Settlers - San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center

UI#mpkysd Mexican ca~penta, paintem, rd eleckidan try to pick up some work on the streetts of Mexico City
Upl photo
nature, employ one engineer for every 3.6 production
workers in the U.S. And there is today a relative shortage
of engineers in key specialites. (24)
The U.S. Empire's answer has been to drain
engineers from the rest of the world, in particular the
Third World (India, Taiwan, Mexico, Palestine, etc.). A
recent study funded by the Mellon Foundation reported
that ". . .many graduate engineering programs, even at
some of the most prestigious institutions draw 70 percent
or more of their students from abroad. 'Several engineering
deans,' the report says, 'suggest that without foreign
students they would have had to close down their graduate
program in the short run and their whole operation
ultimately.' Since graddate students are essential labor in
university laboratories, much research vitul to the national
interest would 'grind to a hull, ' without foreign students,
the report warns. " (25)
It turns out that many of the engineering school
faculty as well - at some universities close to a majority -
are from the Third World. In 1982, for thefirst time, a majority
of the U.S. doctorates awarded in engineering went
to foreign students. In testimony before a House of
Representatives immigration subcommittee, John Calhoun
of the Intel Corporation (advanced electronics) said: "We
in the industry have been forced to hire immigrants in
order to grow." He said that just considering graduates of
U.S. universities, 50% of the masters degree engineers and
66% of the Ph.D. engineers hired by Intel were foreign immigrants.
The U.S. Empire's absorption of Third World
scientists and engineers (the "brain drain") is so significant
that last year the U.N. General Assembly passed a
resolution urging a halt to "reverse transfer of
technology" out of the Third World. The U.S. and the
other NATO powers voted against it. Even when it comes
to high technology, it turns out that part of the U.S. Empire's
superiority comes from looting the Third World.
Just as interesting is the question of why aren't
there enough Euro-Amerikan engineers? Answer:
Engineering doesn't pay well enough for settlers. In 1981 a
survey found an average engineering income, according to
the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, of
$36,867. This isn't good enough for them. Engineering
requires years of study, taking difficult courses in college,
and then constant reeducation to keep up with new
advances. (27)
The overwhelming majority of U.S. engineers
leave the field, primarily for management and
entrepreneurial careers. A 1970 survey of 878 M.I.T.
engineering graduates found that 726 had left engineering.
For Euro-Amerikans, in other words, engineering is
primarily a good foundation to become a business
executive. While U.S. universities are producing 67,000
engineers per year, the American Electronics Association
says that through 1985 there will be an annual shortfall of
14, 20,000 engineers just in its sector.