from the editor's desk : engineering employment

Not getting enough sleep? Blame it on your cross-disfunctional team

Lee_Teschler — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:32:00 GMT

Psychological strain from co-workers and bosses turn out to be a major reason for people not getting enough sleep.

http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6482

More PhD's head home after graduation in the US

Lee_Teschler — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:19:00 GMT

Readers of my editorials might recall my Feb. 21 column which quoted Vivek Wadhwa, Executive in Residence at Duke University, as warning that more and more PhD's head back to their own countries after getting their degree in the US. His warning is true, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

http://chronicle.com/news/article/4286/fewer-foreign-phd-recipients-in-science-stay-in-us-after-graduation-study-finds?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

The problem is that foreign PhD's are also some of the of the most innovative, at least according to Wadhwa. So their skills and abilties migrate elsewhere to countries that, in turn, compete with the US.

Interesting statistics about CAD companies using HiB visa holders

Lee_Teschler — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:10:00 GMT

This interesting tid bit comes courtesy of Ralph Grabowski's upFront.eZine newsletter. You can have a new hobby by checking out how many H1B visas are hosted by companies that interest you.

---------------

Clemson University records the number of H1B visa-holders in the USA. H1B allows US companies to employ foreign workers for 3 or 6 years in occupations that require a minimum of a bachelor's degree. (Canadians can work in the USA under similar conditions through the TC1 visa program.)

For the CAD companies I checked, the number of H1B employees in 2007 were:

Company No. Average salary

------------ ---- ------------------------

Autodesk 75 $76,690

Bentley 31 $68,189

IronCAD 2 $66,500

Nemetschek NA 2 $74,646

PTC 106 $77,411

SolidWorks 14 $81,956

UGS Corp 74 $77,851

Link: http://career.clemson.edu/graduate_students/H1B/2007/

sobering manufacturing statistics for the upcoming primary election

Lee_Teschler — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Here are some numbers to ponder. Organizations like the AAM are sometimes given to a bit of hyperbole, but even if their figures are half right, the trend doesn't paint a pretty picture. Here's a question: Would we be worse off or better off if those jobs had not migrated outside the U.S.?

Washington, DC. January 28, 2008. A new analysis by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) on the 24 states holding caucuses or primaries on February 5th found that:

-The 24 states have lost approximately 1,568,600 manufacturing jobs in the past seven years. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

-These 24 states have lost a total of 914,400 jobs across all sectors between 2001 and 2006 as a direct result of the U.S. trade deficit with China. (Source: Economic Policy Institute)

-Manufacturing is the top contributor to the economies of 15 of these states.

“Jobs and the economy will be the top issues that drive voters to the polls on Super Tuesday,” said AAM Director Scott Paul. “The Super Tuesday states have lost more than 1.5 million manufacturing jobs--good-paying jobs that can’t really be replaced by lower-paying service sector jobs. The presidential candidates would be wise to directly address these issues and let the voters know what they will do to strengthen American manufacturing, challenge China’s unfair trade practices, and reform our broken trade policy.”

Manufacturing and Trade with China: Super Important for Super Tuesday

* Indicates that manufacturing ranks as the largest contributor to the state’s economy

	Manufacturing Jobs Lost from 2000-2007	Manufacturing as Dollar Value of State's GSP (in billions)	Jobs Lost from 2001-2006 (all sectors) as a Result of the Trade Deficit with China
Alabama*	51,200	27.0	27,900
Alaska	1,000	0.9	2,100
Arizona*	23,900	19.6	31,800
Arkansas*	47,200	16.9	16,100
California*	376,300	157.1	269,300
Colorado	41,700	14.0	30,700
Connecticut	42,800	22.0	19,000
Delaware	8,800	4.2	3,400
Georgia*	98,700	46.1	60,400
Idaho*	4,100	6.3	8,500
Illinois*	194,200	74.8	79,900
Kansas*	16,300	15.5	10,600
Massachusetts	106,200	32.8	59,300
Minnesota*	55,200	32.0	38,500
Missouri*	48,600	12.6	14,300
Montana	2,200	1.5	2,500
New Jersey*	103,100	41.0	49,500
New Mexico	4,000	6.5	6,100
New York	197,000	61.0	105,900
North Dakota*	1,900	2.2	1,900
Oklahoma	27,700	11.8	16,200
Tennessee*	99,400	40.9	38,000
Utah*	900	9.8	14,100
West Virginia*	16,200	5.5	8,400
TOTAL	1,568,600	662.0	914,400