America is a great place to start a company, there are no questions
about that, and when Governments were busy making it harder to start a
company, many immigrants came to America. Reports state that 52% of all
Silicon Valley companies were started by Immigrants, and we have HP and
Google as prime examples of this trend. The problem is, it is now more
advantageous for folks to go back to China, India and Europe rather
than sticking around in America starting companies. This is a huge
problem that is not being addressed and needs to be.
Regardless of what people think of immigration, illegal or legal,
we are a nation of immigrants. We came to this country to have a
different life with the possibility of success that our grandparents
and parents could not have otherwise. You can take a look at any
industry and find that some of the greatest people in those industries
were immigrants directly or the children of immigrants. We are who we
are because of the dynamics of immigration and the possibility of
anything. What is the problem now is that we are not graduating enough
computer science, information systems, and information security people
in this country. For whatever reason, not enough people are going into
the computer science trades to fill the work that is available. Even
now with the recession forcing cutbacks in everything, and not always
to the benefit of the companies that are doing the cutbacks, we are not
getting enough people into the computer science trade, or even the STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Math’s) to fill the needs that
this country has. We count on a large number of foreign nationals
coming to this country, falling in love with it, and staying to start
their company and raising a family.
Unfortunately, people are starting to think that this is still a
great place to go to school, but not a such a great place to stay and
start a company. Even with the proposed founder’s visa,
this is not enough to address the issues that we need to address on the
national/federal level. We need a solid core of STEM Graduates to fill
the needs of a 21rst century country. While we founder, other countries
are taking the lead in STEM and advancing technology. Of all the things
we cannot afford, losing our countries technological edge is dancing
with disaster. We need foreign nationals in our colleges, and in our
companies, and running companies to help keep us on the cutting edge of
technology. It is not that Americans are bad at this, is that they are
not going into STEM programs. We also need to address why students are
not going into STEM, and start beefing up enrollments and graduates.
What we need is an open dialog and that dialog has started with
Techcrunch.
Many students wanted to stay for a few years after
graduation if given a choice—58% of Indians, 54% of Chinese, and 40% of
Europeans. But they see the future being brighter back home. Only 7% of
Chinese students, 9% of European students, and 25% of Indian students
believe that the best days of the U.S. economy lie ahead. Conversely,
74% of Chinese students and 86% of Indian students believe that the
best days for their home country’s economy lie ahead. National Science
Foundation studies have shown that the “5 year stay rates” for Chinese
and Indians science and engineering PhD’s have historically been around
92 % and 85% respectively (NSF tracks these 5 years at a time and the
vast majority stay permanently). So something has clearly changed.
Source: Techcrunch
This is not about educational reform, this is not about immigration
reform, and this is not about the general lifestyle of Americans right
now. What this is about is where we are going to go as a country, and
where we see our futures being. While the country is divided and we
have not risen to the technological challenges that face us, we
continue to graduate people who will not stay, will not fill jobs, and
will not advance the country ahead technologically. It is a lot like
watching Rome burn as the barbarians cross the hills; we have lost the
dynamism that we need to keep ahead of the game. If there is a brighter
future in India or China, what is to stop Naturalized Americans from
going there and making their names and their fortunes? Nothing, American’s are also leaving the country and going somewhere else, mostly to Europe,
but India and China are also high on the list of destinations to go do
something different. We need to address the processes that involve
people leaving the USA and taking their good patentable ideas with
them. We need to address this at a national level and make America one
of the best places on earth to start a company, raise a family, and be
a scientist.
Related articles by
Zemanta
- The
US’s Reverse Brain Drain (slashdot.org) - Foreigners
Attending US Grad Schools Way Down: Wake Up, Xenophobes
(innovationtoronto.com) - Must. Stop. Brain. Drain.
(myventurepad.com) - The Importance Of
Skilled Immigrants To The American Economy (insightcommunity.com) - America’s
First Brain Drain (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)
(Cross-posted @ IT Toolbox)
