Re: Chinese engineers

From: J. Forster (jfor@quik.com)
Date: Thu Dec 15 2005 - 15:27:17 PST


Hutterer, John (MPAU) wrote:

> FWIW,
>
> The latest issue of Design News (www.designnews.com), an Engineering
> magazine published in the US, devotes several pages to an article
> comparing the number of people going into the Engineering trades
> (Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, etc.) in the US and China. It is
> estimated that the US will graduate about 75,000 Engineers this year,
> although the number is declining year by year. There doesn't seem to be
> the prestige in becoming an Engineer that there used to be. 75,000
> Engineers sounds like a lot. The US should be able to maintain our lead
> in the technology fields...right? Well, China plans to graduate a total
> of 1,000,000 (that's ONE MILLION!) Engineers this year, and the numbers
> are increasing. Oh, and these are not "Cracker Jack box degrees" either.
> They are very talented Engineers. [snip]

There are engineers and engineers. Some engineers are competent to do routine design jobs, such as reviewing structures, detailing prints, designing electronic packages, etc. A very few engineers are the really creative people who have new ideas. Those are the real treasures. I can but wonder how many of the Chinese are truly creative, and how many are merely competent to do technical work. Both are necessary, but but a million engineers is no guarantee of a million Bill Gateses.

Remember, years ago China put a huge emphasis on steel output, building thousands of tiny furnaces. The result was the crappy tools and other things they are known for. Much of the recent high quality electronics they produce is a result of our technology.

> Every member of the ruling Central Committee of the PRC (the 12
> most powerful men in the nation) are Engineers. [snip]

It's too bad that our political system has so few engineers and is dominated by lawyers and 'professional' politicians. Have you ever thought about what a 'professional' politician really is? They perform for those who pay them, just as a sex worker does.

-John



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