси была Агнес, которая не любила ни капельки то, что делала, но т.к. дело денежное, стиснув зубы, им занималась. Это было нехорошо ни для нее, ни для дела :-)

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gimli_m May 20 2011, 00:41:31 UTC
Um... are we sure this is not sampling bias? Only successful professionals get classified as professionals; therefore most professionals have jobs.

I can believe that unemployment in technical jobs is that low ... only if first-time applicants for full-time positions are not counted. Getting more than one internship on the way is now a norm in many fields.

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elka78 May 20 2011, 15:16:04 UTC
Of course it is sampling bias! The reason the unemployment % was brought up during this conversation was to demonstrate that there is a real shortage of qualified workers - both highly educated, and skilled labor. This is all, of course, as related to the optics manufacturing industry.

Interestingly enough, last year at CS Mantech I asked the question about talent building and education at the panel discussion (I was in the audience), and the panel kept coming back to education through to the end of discussion. And this year - the question came from the moderator and the heads of those kick-ass companies themselves.

Personally, I am convinced that optics and optics-related (i.e. lasers, etc) field will only continue to grow in the future. In my years of schooling an "optics engineer" wasn't even on the radar :)

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gimli_m May 20 2011, 16:36:36 UTC
What I observe around me (applied mathematics, nuclear engineering) is, simultaneously, shortage of qualified workers, and arrogance / extreme conservatism on the part of employers. It goes something like this: "yes, we know we need 10 extremely educated people to advance the field in directions never attempted before. But we will only hire 3, at least two of them must be experienced and familiar to us, and they can only work on the projects we are very familiar with."

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elka78 May 20 2011, 19:11:45 UTC
So, with the goal of advancing science and technology in mind, what is the solution?

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