More Shortage Shouting by the NSF
More Shortage Shouting by the NSF
Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2003 2:22 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
www.ZaZona.com
For years I have listened to engineers and programmers say that they
don't mind if immigrants take the low paying jobs like farm work
because Americans are too lazy to take those jobs. Well, as they say in
Valhalla, "You Live By the Sword, You Die by the Sword". Techies have
used this excuse to ignore what's happening in the labor market, so
they are in a weak position to complain when the same rhetoric turns
full circle.
Just for the record, I told fellow engineers since the early 1980s that
the cavalier attitude techies have towards people who toil in other
jobs will come back to bite them in the butt, but of course I was
accused of being a negativist.
(Malmsteen, Yngwie - Valhalla)
We Live Dangerously
And Very Short Lives
We Fight Day By Day
Sailing The Seas
We're Natural Born Slayers
We Live By The Sword
And Die By The Sword
We're Never Afraid
Now we are being told that Americans don't want engineering and
programming jobs because, well, you guessed it, they are too lazy! Dr.
Steven E. Koonin, a professor of theoretical physics who is provost of
the California Institute of Technology, said that spoiled American kids
want jobs where they don't have to work hard, and therefore they aren't
pursuing technical careers.
Koonin isn't the only one doing the shortage shouting. The National
Science Foundation (NSF) is once again spinning their shortage
propaganda. This is very reminiscent of the late 1980s when the NSF
warned that our national economy is in a dire emergency that can only
be cured by a massive influx of foreign engineers and scientists. Now
history might be repeating itself.
Eric Weinstein wrote the best paper on how the NSF created the shortage
myth, and it's now online:
"How and Why Government, Universities, and Industry Create Domestic
Labor Shortages of Scientists and High-Tech Workers"
http://nber.nber.org/~peat/PapersFolder/Papers/SG/NSF.html
As a reality check, at the end of the newsletter I included this
article: "Recent college grads fight glut of job seekers". You can bet
the shills at the NSF will ignore it.
A recent newsletter by Norm Matloff is included because he has dealt
with the NSF many times throughout the years and understands their
dirty tricks.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Norm Matloff [mailto:matloff@laura.cs.ucdavis.edu]
> Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2003 1:40 PM
> To: Norm Matloff
> Subject: more on the latest "shortage" study
Here is a New York Times article on that latest self-serving "shortage"
study. As I said the other day, these people have no interest in
getting more Americans into science and engineering.
Let me remind everyone once again that the National Science Foundation,
the agency which produced this report, has actively promoted the very
situation it claims to be so worried about here, i.e. the heavy
importation of scientists and engineers from abroad. They pushed for
the establishment of the H-1B program in 1990, and around that time
wrote an internal document advocating such importation as a means of
holding down American wages in these fields.
The NSF was especially interested in holding down wages at the doctoral
level, and explicitly noted that the importation of foreign workers at
this level would give Americans a disincentive against pursuing
doctoral work. Thus for the NSF to now say
From 1990 to 2000, the board reported, the percentage of
foreign-born
workers in science and engineering with doctoral degrees in the
United
States leaped to 38 percent from 24 percent.
is absolutely shameless.
Recall the NRC report which found that an American who opts to pursue a
PhD in computer science gets into a financial hole (due to 5-6 years of
forgone industrial income) that takes FIFTY YEARS to overcome. This is
in turn due to the suppression of salaries caused by the foreign influx
(not only in industry but also even in terms of graduate-student
stipends).
And remember, that's assume one can have a lifetime career in these
fields. Most people can't. In computer science, for example, recall
my data that show that even 20 years is questionable. For physicists,
in many cases the career length is 0 years.
The report then warns that foreign scientists and engineers are losing
interest in coming to the U.S., as seen in lower numbers of visas
issued. That ignores the patently obvious: There are fewer visas
issued because there are fewer jobs open these days.
"I think we can turn the situation around fairly quickly if we
deal
with some of the problems" that push students away from
scientific
careers, said Dr. George M. Langford, a board member who is
a
professor in the department of biological science at
Dartmouth
College.
The "problems that push students away from science careers" are of the
NSF's own making, as I mentioned above.
Now here is a very telling statement:
With increasing prosperity in America, he said, "the children of
the
higher socioeconomic strata are pursuing other careers, where
you
don't have to work as hard."
What does this say about the marketplace? Why is it that the
marketplace is not rewarding hard work and intellectual talent? Again,
the answer is that the NSF (and allies in industry etc.) deliberately
manipulated the marketplace to produce this anomaly.
Norm
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/20/national/20SCIE.html
November 20, 2003
Study Warns of Lack of Scientists as Visa Applications Drop
By JAMES GLANZ
he dependence on foreign-born scientists and engineers in the United
States soared in the 1990's, raising questions about how the nation
will sustain its technology-driven economy as competition for
brainpower increases worldwide, the National Science Board said on
Wednesday.
The board, a federal advisory body established by Congress, said it
also found a large drop in the number of successful visa applications
from foreign scientists, suggesting that the United States no longer
dominates the global marketplace for technical talent as it once did.
"As the jobs grew in the United States, we relied more heavily on
students from abroad," said Dr. Joseph A. Miller Jr., senior vice
president and chief technology officer at Corning and the chairman of
the task force that produced the board's report on the findings. "All
of this causes great concern, for us, for the future of our science and
engineering work force."
From 1990 to 2000, the board reported, the percentage of foreign-born
workers in science and engineering with doctoral degrees in the United
States leaped to 38 percent from 24 percent.
Compiled by the National Science Foundation, which the board oversees,
the statistics are not yet available beyond 2000. But by analyzing
figures provided by the Office of Immigration Statistics, the board
found that from 2001 to 2002, the number of temporary worker visas
issued for jobs in science and technology plummeted by 55 percent, to
74,000 from 166,000.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, successful visa applications
in all categories have fallen, said Stuart Patt, a spokesman for the
consular affairs bureau of the State Department, to 6.5 million in the
2003 fiscal year from 10 million in the 2001 fiscal year. Heightened
security fears and marketing efforts by other countries for
international tourist dollars may have contributed to the overall drop,
Mr. Patt said.
Many American scientists have complained that it has been more
difficult for their foreign colleagues to come to the United States
since Sept. 11. Mr. Patt confirmed that the State Department had placed
foreign scientists and engineers under greater scrutiny.
"We take a closer look at the technology-transfer issues involved in
those applications - the exchange of not only goods and services but
also knowledge," Mr. Patt said. "That is one factor that affects the
science and engineering applicants a little differently than others."
Mr. Patt said the falloff in worker visas over all had occurred because
there were fewer applicants, not because substantially greater numbers
have been rejected. Whatever the reason, said Dr. Diana S. Natalicio,
president of the University of Texas at El Paso and vice chairwoman of
the science board, the numbers show that the nation could soon face a
shortage of talent in critical areas of science and technology.
The United States, Dr. Natalicio said, is not educating enough of its
own students in those areas to satisfy the technology-hungry
marketplace.
"If these trend lines continue, we're going to have an undersupply,"
Dr. Natalicio said. In part because of the international impact of
Sept. 11, "the flexibility in the system has been greatly reduced."
Particularly worrisome is the low interest in scientific careers among
one of the fastest-growing demographic sectors of the population,
Hispanic Americans, Dr. Natalicio said. While American whites produce
an average of 6.3 bachelor's degrees in science and engineering per 100
people 18 to 24, Hispanics produce 2.4, the report found.
Another fast-growing, but much smaller group, Asian and Pacific
Islander Americans, is much more prolific in the sciences, producing
14.7 degrees per 100 people in the same age group.
The board recommended taking a variety of steps to reverse these
trends, including improvements in equipment, teacher training and
financing in science programs from kindergarten through undergraduate
levels.
"I think we can turn the situation around fairly quickly if we deal
with some of the problems" that push students away from scientific
careers, said Dr. George M. Langford, a board member who is a professor
in the department of biological science at Dartmouth College.
Dr. Steven E. Koonin, a professor of theoretical physics who is provost
of the California Institute of Technology, and who was not involved in
the study, said that the combination of increasing worldwide
competition for technical talent and the unpopularity of careers in
science in the United States went a long way toward explaining the
results.
Many other countries, Dr. Koonin said, "realize that science is the way
you move society forward," and have labored to become "more attractive
venues in which to do scientific and technical work."
Another factor, he said, is that science tends to be "populated by the
children of immigrants and the lower economic classes, because it is
still a meritocracy and you can succeed on your brains and hard work."
With increasing prosperity in America, he said, "the children of the
higher socioeconomic strata are pursuing other careers, where you don't
have to work as hard."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-scientists20nov20,1,7196710.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
November 20, 2003
THE NATION
Federal Aid Urged to Boost the Domestic Workforce in Science
* More U.S. engineering and other technical jobs are being done by
foreigners, a study finds.
By Shweta Govindarajan, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- Greater federal assistance is needed to bolster the
country's shrinking native-born science and engineering workforce and
to encourage more U.S. college students to pursue careers in these
fields, the National Science Foundation said Wednesday.
The percentage of college-educated scientists and engineers who are
working in the U.S. but were born elsewhere jumped from 14% in 1990 to
22% in 2000, a foundation study of workforce trends reported.
The study also found that among professionals with doctorates in
science or engineering who were working in the United States, almost
40% were foreign-born in 2000, compared with 24% in 1990.
Furthermore, women, African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans
are less likely than white men to obtain undergraduate degrees in
science and engineering, according to the study, which was issued by
the National Science Board, the foundation's governing body.
"The number of native-born [professionals] entering the workforce is
likely to decline unless the nation intervenes," said Joseph A.
Miller, chairman of the National Science Foundation's task force on
workforce policies.
Miller said a national investment in "human capital and capabilities"
must be made to spur domestic growth in science and technical fields.
"It is important for the federal government to step forward to ensure
the adequacy of [a] science and engineering workforce," he said.
In addition, efforts to attract students, particularly women and
minorities, to become scientists and engineers must start in high
schools with stronger programs in math, science and technology,
officials said.
"Today's and tomorrow's economies and workforce requirements are
worlds apart from 25 years ago," said Diana S. Natalicio, president of
the University of Texas at El Paso and vice chairwoman of the National
Science Board. "Young people simply aren't being attracted by these
careers."
The study also showed that the number of H-1B visas, which allow
companies to sponsor foreign employees with specialized skills for up
to six years, had dropped in 2002 compared with 2000 -- largely
because of the economic downturn, officials said. But, the study
noted, U.S. dependence on foreign labor without developing a highly
skilled domestic workforce is problematic.
"We cannot subsist on a diet of imported aptitude," said Rita R.
Colwell, director of the National Science Foundation. Nurturing
careers in science and engineering among U.S.-born professionals would
"ensure the continued preeminence of this country in the future," she
added.
At the same time, immigration policies should continue to let a
national and a foreign workforce interact, Colwell said.
"This is not a xenophobic response," she said. Not balancing the labor
market with domestic workers, she added, would "cheat our nation on
its future."
Copyright 2003 Los Angeles Times
http://jobcenter.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/careers/workingnews/081703ccCareersTechhowifilled.1be82cb5.html
short link: http://makeashorterlink.com/?K601612A6
Recruiters treat SAP pros as a precious commodity
Lack of skilled programmers for German software group means demand
remains strong
By PATRICIA V. RIVERA / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Finding experienced programmers in software developed by German giant
SAP is like spotting a jewel in the rough for Dallas recruiter Mark
Rednick.
They're few and far between, but they're practically worth their weight
in gold, he added.
"The demand exceeds the supply by a good bit. Some people are so good
at it that their earnings take you back to dot-com era," said Mr.
Rednick, founder of Sales Consultants Inc. of Dallas. "We've had
million-dollar earners lately, and in a slumping economic arena, that
tells you that it's a high demand area."
JASON KINDIG/DMN
Mark Rednick says his firm, Sales Consultants Inc. of Dallas, is
seeking about 40 SAP professionals to fill openings in North Texas.
SAP - originally called Systems, Applications and Products in Data
Processing - is Europe's largest software provider and a leading
supplier of business software worldwide. Founded in 1972, most of the
SAP's growth has occurred in the last decade.
SAP's specialty is considered a wraparound technology that coordinates
and assimilates everything in a company's computer systems. SAP
programmers and others are needed to install and run SAP software.
Sales Consultants is looking for about 40 SAP professionals to fill
openings at companies throughout the region. Mr. Rednick said
recruiting these professionals require more networking than other
positions.
"They're not on Monster or other job boards," he said. "They're usually
happy campers who would like to be happier."
That's why continual networking with other people in the area is key,
he added.
Candidates tend to have academic training as computer engineers and
must possess appropriate SAP certification. Earnings start around
$70,000 annually and can top the $1 million mark for executive-level
professionals, he said.
A question of ethics
One programmer he recently placed ran SAP operations at a company but
didn't feel that his personal ethics matched that of other company
executives. When recruiters contacted him about an opportunity, he
opted for a similar job that paid around $840,000.
"That's why you always need to keep strands out there," he said.
Each recruiter looking for an SAP programmer will try to contact at
least eight to 10 people for each opening. Then he or she will present
three candidates to the client.
The whole process takes about 100 days.
"SAP is one of our toughest jobs to fill." Mr. Rednick said.
E-mail businessnews@dallasnews.com
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/topstory/8147/8147notw5.html
November 24, 2003
Volume 81, Number 47
CENEAR 81 47 p. 10
ISSN 0009-2347
FOREIGN SCIENTISTS
Visa Delays, Shrinking Domestic Enrollments Lead Concerns
WILLIAM G. SCHULZ
A survey by three higher education associations and a new report from
the National Science Board reveal multiple concerns related to foreign
visa holders who boost the nation's science and engineering talent
pool. At NSB, the body that oversees the National Science Foundation, a
study panel found that the number of native-born science and
engineering graduates is likely to continue to decline unless
government acts. Science board members say long-term investments in the
U.S. science and engineering workforce are needed at every stage,
especially for minority students who are underrepresented. At a press
briefing, NSF Director Rita R. Colwell insisted that the U.S. should
continue to welcome foreign scientists and engineers but "end our
addictive dependence on an inflow of foreign students."
Meanwhile, survey results from 331 higher education institutions may
indicate near-term troubles. Visa delays, the survey's sponsors say,
"continue to be a significant problem" for international students as
well as international scholars and researchers this fall as compared
with last. Of 232 institutions reporting, there was a 49% increase in
the number of visa delays for new and continuing international
undergraduate students. For new and continuing scholars and
researchers, a 76% increase in the number of visa delays was reported
by 152 institutions. The survey was conducted jointly by NAFSA:
Association of International Educators, the Association of American
Universities, and the National Association of State Universities &
Land-Grant Colleges.
Web posted Sunday, November 23, 2003
http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/112303/bus_112303069.shtml
Recent college grads fight glut of job seekers
Layoffs, slow hiring has created a pool of talented workers looking for
jobs
DETROIT (AP) -- Just five years ago, a 22-year-old with a computer
sciences degree was hot job property.
But now college graduates with a computer-related degree are finding it
tougher than just about any other major to land a job as the economy
recovers for the tech-bubble-bust that left a glut of experienced
workers looking for jobs, said Phil Gardner, a Michigan State
University researcher.
Gardner, who released his 33rd annual Recruitment Trends study of the
job market for recent college graduates last week, said students with
majors in business, biological sciences, retail and hospitality will
have the easiest time landing jobs.
In fact expansion in those markets has resulted in a 9 percent increase
in the number of companies planning to hire recent graduates over 2002.
Gardner noted, however, that the highest paying jobs in professional
services, engineering and computer sciences either will have little
growth or decreases.
"We have engineers working at Gap and Home Depot and that's not where
we want to be," Gardner said. "To have a $60,000-a-year engineer
working at the Gap for $28,000 -- it takes two of those jobs to make up
the difference."
And unlike previous years, smaller employers are not as likely to be
hiring new college graduates.
The combination of layoffs and several years of slow hiring has left a
pool of talented and experienced workers for those companies, Gardner
said.
At least this year there is some movement, while the last few years did
not witness increases in the hiring of recent graduates, Gardner said.
Gardner's survey results were based on responses from 450 companies,
half of which were large companies that have college-recruitment
departments. The other half of the companies were either fast-growing
or cover fields that aren't well represented.
Adrienne Brown, a senior communications major at Michigan State, is
searching for a job in a tough market.
But Brown, 22, said she hasn't had trouble getting interviews by
posting her resume online.
"I haven't had a huge problem, but I know that a lot of people are
saying it's awful," said the East Lansing native who holds a 3.6 grade
point average. "Then again, I haven't been offered a job yet."
Gardner said the job market isn't likely to slingshot out of recession
like it did in the early 1990s.
More likely is a slow, steady progress as the country continues to move
from a manufacturing-based to knowledge-based economy.
Gardner said even more today internships with companies are nearly
prerequisites for getting a job.
Robert G. Reynolds, a computer sciences professor at Wayne State
University in Detroit, said most of his seniors get jobs because of a
school-to-work program.
"We have a strong co-op program where seniors can work in area
companies and receive course credit," he said in an e-mail. "This often
leads to a job after graduation."
Gardner said Michigan is a tough place for engineering and computer
science students to find work because of the manufacturing decline. He
predicted that as many as 55 percent of the engineering students will
have to leave the state to find jobs.
The same is true of professions like teaching, where there is a glut of
graduates. Meanwhile, states such as Florida, Texas and North Carolina
are suffering teacher shortages.
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