There is a pretty heated discussion in progress on the Slashdot site. The thing that prompted it was news of the latest unemployment rate for EEs jumping to 6.5%. This figure prompted a lot of speculation as to reasons why, but one theme running throughout the posts is that the EEs coming out schools, at least in Europe and the U.S. really don’t know much. And this isn’t just coming from old codgers voicing the usual complaints about today’s youth. It is coming from recent EE grads themselves, in some cases. Here are a few interesting selections of what’s being posted there:
“I am an electrical engineer, and work in Europe. What I see here, is that the quality of engineers coming out of college or universities is declining at an alarming rate. The knowledge-level about basic subjects is embarrassing to say the least….”
“I’m living proof you can graduate electrical engineering with honours using copious amounts of Wikipedia. I came out of University knowing nothing and it has been an uphill battle getting where I am now. Most of my colleagues are the same. University is no longer about learning and it’s all about getting a piece of paper, then we rely on learning on the job…….”
“The education level across the board seems to be in steady decline here as well (Canada)…..
Now that I hire people, I’m looking for those ‘gems’, which tend to be rare. Then there are the ‘experienced’ people that don’t have the current skills required to do the demanded work, and many have the attitude that they do not have things to learn, or are not going to bother. And they still expect top dollar. Then there are the young ones who don’t have a clue and think they do. And expect ‘roll-your-eyes’ top dollar…….”
And there are many, many more just like these.