Why so few minorities interested in engineering?

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>Diversity used to mean difference in culture, race, sex, ethnicity, etc. It's now less so, mainly because those lines are getting more muddled. You do want diversity, but more diversity of thought. You would such a thing if you went purely off of superficial/racist things like affirmative action. Today, though, you have to dig a little deeper.</p>

<p>Why diversity of thought is good; different approaches to the same problem, why would you need 300 people just like you? It's the same reason companies hire consultants or offer cross-training. </p>

<p>Diversity is good unfortunately HR doesn't know how to define it.</p>

<p>Why are there many minorities in engineering? In the grand scheme of things there aren't many majorities in engineering. If I assume there are than I will look at what is not in the engineering field as much as other; women. Engineering is still pretty much a man's club, can't help that.</p>

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<p>Its mostly because they are not stupid. The fact remains most engineers are quite dumb. Anybody who slaves away in school, only to make 50K a year and has limited salary growth potential is prettyu stupid. All of this in comparison to other majors where they do little work, have fun and end up in the long run making more then the so called smart people. I am not only talking about engineering but all math and science. Some in these fields do make good money, but a good rule to follow is that your manager will always make more then you, no matter how hard is job is or how much work they do. </p>

<p>I have many friends of my family who went to college studied psychology or communications and are now secretaries or assistants. Most of them are under 24 and all make above 60K a year. </p>

<p>Engineerings are dumb, timid and get abused. So all in all, I recommend people do not study engineering or related sciences. Its not worth it.</p>

<p>Most minorities see this, they want a easier way out of poverty. In America it currently pays not to do then to do. Those who dont push and work hard will do better than those who do work and push hard.</p>

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<p>^Was that a joke? First of all, Engineers probably make much more on average than your typical Psych major. Second, you seriously think no one should major in Sciences/Engineering at all and pick a major they don't even care about so they can become someone's secretary? That's laughable. </p>

<p>We need scientists and engineers in our society. We need intelligent people who can invent technology and do medical research - you don't think that's important? You realize that if no one studied science, we'd all be screwed, right? New technology and the cure for cancer aren't going to be found by a some kid with a B.A in communications. </p>

<p>For URMs, Engineering would actually be a smart way to go because it increases the chances of a good career, something which a humanities degree doesn't. The real reason URM's aren't interested in Engineering? They're obviously underrepresented in ALL fields, that's why they're called minorities. Most choose not to go to college at all, let alone a rigorous field like Engineering. They also have lower test scores on average, which lowers odds of admission. As URMs advance in society, we will hopefully see more go into the fields on Engineering/Science, as well as Medicine/Business/Law.</p>

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<p>I find it laughable that you think engineers make a lot of money. In fact they in a lifetime will make less than an uneducated skilled trades man. </p>

<p>If engineers are so important and critical then they would be paid more. Ever look at how much engineers managers make(middle or upper management). Instead engineers are paid almost nothing and are treated as disposable.</p>

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<p>^^ This is probably true for the average engineer. The fact is that, with an engineering degree, you are given the tools and skills to solve world-pressing problems, provided you are a great thinker/problem solver. If you are able to do such a thing, the wealth you could bring in is truly unimaginable. Think engineer gone entrepreneur/CEO.</p>

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<p>Horse - if you don't want to be an engineer because you feel they're not paid enough, then don't be an engineer. but why call those who do want to be engineers stupid? they're generally pretty damn smart. You said all Math and Science is a waste of time - you do realize society couldn't function otherwise? We wouldn't have cars, computers, phones, electricity, appliances, technology - we would be living in the stone age. Being someone's Assistant or Special helper or Secretary may sound fun to you, but without science there would be little progress. This is common sense...</p>

<p>Many Math/Science majors end up in the business world after graduation. My dad works in Finance and he frequently hires Math/Physics majors as analysts over Business majors, because they're generally smarter and better at Math. Good Math skills are generally more marketable than the abililty to analyze Freud. Engineers also earn more on average than someone with a B.A in most of the Humanities - should no one study those as well?</p>

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<p>Maybe it does have to become a affirmative action, maybe not. A lot of students that major in engineering especially those at top schools are minorities. They just aren't black or latinos. They are middle eastern and asian. </p>

<p>I was born in New York City from Dominican descent. Maybe I should play for MLB.. JK. Well I'm tryin to go for an engineering degree, we'll see how it goes. From what I've seen asians in my high school in the bronx were kind of like outcasts. They spoke to no one, but did all their homework and aced everything in school. They typically don't watch tv and do the teenage activities the typical american culture kid does. I mean I can write a book about my theories of why I think they make it to the top schools and succeed in those careers. The only downfall I see of this is that I can't understand them, ever. On the phone, or in person. This Indian kid in my honors calc class tries to speak english fast and I don't understand a word he says. </p>

<p>Well there's pretty good programs for hispanics that want to major in this career. But my rant is for the white kids and other americans. The so called majority is the minority. They should admit more white kids in MIT, make this field more diverse. Make it better for engineers to communicate with each others. I have nothing against any race, but some people should make an effort to improve their accent. When I try, I can speak italian, french or portuguese in a perfectly understandable fashion. You have to record yourself. listen to what you are saying and how it sounds different than a native. I listen to myself speak and how it sounds different. I've seen jews speak perfect spanish, because they practiced their accent. </p>

<p>I just want american engineering to be #1. America anything to be number one :) I'm not racist so don't take anything I said the wrong way. I'll marry a black, white, asian girl. It really doesn't matter. My post is about a diverse workfield with great communication.</p>

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<p>engineering managers, are usually engineers. They tend to suck if they have no social skills. I myself want to become an engineering manager. I have supervisorial skills from my previous jobs and plan to minor in business and get an MBA. I actually like speaking in public, and enjoy math. What I Hate is English. I hate writing lol.</p>

<p>But hey if you think engineers are the scum of the earth, that's your opinion. If you think other careers make more, and some do, that's on you. I hope you and I both will be content with our futures. Peace</p>

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<p>My knowledge is limited to a few African-American friends/teammates and a few of my wife's students.
African-Americans with good science aptitude tend to gravitate toward medicine because that is where the money and prestige are.</p>

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<p>BigG, that sort of reminds me about a discussion I had with an engineering student at Cal. There was an article in some paper about Cal being way under represented by African Americans in every major. My theory was, if an African American student is smart/talented enough to get admitted to Berkeley, then he/she probably has a good chance of gaining admission into Stanford or any other top program in the U.S. Therefore, Cal can easily be placed below some of the other schools on their list.</p>

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<p>
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^^ This is probably true for the average engineer. The fact is that, with an engineering degree, you are given the tools and skills to solve world-pressing problems, provided you are a great thinker/problem solver. If you are able to do such a thing, the wealth you could bring in is truly unimaginable. Think engineer gone entrepreneur/CEO.

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<p>The vast majority of engineers will never see wealth in their lifetimes. I have no solid numbers but my guess would be well over 90%, whereas most managers will see wealth. </p>

<p>An engineering degree gives you no more depth than the sum of wikipedia articles for each subject. Its nothing special. It is all open knowledge, none of it is secretive to those who study it, opposed to some other majors.</p>

<p>Think all CEO's that are engineers and take the number of them and compare it to the annual graduate rates of engineering students.</p>

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<p>Horse - if you don't want to be an engineer because you feel they're not paid enough, then don't be an engineer. but why call those who do want to be engineers stupid? they're generally pretty damn smart. You said all Math and Science is a waste of time - you do realize society couldn't function otherwise? We wouldn't have cars, computers, phones, electricity, appliances, technology - we would be living in the stone age. Being someone's Assistant or Special helper or Secretary may sound fun to you, but without science there would be little progress. This is common sense...</p>

<p>Many Math/Science majors end up in the business world after graduation. My dad works in Finance and he frequently hires Math/Physics majors as analysts over Business majors, because they're generally smarter and better at Math. Good Math skills are generally more marketable than the abililty to analyze Freud. Engineers also earn more on average than someone with a B.A in most of the Humanities - should no one study those as well?</p>

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Ive already graduated and well am not a engineer. Id rather not have a stressful job and get paid ****. because somebody reads a book and recites it on a test, doesnt make one smart. Most engineers are pretty dumb, the select few who do well are smart, but that has little to do with them being a engineer. </p>

<p>Im pretty sure the stone age was a society and I see nothing wrong with how those people lived. Actually it seems better then how we live now. progress isint always a good thing, for every good you come up with I can counter it with a negative.</p>

<p>The problem here is that you are equating books and school with being smart, which is false. It doesnt matter how book smart you are in life, and being book smart doesnt make you a smart person. Heres an example.</p>

<p>Person A is a Engineer, hes great at math and can do all of his engineering tasks better than anybody else, but he makes $65K a year. he has no true job security, like all engineers. he disposable. he is only as good as his next project. his life is very stressful and he works unpaid overtime all the time, as he is salaried. </p>

<p>Person B is a Guidance counselor and takes it easy, she studied psychology in college. She has job security and makes $65K a year.</p>

<p>Person C never went to college but works as a janitor at a local middle school, he works from 9am-4pm and has the same holidays and vacations teachers and students do. He also makes 65K a year.</p>

<p>Who here is smarter. The Book smarts of person A mean nothing. Person C is obviously living the life and B not to far behind. C really cant be fired and his jobs require no creative thought. He works alot less than A and C and gets paid the same amount.</p>

<p>I am from the NYC and felt I could add to this topic, of why there aren't a lot minorities doing engineering currently. I gave my response as to why. That was the point of my post. Minorities tend to be poor, now the best way to ensure you get from poor to middle class is to take the easiest route possible. There is no reason to study engineering, when the same paycheck can be had by not working as hard. So who is smarted, id say the minorities.</p>

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<p>engineering managers, are usually engineers.</p>

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<p>Those engineering managers are usually treated as another engineer with a bigger paycheck and they are managed by a business person. Seen it many times before.</p>

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Person A is a Engineer, hes great at math and can do all of his engineering tasks better than anybody else, but he makes $65K a year. he has no true job security, like all engineers. he disposable. he is only as good as his next project. his life is very stressful and he works unpaid overtime all the time, as he is salaried.</p>

<p>Person B is a Guidance counselor and takes it easy, she studied psychology in college. She has job security and makes $65K a year.</p>

<p>Person C never went to college but works as a janitor at a local middle school, he works from 9am-4pm and has the same holidays and vacations teachers and students do. He also makes 65K a year.

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<p>Couple flaws in your analogy... neither the counselor nor the janitor will make 65k. Not to mention most engineers will make more than 65k, especially living where you are from. This is kind of obvious here.</p>

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for every good you come up with I can counter it with a negative.

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<p>Life expectancy of over 25.</p>

<p>Yeah, but now since we get old we get cancer!</p>

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his jobs require no creative thought.

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<p>This sounds like the worst job ever.</p>

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<p>Dr, I have to condemn your argument.Engineers aren't in fact dumb.I've read some where that claims individuals with a Bachelor's in engineering score higher on the GMAT/LSAT than the ones who have a bachelor's in social sciences do.</p>

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<p>I tell you what, if I had to do more than read some books and regurgitate in on a test I probably wouldn't have gotten an engineering degree. I also *hope to make 65k/yr before I retire. I think i'm going to look into that Janitor thing.</p>

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<p>Anyone who comes on an engineering forum and calls engineers dumb is obviously a troll.</p>

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<p>lol. engineering is a waste of time. good to know. cash rules everything around me. i better switch my major to janitorial science, you know, for the $$$. dr. horse you are a wise man.</p>

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<p>Couple flaws in your analogy... neither the counselor nor the janitor will make 65k. Not to mention most engineers will make more than 65k, especially living where you are from. This is kind of obvious here.</p>

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<p>At least in NYC a full time custodian makes from 65K to 80K a year. Guidance counselors can even make more than that. </p>

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Life expectancy of over 25.

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<p>We live longer and rape the planet of its resources, with our increased lifetimes, we only leech more and more from the planet and by doing so threaten our species. </p>

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Dr, I have to condemn your argument.Engineers aren't in fact dumb.I've read some where that claims individuals with a Bachelor's in engineering score higher on the GMAT/LSAT than the ones who have a bachelor's in social sciences do.

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<p>Its a test, doing well on a test doesn't make you smart, Any standardized test is easily beatable with the slightest of work. Question dumps can provide a easy way to get a perfect score and not even know the material, or know it but not as well. A test doesn't make you smart.</p>

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At least in NYC a full time custodian makes from 65K to 80K a year. Guidance counselors can even make more than that.

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<p>The salaries you provide for janitors and counselors are those that are on the high-paying end of their professions, yet you compare them to to engineers on the low-paying end of their professions. Put them both on the same respective "level" in all three careers the the engineers are obviously making more.</p>

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<p>He doesn't realize that the standard of living in NY is higher therefore they get paid more. It's all relative man. Compare apples to apples.</p>