<p>Seriously, you almost NEVER hear of any black/african/african-american wanting to actually be one. It's a thought I've always pondered; to me, it just seems that the engineering fields are dominated by asians and caucasians.</p>
<p>The very idea of a black engineer seems almost outlandish and incomprehensible simply because there, well, aren't any really. I know this isn't the case, but dang, it looks that way and I'd like to know why and what can be done to encourage blacks to pursue this field.</p>
<p>I work with quite a few black engineers and only one asian. While this is probably not the norm, there definitely are black engineers out there doing well.</p>
<p>It’s not just the lack of black engineers, but blacks in higher education in general.</p>
<p>I believe the lack of blacks in higher education is cultural. Many blacks grow up in poor neighborhoods that do not push for academic excellence. Intellectual pursuits in general are shunned by school age peers. I think that many of them simply do not internalize significance of a college degree.</p>
<p>This push for academics needs to begin with the parents.</p>
<p>There are a lot of African Americans majoring in STEM fields here at Auburn. I think the dropout rates might be a little higher than for other groups, but not by much. And I know Auburn is probably not the norm, being a school in the deep South.</p>
<p>I wonder if there are statistics somewhere that say how races break down by major/field/etc. It seems like there must be… I’m thinking a government agency. I’ll look into it if there’s interest.</p>
<p>Seeing how they only are a small percent of the population, I would say my university atleast in engineering was pretty well distributed. Though most black students went to EE.</p>
<p>I agree with Kyt. Social implications of family units and what they value flow into success rates in certain areas. I know a couple black engineers and scientists, and those I know are usually exceptional at it. Those I do know who I wouldn’t classify as exceptional in their field are that way by virtue (or lack there of) of their up bringing and family and friends perception of their chosen field. People should support each other to do their best, regardless of anything… And I will remember this when my daughter runs off to clown school.</p>
<p>I know there’s the Black Engineering Society. I have a friend who just joined it a few days ago, and got thousands of dollars worth of free software (…and won’t share) from joining it.
But I think this is the case for a lot of groups, like women and hispanic engineers too. </p>
<p>The college I did research at is doing a program for middle school and elementary school children, mostly minority, to educate them about engineering and encourage them to join the field.</p>
<p>the color of all major social programs is white. In fact Blacks are moving into the middle class at a drastically faster rate then whites. and no not all whites are middle class. The poorest people in the country are white, by far. While blacks tend to live in urban areas, with a high cost of living, poor whites test to live in rural areas, some dont even have running water and electricity. Its all about how you calculate it. I tend to think the people who have running water are doing a bit better than those who dont. </p>
<p>Id also like to point out that becoming a engineer takes alot of work. Most minorities are looking to get into the middle class as fast as possible. In that engineering is not really a wise choice, considering other majors such as communications and business are much easier, give decent job prospects and have lots of room for growth.</p>
<p>White males can get the free software. Anyone can become a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and take advantage of the opportunities, including the free software it offers.</p>
<p>“considering other majors such as communications and business are much easier”
Can we please not go down this road? Please?</p>
<p>"White males can get the free software. Anyone can become a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and take advantage of the opportunities, including the free software it offers. "
<p>Ah, those have been rather interesting points. I do feel that it is a result of one’s environment and how one was raised in it, but for sme reason, it seems as if there is just this…cultural “spacing” that seems to divide the races amongst different professions I know this probably is not the case, but the way it seems like it sems to warrant that thought. I don’t like it.</p>
<p>Yes, there are black engineers and I wasn’t saying that there weren’t. They’re just so far and between that it seems as if they’re almost nonexistent.</p>
<p>And I didn’t know you could join that society without being black. Interesting. I’ll look into that anyway, even though I’m already black. Haha. =D</p>
<p>“the color of all major social programs is white. In fact Blacks are moving into the middle class at a drastically faster rate then whites. and no not all whites are middle class. The poorest people in the country are white, by far. While blacks tend to live in urban areas, with a high cost of living, poor whites test to live in rural areas, some dont even have running water and electricity. Its all about how you calculate it. I tend to think the people who have running water are doing a bit better than those who dont.”</p>
<p>Umm. You’ll find that all races live in urban areas, with high costs of living. Regardless of how you calculate it, Blacks are overrepresented in the lower income bracket and underrepresented in higher education. Finding a solution, however, is a daunting and difficult task.</p>
<p>I live in a urban area, in fact the poorest urban area in America. I defiantly wouldnt say blacks are the poorest, in fact id say most them are equal to whites. Hispanics tend to to be the poorest now, though they are moving up fast. My area is 90% Hispanic and historically white areas where the rent is higher are being taken over by blacks and Hispanics where whites are being forced into purely Jamaican or Hispanic neighborhoods. My ares 10 years ago was 98% Italian, today it is 34% white and rent for a studio is nearly 2k a month, where 10 years ago it was $600. </p>
<p>As i said before, minorities are moving into the middle class incredibly fast. CNN’s Black In America spent a good bit of time on this.</p>
<p>"It’s not just the lack of black engineers, but blacks in higher education in general.</p>
<p>I believe the lack of blacks in higher education is cultural. Many blacks grow up in poor neighborhoods that do not push for academic excellence. Intellectual pursuits in general are shunned by school age peers. I think that many of them simply do not internalize significance of a college degree.</p>
<p>This push for academics needs to begin with the parents. "</p>
<p>They NAILED it right on the head. And its not just blacks either…its the hispanics too. I went to a poor middle schoole where I would often be one of the 2 or 3 white people in the class. Blacks and hispanics in general simply don’t want to succeed. And if they do want to then they either fall to peer pressure or fall because of the workload. Many of the kids don’t want to work for what they want. And the precious few that do dream and do work for it get slammed, rediculed, and even shunned by their peers. I witnessed it and was part of it for a rough as hel 3 years. Their social ideals simply dont allow them to succeed. Its a shame too, because if they were to grow and achieve then this world would be such a better place.</p>
<p>My mom is now the PTSA president for the elementary school right beside it and she said the parents are awful. She can’t get anything done. The parents are never involved with their kids so the kids have to figure everything out on their own. Thats why the kids are so bad in middle school(and later high school). It starts in the elementary school where the parents simply dont give a crap. The teachers are always complaining that they have to play the dual role of mother and teacher. These kids, unfortunately, are not taught by their parents.</p>
<p>And just for the record, I have seen and worked with several black engineers. They’re certainly out there. There just aren’t many.</p>