THE DREAM IN ACTION

“A solid working knowledge of productivity software and other IT tools has become a basic foundation for success in virtually any career… Beyond that, however, I don’t think you can overemphasise the importance of having a good background in maths and science… Communication skills and the ability to work well with different types of people are very important too. ” -Bill Gates

(read the rest of this article here.)

I think Bill nails it on the head here. It is extremely important for our (the US) undergraduates and high school students to put more of a focus on math and science. If the United States is going to be able to compete with the students from China and India we are going to have to stress these fields of study more. We have set ourselves apart from the rest of the world because of the quality of education that we provide but that competitive advantages is dwindling away. The margin of superior education that the United States once had is quickly disappearing and it is because of the types of educations we are offering. Although communication and PR skills may be very important, I believe that these majors will not provide us with the competitive workforce we will need in the future. As an economics major I definitely believe that a good understanding of the global economy and general business is very important but more and more it needs to be backed up by a more applicable discipline such as math or science. Bill later states:

“If you look at the most interesting things that have emerged in the last decade – whether it is cool things like portable music devices and video games or more practical things like smart phones and medical technology – they all come from the realm of science and engineering. ”

Whether it is an industry revolutionizing iPod or and industry revolutionizing ultrasound machine a well educated core of math, science, and engineering students are A MUST to reach these heights and a must to remain globally competitive.