Our standard of living and living expenses continue to climb while more and more people around the world are willing to work for a lot less because they can live on a lot less. I’m sure our share of graduates in these fields wouldn’t be slipping if they had better opportunities of actually obtaining a job after college.

What I mean is, doing nothing is still doing something. It's better to have a degree (any degree) than not have a degree. But (IMO), having a degree in math, science or engineering certainly won't put you at a disadvantage.

Some firms are actually importing people to work in the sciences. That tells me that (in some fields) the demand is outstripping the supply of American kids capable of filling the positions. Shame on them.

__________________
"Tweeter was a Boyscout before she went to Vietnam and found out the hard way... nobody gives a d@mn."

[quote="LoSconosciuto";p="144355"]
I have a BS in Chemistry and Minor degree in Physics. Initially i thought this whole outsourcing thing will only affect Computer field. Now i am starting to worry; i have about 50K loans from college and i really feel very insecure about my current job. The only opening i see now adays are in defense industry and forensics. I am very worried about this situation.

I am also keeping the option of moving to asia open should something happen; what else can i do? i need to make a honest living ...right?

I think the outsourcing flu could affect many of us (myself included). After college, I worked in a field that mated up perfectly with my degree (Economics). Now I work in a field where I'd be much better off if I had a degree in Engineering instead - but I prefer this to what I used to do.

The best advice I could give would be to take some management classes (as time allows). Tack an MBA on to what you already have and you will be a lethal weapon. If you (generally) know the process in question, plus you have the ability to manage others (who are the true process experts)... the world will be a much easier place. At the very least, it opens up a world of options for you. Even when we outsource, we always send over a management team to oversee the show... at least initially.

Put your name in with an executive or career search firm. Just to see what comes up. You might be pleasantly surprised. But good luck. You've played your cards well already.

__________________
"Tweeter was a Boyscout before she went to Vietnam and found out the hard way... nobody gives a d@mn."

Hey

well, i have a wide background of academics. already have chemistry and Physics (minor) but i want to go into mechanical engineering eventually. after graduation, i have worked at a pharmaceutical firm and now i am thinking into going into engineering. it is a tough road but a road i find very interesting. Physics is my stronger subject so thats why i am making this decision to switch tracks into Engineering. I will also keep the idea of an MBA in mind but frankly i think engineering is what is best for me mainly b/c i do an excellent job in thinking outside of the box and being creative/constructive in terms of designing and creating ways to make human lives easier.

I hope that a typical employer will take my experiences in Chemistry into consideratoin when they hire me for anything.

Your advice is well said. now adays, the more diverse kinds of jobs One person can do; the more attractive he or she is.

So what are you doing now for a living? what kind of engineering did you pursue in college?

I'm a project manager for a conglomerate. The nice thing about it is the relative freedom and variety of activities I get to be involved with. Never the same thing from month to month, nor the same place from month to month (though I do get called into areas where I have deeper process knowledge). Some of the projects are transactional (insourcing/outsourcing of products and facility moves). Other projects are manufacturing related: how to build a better, faster, cheaper, less defective mousetrap? And once an improvement has been established, what's necessary to make it a longterm improvement and not just a flash in the pan. The only thing I don't like is having to deal with people who will tell you that they KNOW something to be true or the root cause of a problem, even though the data says otherwise. That's one reason I enjoy this board. So many people (myself included - though I try not to) will express an opinion as fact, or select an exception and try to present it as the rule. I did take a few sociology classes and that helps (hmm, people!).

That's sort of my problem... I took no engineering classes while in college. Since then, I've taken a number of CAD/CAM, dimensional tolerancing and blueprint classes... but most still see me as the "banker dude" (though I've heard there are a few other names for me too ). But I've always had a great interest in how things worked and were designed and built. My goal (hope) is to retire in about five years. At that point I think I'd like to go back to college and if not get a degree, at least take a number of mechanical engineering classes - purely for my own satisfaction. What I've learned about money and markets will help me to retire early, but I wish I'd taken at least a few engineering courses too. Computational Fluid Dynamics is one area that I would love to fully understand.

Your knowledge of physics would certainly help you in many areas of mechanical engineering, wouldn't it?

__________________
"Tweeter was a Boyscout before she went to Vietnam and found out the hard way... nobody gives a d@mn."

i have heard the cost of an engineering degree is inctredibly afordable outside of America. I have not researched the disparity. I would think this would be a cause if US tuition is high compared to other universities.

__________________
At least we have each other to talk to.