The United States' need for scientists and engineers continues to grow rapidly, but the number of U.S. citizens training to meet that demand is in steady decline, according to a new National Science Board report, An Emerging and Critical Problem of the Science and Engineering Labor Force.
The NSB believes the situation is grave: this trend threatens U.S. economic welfare and security. If nothing is done to remedy the shortfall, "we could reach 2020 and find that the ability of U.S. research and education institutions to regenerate has been damaged and that their preeminence has been lost to other areas of the world," the NSB states.
The NSB's conclusions are based on the data in its 2004 Science and Engineering Indicators report. The report, published every two years, collects a host of science- and technology-related workforce, industry, and education data; An Emerging and Critical Problem of the Science and Engineering Labor Force is a companion report that summarizes and assesses key findings.
The data show that while the number of science and engineering master's degrees awarded by U.S. universities is growing, it's not growing nearly as fast as the number of science and engineering jobs--and the number of science and engineering doctoral degrees has declined by 6 percent from its 1998 high. Individual fields are also showing declines: since 1990, the number of bachelor's degrees awarded in engineering dropped by 8 percent; mathematics experienced a 20 plunge.
The overall numbers show a severe mismatch in supply and demand: in 2000, U.S. schools awarded 122,800 master's and doctoral degrees in science and engineering; meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting an increase of 2.2 million science and engineering jobs by 2010--a 47 percent growth rate.
"I believe it's a critical problem," says Telle Whitney, president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology and a MentorNet Advisory Board member. "This year, there are strong trends in terms of the workforce that are alarming: universities are reporting sharp declines in enrollment in engineering and computer-related sciences."
A key part of the solution to this problem is helping women identify science and engineering careers--and, just as important, helping them succeed and persist in these fields.
"Half the population is women," Whitney points out, "and with this kind of job growth over the next 10 or 15 years, it's crazy to leave them out of the equation."
Some trends are encouraging. More women than ever are entering sciences and engineering: the number of science and engineering master's degrees earned by women has tripled since 1975, and women earned 57 percent of bachelor's degrees and 44 percent of master's degrees in 2000 and 44 percent of doctoral degrees in 2001, according to the Indicators report.
However, the dropout rate for women in science and engineering is significantly higher than for men. And the report shows that too few Ph.D.'s--men or women--attain tenure-track academic positions, reducing the ability of colleges and universities to train more scientists and engineers. One reason is that many Ph.D.'s pursue more lucrative opportunities in business. And women--who are especially scarce in U.S. teaching ranks--face obstacles such as discomfort and lack of support in a male-dominated field.
That's why it's important to not only encourage women to enter sciences and engineering, but also foster their growth once they've made that decision.
Mentoring and similar programs can help by giving women role models, hands-on support, and tools and strategies for working in what can be a demanding and male-dominated environment--in school as well as business.
"Groups like MentorNet can impact women when they're at critical decision points, and show them what can be done differently," says Whitney. "Industry is recognizing what a serious problem they have and are increasing their support for our programs. They want to make a difference."