Are Science & Engineering dirty words in education today?

[cguil_uk]

When I was a scout leader I found it very interesting that, without exception, nearly all the boys expressed an interest in pursuing a career in anything other that science or engineering because it was 'too hard'.

I also note with great interest that, in the National Teachers Award just televised, not one of the winners seemed to have any thing to do with engineering or science.

Are Science & Engineering dirty words in education today?​

Comments welcome

 

[floppybootstomp]

Well one of my daughters is studying Biology at Uni with a view to becoming a paramedic. Does Biology count as a Science? I would think so myself.

It is a trend, apparently, and some colleges have dropped Chemistry, for instance, as nobody wanted to take it.

I expect everybody wants to be in IT. There again, seems you need a Degree just to work in MacDonalds now...

A degree doesn't seem to carry so much weight as it once did, from what I can work out.

Mind you, those young guys with a little suss will see there will be a shortfall in the labour market in certain trades in the near future and those qualified to work in the scientific and engineering trades may very well be almost able to name their own money, much like software code writers can now.

 

[cguil_uk]

It is a trend, apparently, and some colleges have dropped Chemistry, for instance, as nobody wanted to take it.

That is something I noticed at Farnborough College of Technology in Hampshire. Farnborough is the home of British Aviation and has, until recently, been a centre for engineers and scientists. Now, with the privatisation and whittling down of the RAE (Royal Aircraft Establishment), the college has had to cancel many of its engineering courses because they cannot get the pupils. What pupils there are, are often foreign students.

One of the lecturers told me that our aircraft industry is going to end up being serviced by foreign engineers.

 

[Me__2001]

i'm doing Automotive Engineering at Uni and a lot of the students are from india or china, i'm guessing atleast half are foreign

engineering is quite popular here, infact we are the largest department and they are planing to offer another course in the next couple of years so it will be even larger so i cant see it dying out anytime soon

what flopps has said is certainly true in there being quite high demand for engineers with a couple of years experience, there arent many oppurtunities over here at the moment but there are some pretty amazing ones in other countries if you know where to look and i can see there being more and more in the future as a lot of the current engineers are probably in their 50's or so and will be thinknig of retirement

 

[Ian]

One of the lecturers told me that our aircraft industry is going to end up being serviced by foreign engineers.

That's part of the reason I think that people who do engineering at Uni move out of the sector. I did Aerospace Engineering, so this is right up my street

Most of my friends now work for BAE, Smiths, Airbus and the likes. The starting wages are quite good compared to other sectors, but the wage potential for most people is nowhere near that of other jobs that could be attained with the same degree. Plus, job security is a bit of a worry for many people as work comes in waves (loads of staff have been taken on at BAE for JSF, and something will have to happen once it's over).

I do think you are right that people avoid taking engineering as it is "hard" subject, but if the wages are better for easier ones I can't fault their logic (as much as I would like to) . Wages are good for people at QinetiQ and DSTL, which require often require some specialist knowledge (PhD's) or entering via the Grad scheme. However people that I know at BAE are approaching almost half the salary of others I know working in other sectors (finance admittedly!).

Unless students in education have a real drive for science and education, I'm not sure they would take it up by weighing up the potential benefits. However, something I have noticed more recently is more women taking engineering courses at uni

 

[cguil_uk]

I also note with great interest that, in the National Teachers Award just televised, not one of the winners seemed to have any thing to do with engineering or science.

Just heard from a primary school teacher friend of mine -
"I suspect that it is not well taught at Secondary School. Good graduates can get much better pay in private industry, so why would they want the hassle of teaching?! Hence no winners at Teaching Awards and if the teaching is not great then kids get bored and switch off - so fewer people get to do it at a higher level. I'm guessing of course, but I suspect there is a link."

 

[PotGuy]

I am doing my A Levels this year, and there is comparatively nobody doing the sciences.

Because the teaching sucks, the department is underfunded and there are new, pathetic courses people go and do instead of proper ones like sciences. They all do hairdressing.

I suspect this is also to do with the slow decline of our manufacturing industry. I don't know what we have in this country on the R+D front, but it seems to me the governement has taken to pulling down factories and putting a million houses there instead.

And those people that worked there then go unemployed, and anyone else who wanted to go to manufacturing has nowhere to go.