Wednesday, November 30, 2005

But who will actually do it?

I read an article in the November 14 Economist called "Israel: Punching Above Its Weight," which discussed the fact that Israeli high tech businesses are successful in the world far out of proportion to Israel's size. Part of this is attributed to a high percentage of engineers in the work force. Out of 10,000 employees, Israel has 135 engineers, compared to 70 for the US, 65 for Japan, and 28 for Britain.

I also found this article on a national panel which in October called for "an urgent and wide-ranging effort to strengthen scientific competitiveness" in the US. Some interesting numbers from that article:
  • American 12th graders performed below the international average for 21 countries on general knowledge in math and science
  • Engineers graduated in 2004: China 600,000 - India 350,000 - USA 70,000
  • Cost of employing one chemist or engineer in the US is equal to five chemists in China or 11 engineers in India
We need more, and more inspiring, science and math teachers in the US. We need ways to help students get excited about science and math and to want to do these things as careers. Space is important, as are energy, environment, biotechnology, and many other technical fields. I'm not saying the sky is falling, but I am concerned not only for space development but for other things that require science and math - who will actually do this stuff? I am all for international efforts, and if the next human to walk on the Moon is Chinese, that in itself is OK with me (although there may be wider implications to this, I know). But the US has always been a leader, and I like to think a force for good (at least sometimes), and I wonder if we can continue to be if these trends continue.

3 comments:

Anthony Kendall said...

Bruce,
I worry a lot about American's science and math education for those reasons you pointed out as well. My father is working on developing an engineering office in China for his mid-sized U.S.-based auto parts supplier probably as I write this.

But, I remember vaguely paying attention to something I was reading a while back that mentioned that science and engineering are big pursuits in China because the liberal arts as we define them are basically non-existent. Science and engineering are seen as paths to economic success by the Chinese and Indians, but the things that cannot be learned in equations are not receiving the same attention. Our arts, communications, business schools, and so on are jewels of the world.

So, we have what might at first seem to be a rather useless competitive advantage. If they can design and build it, we can market the hell out of it! But, it's more than that. The creativity that leads to truly innovative product development, or socially important technological-human interfaces such as the internet, are sorely lacking in a nation filled with technophiles. What I'm saying is, while we cannot currently compete in science and engineering numbers (though I certainly think we ought to try, at least in proportion to our populations), we graduate students who are better prepared to face the unknowns that the future will bring, adapt, and then develop the next truly remarkable invention.

We can outsource our mundane coding, specification-matching engineering, and drafting, but I'm not sure that the spirit instilled in our graduated engineers and scientists can be easily matched by their lower-paid Chinese counterparts. Just a thought I've had recently for a bit of optimism, at least in the mid-long term.

Brian Dunbar said...

I read an article in the November 14 Economist called "Israel: Punching Above Its Weight," which discussed the fact that Israeli high tech businesses are successful in the world far out of proportion to Israel's size.

I have no evidence to back this up - but it feels like a number of driven successful people are veterns, possibly out of proportion to their actual numbers.

Everyone is Israel is drafted, but their army is not a sterotypical draftee army (think the late unlamented Red Army) but a modern professional Western army that happens to use the draft to organize manpower for the junior ranks.

If (I stress the 'if') there is something about the modern western military that provides direction and gives shape to someone's life ... then Isreel has that in spades.

My own experience is of course colored by eight years in the Marines. I wasn't at all mature when I enlisted; I 'grew up' in a very literal sense in boot camp and learned how to be an adult during my first enlistment.

We can outsource our mundane coding, specification-matching engineering, and drafting, but I'm not sure that the spirit instilled in our graduated engineers and scientists can be easily matched by their lower-paid Chinese counterparts. Just a thought I've had recently for a bit of optimism, at least in the mid-long term.

There is a cultural component at work, certainly. I am biased (hey I live here) but I think the culture that is the inheritor of the Magna Carta and the US Constitution is in better shape for the 21st century than others.

FlyingSinger said...

Thanks for the comments. I'm certainly not down on America's strengths - they are still real, and for all the criticism foreign and domestic, people still flock here (though I think more Asian PhD's return to their home countries now than was once the case - e.g., learn molecular biology here, but go home and apply it in South Korea). We still have that certain something in business, arts, creativity, communications -- but you can also get what you need here and do the rest elsewhere.

You are right on Israel and the military, Brian -- in fact it is explicit. All are drafted, and all are screened for technical talent and those who have it are strongly steered toward technical careers. That plus the "must do" spirit (we must solve this problem and can't count on anyone outside to help) are very important. Plus the fact that there is virtually no domestic market - any big project is aimed international from day one. So Israel is very much a special case for many reasons, not just the high proportion of engineers.

-Bruce