Engineering Education and Practice in the United States Foundations of Our Techno-Economic Future (1985) / Chapter Skim
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5. Utilization of Engineering Resources
5. Utilization of Engineering Resources
Pages 86-108
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From page 86... ...
on Engineering Employment Characteristics, which examined this subject, was in many respects tilling new ground. The panel relied for its statistical data primarily on the same sources that were employed by the Panel on Infrastructure Diagramming and Modeling in its research {see chapter 3, "Data Bases" I
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From page 87... ...
The Engineering Work Force: Characteristics and Trends According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, between 1960 and 1982 the number of engineers in the United States nearly doubled, rising from 800,000 to about 1.6 million {Report of the Panel on Engineering Employment Characteristics)
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From page 88... ...
. About 6 percent of all engineers are employed directly by the federal government {Report of the Panel on Engineering Employment Characteristics)
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From page 89... ...
In 1982 there were 1.1 million technicians of all types in the total work force, compared to the nearly 1.6 million engineers. Among eco 2 The category of technicians does not include those technicians who are performing professional-level engineering work and who are thus defined as engineers.
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From page 90... ...
However, periodic monitoring of the situation would be advisable as one means of ensuring that engineering resources continue to be utilized efficiently. Predominant Work Activity By far the largest number of engineers are employed in the durable goods sector, which accounted for 40 percent of all engineers in 1978 {Report of the Panel on Engineering Employment Characteristics)
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From page 91... ...
Some examples are CAD/ CAM operator/drafter, operation of numerically controlled machine tools, and robotics supervision {Office of Technology Assessment, 1984~. Specializations In 1981 the largest engineering disciplines were electrical/electronic and mechanical engineering.
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From page 92... ...
The steady growth in industrial engineering is a consequence of industry's efforts to improve productivity, product quality, and costcompetitiveness. Industrial engineering is a good example of a field in which many practitioners are technologists, upgraded technicians, or individuals with technical degrees in other fields a fact which is reflected in its large size relative to B.S.
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From page 93... ...
As a case in point, some 15 percent of undergraduate engineering students are now women; freshman female enrollments are even higher 17 percent in 1983 although there are indications that the latter trend is leveling off {Engineering Manpower Commission, 1983; 1984b)
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From page 94... ...
Such a perception discourages women from entering graduate school and then academia-certainly an undesirable result in view of the current shortage of faculty. College administrators should make a candid assessment of the negative aspects of campus life for women faculty members and, if they are found to exist, should take firm steps to eliminate them.
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From page 95... ...
Many observers in recent years have expressed their concern that the quality of the engineering work force in the United States is declining. These commentators point to problems in the nuclear power industry, recalls of automobiles, and the general decline of our smokestack industries as symptoms of poor engineering quality.
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From page 96... ...
The resulting gain in efficiency is difficult to quantify, but is nonetheless real. Although CAD relates mainly to engineering work in the manufacturing industries, the use of computers and computerized tools in
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From page 97... ...
Some observers are concerned that shortages of engineers will persist beyond the near term, but one authoritative source {Bureau of Labor Statistics) expects problems only in those specialties involved in fast
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From page 98... ...
engineer was earning $25,750, considerably more than entry-level employees in the other fields College Placement Council, 1984~.
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From page 99... ...
40,000 ^ 30 000 < 20,000 1 0,000 99 Engineers - Remit _____ Inns o ~1 I I I 1 ~1 ~1~3 1~8 1 YEAR FICU" 12 Median salaries for selected occupations in private industry f 1963- 1983J. 30,000 25,000 ~ ~00 1~0 1 0,000 S,OOO o - Engineers - Chemists ____- I ]
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From page 100... ...
. In view of the strong direct dependency on engineering talent for many of its most important activities, the federal government should review its compensation policies to ensure that it can competitivelLy recruit and maintain a high-quality engineering work force.
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From page 101... ...
The rate in 1980 was 1 percent, compared to 7.1 percent for the labor force as a whole; in the same year it was 1.8 percent for physical scientists and 1.6 percent for social scientists {Report of the Panel on Engineering Employment Characteristics)
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From page 102... ...
The data on age distribution presage no age-related shortage of engineers overall; the greatest number of engineers today are in the 30-34 age bracket, while the average age is 42-44 {Figure 15~. Data on specific disciplines do suggest that the nation faces a potential age-related shortage of experienced mechanical engineers when those now in the 45-55 age bracket begin to retire, unless demand drops proportionately {Report of the Pane!
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From page 103... ...
For example, when the manned space program geared up in the late 1950s, there were virtually no qualified aerospace engi neers. Instead, aeronautical, mechanical, and electronics engineers, mathematicians, and scientists of all types were able to adapt their knowledge to the requirements of the spaceflight regime.
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From page 104... ...
. However, the committee concludes that effective continuing education throughout a career holds the greatest promise for keeping engineers professionally flexible enough to anticipate and avoid great harm from technological obsolescence and changing demand.
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From page 105... ...
Yet civil service regulations make it difficult for the federal government to compensate engineering employees at most experience levels and in most disciplines in a competitive fashion relative to industry. In view of the strong direct repellency on engineering talent for many of its most important activities, the federal government should review its compensation policies to ensure that it can competitively recruit and maintain a high-qua~ity engineering work force.
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From page 106... ...
College administrators shout] make a candid assessment of the attractiveness of academic life for women faculty members and, if negative aspects such as these are found, they should take firm steps to eliminate them.
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From page 107... ...
They also result In inefficient use of engineering resources. The committee finds that effective continuing education throughout a career holds great promise for keeping engineers flexible enough to anticipate and avoid great harm from technological obsolescence and changing demand.
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From page 108... ...
Report of the Panel on Engineering Employment Characteristics, in preparation. Report of the Panel on Engineering Interactions With Society, in preparation.
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