What STEM Shortage? Sector Isn’t Seeing Wage Growth & More Graduates Than Jobs

[LibForestPaul]

IBM hacking away as well.

 

[LibForestPaul]

There is so much vitriol against technology, math, science laborers. I believe this goes back to how being smart in this country is actually looked down upon. Perhaps TBTB do not want free thinkers.

They would rather higher 4 project managers to oversee 20 offshore 'stem' workers than higher 5 onshore American born engineers.

One would think the tax theft and health care fraud would come into play. However, considering they need 4 project managers, I believe this is false.

 

[BamaAla]

All STEMs are not created equally though. An individual with a B.S. in mathematics may have a tougher time finding a job than an individual with a B.S. in civil engineering who will probably have a tougher time finding a job than a person with a B.S. in electrical engineering.

I think there is probably a shortage of qualified workers in specific fields, but equally, I think there is a disconnect on compensation; outside of engineering, a B.S. in physics, mathematics, biology, etc. aren't exactly going to cut it. Add to that, a kid from Alabama goes $100k in debt to get that education and then starts looking for an entry level job at a salary of $50k; something's gotta give. I'm not sure there is as much of a shortage of labor as there is a shortage of companies willing to pay.

 

[I<3Liberty]

The fields with shortages often don't pay very well. Most people within my major want to go to med school, but almost no one wants to work at a lab earning $38,000 a year with their B.S. in chemistry, biology, or physics.

There's a surplus of PhDs even in physics. See statistics here: http://www.theatlantic.com/business...rket-for-young-scientists-in-7-charts/273339/ Several of my professors were late 30 to 40-something year-old postdocs and not because they got their PhD late.

Perhaps STEM is too broad of a field? People with BS degrees is bio have never really been in high demand.


I put my engineering resume online last month and literally get 10 to 20 unsolicited called from recruiters every single day. It's completely crazy. Intel just opened up shop in my area and are trying to hire 100 people by EOY. So I dunno, I think at least the "E" part of STEM is in very high demand.

I get like 15-25 per week. Recruiters love new graduates since we're willing to work for less money. I'm not sure about you, but many of the jobs they offered me were lower-paying or they just wanted a large pool of applicants to pick from.

if there's no shortage of STEM, then there definitely isn't a shortage of any other workers, blue collar, white collar, accounting, lawyers, with possible exception of medical doctors.

There isn't a shortage of doctors in the developed world. There is a shortage of doctors in impoverished countries, but the groups (like Doctors Without Borders) that go there get paid like next to nothing. Too many physicians are driven by money. Like 60% of the pre-med people I know will even admit the only thing keeping them going is knowing they'll make six figures once they graduate med school. It's really sad that this is their main source of motivation.

In the US there is a shortage of general practitioners that accept medicare and medicaid simply because they don't make as much and the private practitioners would struggle to stay afloat.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

basically what you're saying is, employers want to hire foreigners, even when it's high skilled STEM because they're cheaper?

Most of the time, yes. That is certainly on the minds of the executives, and many of the hiring managers. But the hiring managers may have additional motivations. Most hiring managers in these specific, H-1B fields are immigrants. Many times they want to bring over their brother, their friends. people they knew in school, people from their village or town, people from their nation.

There are always multiple motivations. If you look at this at a national level, the debate is shaped by the opinions of a whole lot of individuals, and each of those individuals will have multiple motivations.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

...they just wanted a large pool of applicants to pick from. ...

I'm not sure which is worse; wasting your time playing "token", or having them just trying to get a couple of hours of free consulting to solve their problems...

 

[Brian4Liberty]

There is so much vitriol against technology, math, science laborers. I believe this goes back to how being smart in this country is actually looked down upon. Perhaps TBTB do not want free thinkers.

They would rather higher 4 project managers to oversee 20 offshore 'stem' workers than higher 5 onshore American born engineers.

One would think the tax theft and health care fraud would come into play. However, considering they need 4 project managers, I believe this is false.

There was a trend where people in human resources and recruiting despised American tech people because the tech people made more money than those bureaucrats. They have solved that problem with a vengeance.

 

[PRB]

There isn't a shortage of doctors in the developed world. There is a shortage of doctors in impoverished countries, but the groups (like Doctors Without Borders) that go there get paid like next to nothing.

there is still a shortage, that's why they still make 6 figures minimum, sure, we have a lot more than 3rd world countries, but we could use a bit more, hopefully enough to make them worth less.

Too many physicians are driven by money. Like 60% of the pre-med people I know will even admit the only thing keeping them going is knowing they'll make six figures once they graduate med school. It's really sad that this is their main source of motivation.

It's the hardest to study, so being motivated by profit can't attract every greedy person on the planet, because the barrier of entry is still fairly high. Imagine if they DIDN'T have the profit motive, who would still do it?

You're already seeing lawyers drop off due to this EXACT reason, it's a stereotype that they make good money, but most don't, and it's lots of hard work in both studying and practice, so if it's hard work and no good pay, AND no shortage, what happens? Less people are willing to become one.

In the US there is a shortage of general practitioners that accept medicare and medicaid simply because they don't make as much and the private practitioners would struggle to stay afloat.

they still make 6 figures regardless, as long as they work more than part time.

 

[Anti Federalist]

Race to the bottom....whee!