I just came from the MIT European Career Fair. I thought I'd check it out on my way out of town to New Haven (to hit the doors for Obama and then watch the Super Bowl with my bro.)
Quite a scene. Incidentally, no one wanted to hire me, just to get that out of the way. Everyone was looking for engineers. There were like 150 to 200 companies, universities, and governments (yes, governments) recruiting the best engineers that America has to offer. Every company had a big poster that said something like "Changing the world one incredibly complex and revolutionary molecule at a time." The EU and Germany had a particularly noticable presence - state funded science and technology looking for super-nerds.
Now, I've never been to the Wittenburg American Career Fair - I actually don't think I've been to the MIT American Career Fair - but I wonder if it was always like that. I wonder if the US DOE spends as much as its counterpart German ministry to get the best people into public R&D.
Also, since we're talking about engineering and MIT, I just finished a book that has some fantastic insight into what it's like to be an engineer, studying at MIT. The Idea Factory. Check it out. Especially if you are at MIT right now. Like me.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
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3 comments:
It probably doesn't matter if the DOE spends the money; immigration wouldn't let them in the country. I'm told the available H1 visas for 2008 were all gone the first day they were offered. Numerous companies are off-shoring R&D because the U.S. production of scientific talent is not sufficient for needs. Another impact is the student visa arena, where among my business school class (55% international) most foreign students anecdotally report a surge in popularity for European programs, with access being a major driver.
The land of opportunity indeed...
The U.K. has recently done something quite clever on this score: émigrés to the UK are automatically given British citizenship and passport upon their completion of an engineering degree program and subsequent licensing.
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