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I think you misunderstood what I said about degrees. I wasn't comparing degrees from different countries, I was only comparing degrees acquired in the U.S. by

I think you misunderstood what I said about degrees. I wasn't comparing degrees from different countries, I was only comparing degrees acquired in the U.S. by U.S. citizens. Your original point was that there shouldn't be a shortage of talent in the U.S.: that companies should be able to find enough U.S. workers for things like engineering jobs. And I'm saying that there may not actually be enough local talent; it depends on how many U.S. citizens choose the "hard" degree programs that companies want. There's lots of money to be made by U.S. citizens in certain sectors such as finance. It's conceivable that some U.S. students would opt for an "easier" degree if that still leads to a high-paying job; they may see no point in the extra work of a "hard" program like science or engineering. Clearly not all U.S. citizens do that, and those that do choose engineering are just as employable, or more so, than immigrant engineers; I never said they weren't.

devs1010 15y ago
My point is that the number of people with engineering degrees in the U.S. is not equivalent to the number of qualified, experienced software developers. As many people work in software development who do not hold a computer science-specific degree, a shortage of people obtaining these degrees should not be used to justify importing foreign workers. That is basically the point I am trying to make but its a complex issue and hard to fit into a few comments. Unless a field has a licensing / credentialed program to qualify for employment (from my understanding this is the case in the "hard" engineering fields) then its my opinion that companies should not be allowed to essentially freeze out Americans who do not hold degrees (but have relevant experience) while, at the same time, importing foreign workers who have foreign degrees. If they don't want to hire people without degrees, that is their own decision to make, but they shouldn't get a "bail out" at the same time by using the "degree argument" to justify importing cheaper labor.

devs1010 15y ago

My point is that the number of people with engineering degrees in the U.S. is not equivalent to the number of qualified, experienced software developers. As many people work in software development who do not hold a computer science-specific degree, a shortage of people obtaining these degrees should not be used to justify importing foreign workers. That is basically the point I am trying to make but its a complex issue and hard to fit into a few comments. Unless a field has a licensing / credentialed program to qualify for employment (from my understanding this is the case in the "hard" engineering fields) then its my opinion that companies should not be allowed to essentially freeze out Americans who do not hold degrees (but have relevant experience) while, at the same time, importing foreign workers who have foreign degrees. If they don't want to hire people without degrees, that is their own decision to make, but they shouldn't get a "bail out" at the same time by using the "degree argument" to justify importing cheaper labor.