[bgalbraith]

The initial motivation for these articles - the government says we need more STEM students, but look how many underemployed PhDs there are! - is flimsy. The US does not necessarily need more graduate students, what it needs is more skilled technical workers, especially in manufacturing.

Few students who go into PhD programs anticipate ending up in industry, unless you goal is R&D. The opportunity cost is so great that you are better off in most cases going straight into industry if that is your ultimate goal. As a current PhD student, my advice to anyone considering it is to not do it unless you are truly passionate about your research field.

[geebee]

Couldn't agree more about the need for more general skilled immigration.

But keep in mind, the current legislation in the Senate is about awarding green cards to all recipients of graduate degrees in STEM fields, so the topic here is very relevant to public policy.