Political leaders, tech executives, and academics often claim that the U.S. is falling behind in math and science education. They cite poor test results, declining international rankings, and decreasing enrollment in the hard sciences. They urge us to improve our education system and to graduate more engineers and scientists to keep pace with countries such as India and China.

Yet a new report by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, tells a different story. The report disproves many confident pronouncements about the alleged weaknesses and failures of the U.S. education system. This data will certainly be examined by both sides in the debate over highly skilled workers and immigration. The argument by Microsoft, Google, Intel, and others is that there are not enough tech workers in the U.S.

The authors of the report, the Urban Institute’s Hal Salzman and Georgetown University professor Lindsay Lowell, show that math, science, and reading test scores at the primary and secondary level have increased over the past two decades, and U.S. students are now close to the top of international rankings. Perhaps just as surprising, the report finds that our education system actually produces more science and engineering graduates than the market demands.

These findings go against what has been the dominant position about our education system and our science and engineering workforce. Consider reports on national competitiveness that policymakers often turn to, such reports as the 2005 “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” by the National Academy of Sciences. This report says the U.S. is in dire straits because of poor math and science preparation.

The report points to declining test scores, fewer students taking math and science courses, and low-quality curriculums and teacher preparation in K-12 education compared to other countries.

The call has been taken up by some of the most prominent people in business and politics. Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, said at an education summit in 2005, “In the international competition to have the biggest and best supply of knowledge workers, America is falling behind.” President George W. Bush addressed the issue in his 2006 State of the Union address. “We need to encourage children to take more math and science, and to make sure those courses are rigorous enough to compete with other nations,” he said.

Salzman and Lowell found the reverse was true. Their report shows U.S. student performance has steadily improved over time in math, science, and reading. It also found enrollment in math and science courses is actually up. For example, in 1982 high school graduates earned 2.6 math credits and 2.2 science credits on average.

By 1998, the average number of credits increased to 3.5 math and 3.2 science credits. The percent of students taking chemistry increased from 45% in 1990 to 55% in 1996 and 60% in 2004. Scores in national tests such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the SAT, and the ACT have also shown increases in math scores over the past two decades.

And the new report again went against the grain when it compared the U.S. to other countries. It found that over the past decade the U.S. has ranked a consistent second place in science. It also was far ahead of other nations in reading and literacy and other academic areas. In fact, the report found that the U.S. is one of only a few nations that has consistently shown improvement over time.

Why the sharp discrepancy? Salzman says that reports citing low U.S. international rankings often misinterpret the data. Review of the international rankings, which he says are all based on one of two tests, the Trends in International Mathematics & Science Study (TIMMS) or the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), show the U.S. is in a second-ranked group, not trailing the leading economies of the world as is commonly reported.

In fact, the few countries that place higher than the U.S. are generally small nations, and few of these rank consistently high across all grades, subjects, and years tested. Moreover, he says, serious methodological flaws, such as different test populations, and other limitations preclude drawing any meaningful comparison of school systems between countries.

As far as our workforce is concerned, the new report showed that from 1985 to 2000 about 435,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents a year graduated with bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in science and engineering. Over the same period, there were about 150,000 jobs added annually to the science and engineering workforce.

These numbers don’t include those retiring or leaving a profession but do indicate the size of the available talent pool. It seems that nearly two-thirds of bachelor’s graduates and about a third of master’s graduates take jobs in fields other than science and engineering.

Michael Teitelbaum, vice-president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which, among other things, works to improve science education, says this research highlights the troubling weaknesses in many conventional policy prescriptions.

Proposals to increase the supply of scientists and engineers rapidly, without any objective evidence of comparably rapid growth in attractive career opportunities for such professionals, might actually be doing harm.

In previous columns, I have written about research my team at Duke University completed that shattered common myths about India and China graduating 12 times as many engineers as the U.S. We found that the U.S. graduated comparable numbers and was far ahead in quality. Our research also showed there were no engineer shortages in the U.S., and companies weren’t going offshore because of any deficiencies in U.S. workers.

So, there isn’t a lack of interest in science and engineering in the U.S., or a deficiency in the supply of engineers. However, there may sometimes be short-term shortages of engineers with specific technical skills in certain industry segments or in various parts of the country.

The National Science Foundation data show that of the students who graduated from 1993 to 2001, 20% of the bachelor’s holders went on to complete master’s degrees in fields other than science and engineering and an additional 45% were working in other fields. Of those who completed master’s degrees, 7% continued their education and 31% were working in fields other than science and engineering.

There isn’t a problem with the capability of U.S. children. Even if there were a deficiency in math and science education, there are so many graduates today that there would be enough who are above average and fully qualified for the relatively small number of science and engineering jobs. Science and engineering graduates just don’t see enough opportunity in these professions to continue further study or to take employment.

With U.S. competitiveness at stake, we need to get our priorities straight. Education is really important, and a well-educated workforce is what will help the U.S. keep its global edge. But emphasizing math and science education over humanities and social sciences may not be the best prescription for the U.S. We need our children to receive a balanced and broad education.

Perhaps we should focus on creating demand for the many scientists and engineers we graduate. There are many problems, from global warming to the development of alternative fuels to cures for infectious diseases, that need to be solved. Rather than blaming our schools, let’s create exciting national programs that motivate our children to help solve these problems.



By: Alisha Dhamani

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Television programs like Cold Case Files and CSI have prompted an increase in the publics fascination with forensic science. What is not generally known, however, is that forensic science is a field that involves much more than is shown on television. Everyone knows that forensic scientists work in an area of law and are responsible for examining evidence to solve crimes. But they do more than work in labs, testing samples of DNA. Forensic scientists also visit crime scenes, study the crime locations, and are witnesses in court cases.

Sometimes, these scientists can make mistakes if they dont follow established procedures, which include keeping exact files on the evidence in a case. In some cases, these mistakes can have a negative impact on innocent lives. Several individuals have been sentenced to death on the basis of expert forensic evidence and testimony. Later on, it was discovered that these people were innocent, and the real criminals were apprehended. In these cases, science save an innocent life, and the courts could provide justice. Recently, over eleven individuals were released from a Chicago jail after new forensic evidence showed they were innocent. These people had already spent years in jail as a result of mistakes made in the legal system.

You can get a degree in forensic science online in just a few years. To earn a degree, you need to have a previous degree in biology, physics, chemistry, or physical science in order to register. Some online colleges require a minimum of a bachelors degree in one of these subjects before you can begin courses in forensic science. If you want to find a degree program in this field you should consult organizations such as the American Board of Criminalistic-ABC, American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors-ASCLD, National Forensic Science Tech Center-NSFTC, International Association of Forensic Science, and International Association for Identification-IAI and International Society for Forensic Genetics, and International Association for Identification-IAI and International Society for Forensic Genetics.

Degrees in forensic science may cover budget analysis, forensic accounting, working in a morgue or hospital, studying DNA, or working with computers. There are many areas in which you can work after getting a forensic science degree. Computer forensics involves investigations of evidence by tracking information via computer technology. It is a new field, but expertise in this area increases daily. Computer forensics involves extracting data from various media and presenting the evidence collected to the courts. This field uses extensive software programs and applications. The FBI, CIA, and other law enforcement agencies use forensic science with computers to resolve their cases.

An online forensics degree requires more work and specific background education than other online degrees, but if you want an exciting career with many opportunities and a chance to make a difference, do not let this keep you from pursuing on online degree in forensic science.



By: Kenneth Scott

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When an aspirant is in search for a change in career from Food Science,he prefer the outgoing kind of working style. This shows they are interested to gain more skills which would improve upon their existing skills on their new career. The Skills of Food science will provide a wider scope in food industry. More coaching may be required where qualifications are must but with knowledge in food science, courses and qualifications are not tough to obtain.

From a lower-end staff to a cook a change of career from food science to handling or preparing food may not act as a ladder of promotion, Instead it helps in interaction with clients and grasping other workers who work in more discriminated situation.It makes him more compatible with clients he meets daily.

Facing a change of career from Food to Computers would take time for developing. The former career is nourished with technical skills which can never be useless but the latter one needs to be updated with the change in latest technologies.A change of career from Food science can encourage the aspirant to face new fields in Research and Development in Food Science. With his existing skills the worker could cope to more serious challenges, improvising their knowledge from Food to other suitable fields, or they shall find a total change of environment.

A change of career from food science to a mechanical type of employment will need some time preparation. This is because the work carried out in Food science is not much mechanical.In some cases of Food Science involving strenuous physical activity and heavy lifting, an outgoing duty, in the construction firm, physical education or even horticulture would need good level of fitness compared to the needs of a Food Scientist. A change of career from Food would need an assessment in physical fitness. Assessment in health and potential is mandatory as it tests the real capability of the individual.

Change of career from a Food Science to any other health related science or nursing will need more training and practice.Guidance from experts related to the field is necessary to carry out certain social tasks The same applies when changing to fields involving administrative skills and specialized retail services.

Change of career from Food Science provides the worker a larger scope of options to make use of the skills gained through years of experience and training.



By: Abhishek Agarwal

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Most Life Science students go through their university lives believing that when they graduate they will have to get a science job (if that’s what they want) that won’t pay very much. In fact a lot of them think that they will have to work in the lab.

Both of these statements are not true. There are many science graduate jobs that will pay graduates, even with as little as six months experience, quite a lot of money but also, will be based in an office or on the field (and not in the lab). It’s sad to say that many gradates have no idea what these jobs are and no one who should be in the know is willing to tell them about it. So in many cases, it is not until a life science graduate starts working in the Pharmaceutical Industry before they find out about these amazing science jobs. But normally, at this point, they have already embarked on a career path which will NOT bring them the big salaries they want. So they either have to re-apply to positions where they have no experience (i.e. start from scratch) or just continue along the path that they have already started on.

The problems life science graduates face is that most of them have no idea what types of science jobs to apply for in industry and they have no idea what they should expect in terms of salary payments. Given this situation, many science graduates end up either doing another degree (like IT) straight after graduating in the hopes of improving their employability or they apply to completely unrelated fields (like Finance) so that they can get the types of salaries that they would like. It’s not difficult to see why these options are so attractive, especially since most students live in debt and graduate with even bigger debts. They have to pay these back as soon as they graduate, so a science job that pays between 15-20K is just not enough to take care of all their living expenses.

The thing that life science graduates need to understand is that the pharmaceutical industry is vast and has enough jobs/careers to cover every salary expectation imaginable. Yes, it is possible to be able to match some of these huge salaries that the IT and Finance graduates get paid by getting jobs within the pharmaceutical industry. As incredible as it sounds, getting paid about four thousand pounds per month after tax, doing a science job, is achievable with only six months experience. There are thousands of graduates in science jobs that pay this and more. The trick is to know exactly which jobs within the industry will allow a new graduate to reach these amounts in a short period of time.



By: Lucy Morgan

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In the year 2003, several work agencies noted the steady rise in the availability of not only medical jobs but also those related to heathcare.

Conversely, the number of people seeking medical and healthcare jobs is also on the rise. A prominent website reported a round figure of 3.5 million job seekers browsing for medical and healthcare jobs on the Internet alone.

However, due to the high competition in this field, a job seeker might discover that finding a medical and healthcare job can be quite challenging and tiresome.

Here are a few guidelines for the millions of seekers of medical and healthcare jobs, who are trying to rise above the others and enhance their possibility of grabbing a medical and healthcare job.

Pay Attention to Your Resume

Your resume plays an important role in your search for any job, not just a job related to the medical sciences.

It is important that you customise your resume according to the nature of the job you are applying for. Make sure that the skills you have mentioned in your resume match the requirements of your prospective employer.

Naturally, prospective employers will look for those details they advertised for, and if they don’t find what they expect in your resume, they will not give it a second look.

Get Some Experience

Experience is of utmost importance, especially in a medical and healthcare job; therefore, try and generate some amount of work experience although it means that you have to work for a low paycheck for some time.

Experience is the key to getting a medical job of your dreams. So, if you don’t have any experience, grab the first opportunity that comes your way. Actually, it is estimated that around 60 percent of prospective employers in the medical field focus only on the factor of experience, setting aside other qualifications.

Be Specific in Your Job Search

When you are searching for a medical and healthcare job on a job portal online, narrow down your search; use specific keywords. This practise may not give you many results, but it will definitely generate at least a few results that might positively lead to success.

It is not that difficult to find medical and healthcare jobs. You need to stick to your goals with determination. Add to this a lot of effort and your chances of getting that dream medical and healthcare job will definitely rise.



By: Abhishek Agarwal

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