Are Many Science & Engineering Careers Obsolete?
invite response
2012 Jul 25, 6:40am 29,812 views 117 comments
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Rin
2012 Jul 30, 7:34am
I have worked in Corporate America. That was when I discover the hilarity of humanity. :-)
Pete, it's one thing to watch Monty Python, it's another to live in it and depend upon it for food and shelter.
freak80
2012 Jul 30, 8:59am
Pete, it's one thing to watch Monty Python, it's another to live in it and depend upon it for food and shelter.
Exactly.
Rin
2012 Jul 31, 8:50am
Rin says
Pete, it's one thing to watch Monty Python, it's another to live in it and depend upon it for food and shelter.
Exactly.
Is this one of the few threads, where there's actually a type of consensus, despite slight differences in opinions or viewpoints?
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Here's the problem: any work reducible to equations and computer-aided-design can be automated or outsourced thanks to computers and the internet.
Unless you're doing original research or engineering something that is inherently "on site" (like bridge construction), the future of American science and engineering looks pretty bleak. I think the claimed "shortage" of scientists and engineers in America is propaganda.
Remember, a lot of the political emphasis on "math and science" came from the Cold War (the nuclear arms race and the space race). The Cold War is over.
I guess there are still good jobs developing predator drones.
When it comes to the private sector, how many companies are willing to take on the high-risk, high-reward task of R&D? Warren Buffett famously does not usually invest in technology companies for that very reason.