Why America Needs Skilled Workers from India and China – NRI Matters

President Obama, after sending the annual budgetary proposal (for the fiscal year 2013) to the Congress, said that he does not want US companies to look for skilled and educated workers from India and China in field of engineering, technology and science. Well, Mr. President, this is not going to happen any time soon. Let me tell you why.

Mr. President, have a look at the ratio of American students to the ratio of Indian and Chinese students doing Ph.D. in best schools across US. It will be close to a miracle if you can see an engineering department in any school that has 25% of Americans as Ph.D. scholars. During the five years of my Ph.D. in Arizona State University (ASU), I have seen an Indian, a Bangladeshi, a Jordanian, an Egyptian and a Mexican graduate together, with their Ph.D degree with my guide as advisor – but not a single American. Mr President, just pick out any graduation ceremony of a top engineering school in US and you shall see for yourself that many Chinese and Indian students are awarded Ph.D. degrees and in comparison to them, few Americans.

Almost all the cutting edge research that happens in various schools is mainly due to the efforts of Indians and Chinese Ph.D. students. You take these students out of the equation and I am sure that majority of the research activities happening in major Universities will stop. Now where do these students who graduate with their Ph.D. go? Companies will be competing to hire them as they have knowledge in latest technologies thanks to their Ph.D. No company may want to wait to get non-existent Americans while you have properly trained Indian and Chinese counterparts from good schools graduating every year.

via Why America Needs Skilled Workers from India and China – NRI Matters.