Fostering Flexibility in the Engineering Work Force (1990) / Chapter Skim
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3. Findings
3. Findings
Pages 13-28
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From page 13... ...
54. 12Saul Gorn, "Adapting to Computer Science," a paper prepared for the Workshop on National Needs and Technological Change: Fostering Flexibility in the Engineering Work Force, September 29, 1989.
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From page 14... ...
Although technological sow qualifies a nation to enter Me competitive arena, no single technological achievement yields a lasting competitive advantage.l3 During the 1920s Europe excelled in scientific discovery, while the United States excelled in worker productivity, per capita income, and trade surplus.
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From page 15... ...
Finn, "Evidence of Adaptability in the Labor Market for Engineers: A Review of Recent Studies," a paper prepared for the Workshop on National Needs and Technological Change: Fostering Flexibility in the Engineering Work Force, September 29, 1989. 16Data on persons with a doctoral degree in engineering are from the 1987 Survey of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers, a biennia longitudinal survey conducted by the National Research Council's Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel.
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From page 16... ...
and M.S. Degrees in Engineering Age does not appear to be related to employment field switching for those with the B.S., or M.S., degree in engineering: the difference in average age for those in engineering employment versus those in nonengineering employment is only about Me years.
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From page 17... ...
According to the data, those with B.S., and M.S., engineering degrees in civil, mechanical, and petroleum engineering have somewhat higher proportions staying employed in the same field as their degrees. Among all B.S., and M.S., degree holders in engineering, those with degrees in industrial, chemical, and mining engineering have somewhat higher proportions switching into nonengineering employment.
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From page 18... ...
Some institutions allow graduation of engineers whose skills are entirely analync: these engineers are clearly needed-mainly at He doctoral level to pursue research careers in ~ndus~y or in academia. However, it becomes a problem when Ph.D.s teaching undergraduate students most of whom will become practicing engineers cannot address in their courses the issues and techniques required for successful practicing engineers.
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From page 19... ...
Yet, rapid technological development results in the need for more specialized courses. This exemplifies a widely recognized issue in undergraduate engineering education-that is, the conflict between preparing students to be practicing professional engineers and providing a base for lifelong learning in specialties that may not yet exist.20 Additions to the curriculum are resisted because they entail either eliminating existing requirements, or increasing the total number of courses required for the degree (which means increasing the length of time required to acquire a B.S.
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From page 20... ...
Within the next decade, the concept of lifelong education win gain greater prominence in the workplace as workers of an ages and levels of employment win need to be retrained several times throughout their working life to keep pace wid1 the changing demands of the work env~nment.26 22Simon Ramo, "National Secunn,r and Our Technology Edge," Harvard Business Review 67~6~:115-12O, November-Decenaber 1989. 23This point was provided by a reviewer of this report.
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From page 21... ...
Do early retirement policies and practices convey the message that industry wants to send to its engineering work force-that is, that their careers are going to peak at age 50? The cycle time for engineering education-that is, on average =5 years-is longer than the cycle time for many new technologies and new products; if industry asks its employees to be ready to fill future needs without forecasting what those needs are, industry has not adequately addressed the issue of adaptability.
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From page 22... ...
labor force; white males win account for 16 percent.30 Because of these changes, companies can no longer expect to hire an adequate number of new engineers from traditional sources that is, white males. This leaves companies wad two choices: either lure talented professionals from their competitors or upgrade their own professionals; of these, tile latter has the Neatest long-term potential for achieving national economic goals.3 Although the private sector is expected to forecast future demand and then act on that forecast, the largest single uncertainty is the supply of people.32 People do not have a problem making these shifts if there is both an economic force to compel them to do it (push)
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From page 23... ...
Attitudes of line managers are critical in this regard: line managers are willing to give their engineers released time for in-house courses with immediate, short-range application; they seem less willing to do so for courses with less immediate, longer-range application. Although many companies consider education and training to be as crucial to their success as research and development, education funds are often the first cut and the last reinstated when those companies experience economic difficulty.35 Many engineers do not work in companies with large in-house education and Raining faciii~aes; therefore, at die present lime, their only alternative for continuing education is to reman to academe.
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From page 24... ...
This means that undergraduate engineering professors should be aware of current engineering practice particularly in industry. This awareness can be maintained through attending meetings, workshops, seminars, and short courses sponsored by professional engineering societies.
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From page 25... ...
Taxonorrues usually used to collect data on engineers are not adequate to capture the kinds of shifts of specialties anal skills occurring in the engineering labor market. For example, the SIPP data provide practically the only evidence available on the correspondence between education and occupation in the U.S.
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From page 26... ...
Suggestions to remedy this include standardizing data categories or classifications and devising cross-references or translations among data bases. Although the data indicate a fairly high degree of adaptability among engineers insofar as more than 50 percent of those with bachelor's and higher degrees in engineering work outside science and engineering-they tell us nothing about the extent to which these individuals are both willing and able to return to science and engineering careers.
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From page 27... ...
Therefore, it seems warranted to begin planning the kinds of activities for example, forums, symposia, action-oriented, problem-solving sessions that bring together these key players to initiate ways to enhance our knowledge as a prerequisite to devising, implementing, and monitoring policy to enhance adaptability among the United States' engineering work force.
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