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<p>Actually, I don’t take that to be an idiotic suggestion at all. While maybe the 30% figure is off-the market, and I don’t know what the correct figure would need to be, I think the notion that some engineering schools should be shut or enrollments reduced is a serious suggestion that deserves serious discussion. The truth of the matter is that probably would help the engineering labor market. </p>
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<p>It’s not a simple matter of job placement, but rather the salaries that are paid. For example, I remember back in high school that, during a normal economy, practically every kid who wanted a part-time job could find one…but that would pay minimum wage. It was far more difficult to find a job (as a teenager) that actually paid well. The basic problem was that if you didn’t like the minimum wage job, the employer would find another kid. </p>
<p>But even if you don’t believe in that analysis, the basic question remains: are engineers really being paid what they are worth? Put another way, why are engineers paid so much less than, say, consultants, bankers, and other professions? We’ve now reached a point where many of the very best engineering graduates that the US produces don’t really want to work as engineers. For example, many of the engineering graduates from schools such as MIT and Stanford eschew engineering in favor of consulting and banking, or head to law or medical school - a startling annual drain of prime human capital from the US engineering industry. </p>
<p>Or consider Ankur Luthra, arguably the best engineering graduate from Berkeley in recent history, having won the University Medal (equivalent to the valedictorian), Soros Fellowship, and the Rhodes Scholarship. But did he actually work as an engineer? No. After briefly working as a program manager at Microsoft, he became a venture capitalist and now in private wealth management. Why? </p>
<p>[05.05.2003</a> - Innovative engineering and business graduate Ankur Luthra named University Medalist](<a href=“http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/05/05_ankar.shtml]05.05.2003”>05.05.2003 - Innovative engineering and business graduate Ankur Luthra named University Medalist)</p>
<p>[Ankur</a> Luthra - LinkedIn](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/in/ankurluthra]Ankur”>http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/in/ankurluthra)</p>