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Build the Future on a Foundation of Math, Science

Build the Future on a Foundation of Math, Science

OPINION

by William Ray

As our kids head back to school, teachers, parents and business leaders need to remind our young people that math and science education is as vital to their future as it is to ours.

An amazing paradox has grown up in recent years between the kind of society we live in and the skills that are essential to its success.

Young people in particular have become rabid consumers of all things technological ,from Internet chat rooms, to cell phones, CDs and DVDs , yet they are increasingly out of step with the math and science skills that produce these wonders.

A look at some numbers illustrates this technical skills gap. The U.S. Department of Commerce forecasts a need for 1.3 million more computer scientists, engineers, and programmers by 2006. That’s more than 300,000 new, highly skilled workers each year. Meanwhile, more tech workers are retiring. Approximately 11 percent of the Treasury Department’s 9,500 IT workers are eligible for retirement right now. In six years, the number will jump to 33 percent.

While thousands of essential technology jobs remain vacant, our nation’s technology needs continue to grow , for everything from ensuring adequate food and water supplies to new medical treatments, environmental protection and national security. We are on the threshold of unprecedented advances in our understanding and application of technology itself, which will create career opportunities for science and math students that we cannot even imagine today.

Looking To The Future

Where will the technical specialists come from to power this future? And why, in these economically uncertain times, aren’t more students pursuing studies that will lead them into these career opportunities?

A major part of the answer lies in the fact that too many of our young people are not encouraged in the middle grades to take advanced math and science courses. Consequently, they are ill equipped to take college courses leading to careers in science, math and engineering.

This de-emphasis of math and science falls especially hard upon women and minorities. As a result, while women make up 50 percent of the work force and 30 percent of doctors and lawyers, fewer than 10 percent of engineers are women. And the number of women earning bachelor’s degrees in the highly marketable computer-science field has dropped from 37 to 28 percent over the past eight years.

Similarly, African-American enrollments in engineering are down by 10 percent over the last 10 years, and only 5 percent of the nation’s engineers are black. Taken together, the black, Hispanic, and Native American communities constitute only about 6 percent of the 2 million scientists and engineers in the United States. These numbers, and the diversity and career issues they represent, should deeply concern all of us.

Hopeful Signs

However, there are some hopeful signs on the horizon. One is the “Tech Talent Act” passed recently by the House of Representatives that authorizes $390 million over the next five years for science, math, engineering and technology programs.

This crucial bill would strengthen programs at the National Science Foundation to expand the number of U.S. students majoring in these disciplines. This legislation should be swiftly enacted.

We can all do a number of things to improve this picture. We must support national advocacy, research and policy organizations working to redress the under-representation of women and minorities in technical careers. These groups need both funding and volunteers. And companies must focus on attracting and retaining women and minorities in IT positions.

But most of all, parents, teachers, business leaders , all of us , must encourage and influence our children to find rich and rewarding careers in math and the sciences. Tell them and teach them about the exciting opportunities that await them. Our nation’s future depends on this effort, an effort that we all must take personally.

Ray is an IBM San Diego senior location executive.

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