Is a Psychology degree really considered useless?

[JakeBrodskyPE]

There was a study done showing that while licensure did not increase quality of work it did keep pay elevated.

I have known people with engineering degrees and even PE certificates who I wouldn't trust to engineer an outhouse. Conversely, I know people with nothing other than a high school education who were self-educated and responsible enough to hold a PE certificate. This is an artificial method of limiting the supply of Engineers. So what happens instead? Jobs get shipped to other countries because the engineering costs are too expensive.

Like it or not, we're living a global market. In the long run, if we make certification inaccessible to most, we'll price ourselves right out of a job. And then those with PE certificates can ponder whether it is worth taking the risk of stamping the work of other engineers. Engineers in other places who have don't know the customer, don't know the application, and for which there is very little recourse to a bad design except possibly the opportunity to do it over again.

In the long run, it doesn't help.

 

[Boolean Boogey]

I've always been of the opinion that they should not be able to outsource any engineering jobs that are directly related to the safety of consumers. Of course, I also believe we should invest in our infrastructure but that doesn't seem to be happening either.

 

[StatGuy2000]

I keep hearing posts here and elsewhere about jobs being outsourced out of the US (and Canada) and into other countries, but can anyone actually point to real data to indicate to what extent this is actually true over the past decade?

I'm aware that many people will take the example of call centres in India; however, in that particular instance, those jobs were either those that never existed to begin with in the US or Canada, or in many cases were replacing workers that were essentially being "imported" into the US during the height of the dot-com boom. I recall back in the late 90s that there was such a severe shortage of people with backgrounds in computer science and in certain engineering fields that many positions were being filled in by H1B visas from India, particularly those who graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

 

[Silicon Waffle]

I keep hearing posts here and elsewhere about jobs being outsourced out of the US (and Canada) and into other countries, but can anyone actually point to real data to indicate to what extent this is actually true over the past decade?
...

Over the past decade ? This link had some ideas. TPP may be related.

...Will a psychology degree get me somewhere? Did I make a drastic mistake ladies and gents? :( :)

Yes it will, at least you can check and possibly control your own mental activities or scare kids away with it.

 

[Boolean Boogey]

I recall back in the late 90s that there was such a severe shortage of people with backgrounds in computer science and in certain engineering fields that many positions were being filled in by H1B visas from India, particularly those who graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

I'll reply to this later, there is strong evidence that the shortage of engineers myth was manufactured. I'll post the evidence tonight.

 

[StatGuy2000]

I keep hearing posts here and elsewhere about jobs being outsourced out of the US (and Canada) and into other countries, but can anyone actually point to real data to indicate to what extent this is actually true over the past decade?

I'm aware that many people will take the example of call centres in India; however, in that particular instance, those jobs were either those that never existed to begin with in the US or Canada, or in many cases were replacing workers that were essentially being "imported" into the US during the height of the dot-com boom. I recall back in the late 90s that there was such a severe shortage of people with backgrounds in computer science and in certain engineering fields that many positions were being filled in by H1B visas from India, particularly those who graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

An interesting link. The link presented doesn't really break down the types of jobs that were offshored/outsourced (e.g. the extent to which STEM type jobs were among those being offshored/outsourced), nor does it indicate if the brunt of the offshoring were in industries that were already in relative decline within the US. Certainly among the main reasons for outsourcing/offshoring is due to the savings from labour costs, but as the link indicated, labour costs around the world are increasing (due to the overall change in economic conditions around the world). This would perhaps indicate that, although a return to manufacturing jobs in the US has not taken place to a great extent (the article suggest possible reasons like the US tax code), the economic rationale for offshoring/outsourcing may have reached its limit.