On 12/28/06, John Colonias wrote: > > I think you are looking only at one side of the problem. The most serious > one, is the fact that the US enrollment of students in the STEM (Science, > Technology, > Engineering, Mathematics) fields has decreased SUBSTANTIALLY in the past few > years because (IMHO) outsourcing has created a vacuum and students are > not interested anymore to pursue STEM studies. Graduate schools are worst. > Of course this is simplified picture of the problem however it is true. > I believe the market will adjust itself. When the payback is good, the students will start to study Engineering again. At the same time, there are so many talent Chinese/Inidan students who will stay in US after studying in Graduate schools to work in Engineering. I think the US university system especially the graduate education is the best in the world. Even though I quit my study in US because of some unlucky situations, I still believe the graduate programs are the best there. Moreover, I find out many best graduate students are still native US citizens. They may not have the strong theory background but they have the passion and the creativity that Chinese/Indian students often lack. Take note I am originally from China. And the university education in EU countries are very good as well. Often they have the solid theory background as well as practical stills. Actually I was very impressed with the high quality of the university education based on my experiences with quite some Germany and Italian students The point I want to make is that the situation is really not that bad in US/EU. The outsourcing may affect some people but the great picture is not that bad. Just did a fast query from the World Bank. Even with the exchange rate adjustment, China/India are both still quite poor... COUNTRY_NAME IND1_DESC 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 1) China GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) 930 1000 1100 1270 1500 1740 2) India GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) 450 460 470 530 630 720 3) Singapore GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) 23030 21260 20820 21890 24740 27490 4) United States GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) 34400 34800 35230 37780 41440 43740 Regards, Xiaofan -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist