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Perhaps the problem is not with Science, Math and Engineering Education at all, but rather employment.

The current high school and college students see flat to declining opportunities in Engineering, particularly for US citizens.

On the other hand, the cost of legal services has risen and the monetary judgements with their associated contingency awards have exploded, so the legal profession looks very attractive.

Lastly, as long as corporations outsource lower level engineering work, they continue to eliminate the very opportunities that start our next generation engineers.

I fail to see why it is surprising that both supply and demand of engineers is dropping in the US.

The main focus of US society is on money, power, and fame. Engineering practically guarantees you anonymity outside of your profession. Power is often not seen as what you can do but what influence you have over others, which engineers are not so great at. Money is only average given the educational and professional requirements.

This is in addition to education being not emphasized as a requirement for success. I mean, really, how many of US society's heroes are well-educated and intelligent? How many of its leaders can use basic logic and reasoning?

What kept the US as an economic power in the past was entrepreneurism, which is no longer as easy in a global economy. Today the Edisons and Einsteins are replaced by business leaders who make more even though they contribute less to society. In a capitalist society, that is significant.

What keeps the US in the global market is its large quantity of industry and management which has so far been reluctant to move. This could change if investors figure out that the executives are just as outsourceable as the workers.

To summarize, engineers are a benefit to society more than they are a benefit to themselves, at least in the US. Until this is rectified, the US will see a decline in its productivity and competitiveness.

As a mechanical engineer with a taste for EE, I was pleasantly surprised to find a copy of Spectrum on my last flight. Till I found this article. Seems fear is contagious across engineering disciplines.

The ASME's approximate equivalent to Spectrum (rather plainly titled Mechanical Engineering) carries an editorial once a year similar to this Flat Earth hand-wringing. It usually follows a government/industry conference where various government types trot out the usual complaints on competitiveness, test scores, math, et al; swiftly followed by rounding up the usual suspects of education, research, .... and then the typical response that improving US productivity is as simple as increasing the number of engineers, like adding more salt to a bad tasting soup. We've all heard this at least 20 years. Simplistic hogwash.

Other comments on this article are right on track. This is an economic issue. Today's students are not as stupid as test scores suggest. Engineering is academically challenging, yet pay rates do not keep up with taxes and inflation. Job security is thin because we compete directly against our global peers, unlike many other professions.

In short, the burdens are many and the benefits are few. Those who choose engineering and stay the course are the die-hards, who love engineering in spite of its perceived failings within US society.

Consider doctors. The AMA has been granted government control over how many admittances to med schools will be permitted. By constraining the supply of doctors against a fixed demand, they secure a high price for their services, thereby enhancing their prestige in society. They cannot be outsourced, and do not accept foreign graduates as valid members of the profession. Doctors have a literal moat that protects their livelihood from competition, both foreign and domestic.

Now consider engineers. Constant imprecations to stuff the pipeline and create more engineers by government fiat creates an oversupply of labor for the existing demand. This depresses salaries, reduces the prestige in society's view, and transforms us into low-rent wage slaves.

I would ask that we simply not tilt at windmills on this issue and respect the market forces at work. We cannot and should not try to push more engineers as a social solution. Nor should we rail against free trade or global competition. There are less farmers and less horseshoe sales as well and the nation is no worse for it.

Society's needs are best met by an engineering market unencumbered by pretensions of social engineering. Whether that means there are more or less of us is irrelevant.

Stay the course, ignore the naysayers, and if you must, get an MBA or work for the government and become part of the problem.

I work for a large fortune 500 company and I choose to remain anonymous because I do not trust the integrity of my employer with regard to outsourcing, and I would, no doubt, face disciplinary action or termination for expressing my concerns here.

I graduated from High School in the 80's and at that time, the National Science Foundation was presenting data showing a shortage of engineers well pass the year 2000.
As it turns out, that figure was greatly overstated.

Now, companies routinely rate (yes, it affects my yearly review) engineers based upon how much work can they outsource to the satellite facilities located in third world countries. If I do not send work overseas, I do not get a good review!!! I know of dozens of engineer colleagues who have at the same time applied for a job in the same company and have been systematically turned down or not replied to in a timely manner (sometimes extending months before a final reply is issued). In the meantime, the company routinely issues statements of "not being able to find qualified engineers" apparently anywhere in the U.S.

If you are a young student considering engineering, the best situation you can hope for, is that of maybe having a job in a few years.

Companies have decided, in the name of a quick dollar today, to sell the future of America by destroying the engineering infrastructure. By the time the general population realizes that the U.S. has lost the lead in science and engineering, it will be too late.

Concerned Citizen.