Comments on Faoiseamh: The Knowledge Economy

Nick,It's not really about enjoyment. If engineers...

2008-07-28T11:43:00.000+02:00

Nick,
It's not really about enjoyment. If engineers are paid a fraction of what accountants earn then people who might have the capacity to do something great will go in to accountancy instead.
I think that this waste is a real issue. Engineering courses cost a lot of money to run and then you pay these people a fraction of what those in soft functions earn.
You cannot have a knowledge economy without getting the best available brains into science.

I suppose the important thing is what work you act...

2008-07-28T11:37:00.000+02:00

I suppose the important thing is what work you actually enjoy. If you're enjoying your present work more than you would have enjoyed engineering, and you're better paid, no problem - except wasted knowledge and wasted government investment. If you're not enjoying your present work, that's different. It sounds racist I know, but perhaps governments should be creating incentives for locals to become engineers etc and disincentives for others??

Yep, the rule is the closer you are to the cash fl...

2008-07-28T10:45:00.000+02:00

Yep, the rule is the closer you are to the cash flow, the more splashes on to you. Engineers traditionally got told they should be grateful for the quality of the work they were getting to do, rather than expecting more cash. Pah. Mind you, one thing my career has taught me is that the opportunities lie in bridging the gaps, and the biggest gaps are most often between people.

The way you learn to think with an engineering deg...

2008-07-28T09:54:00.000+02:00

The way you learn to think with an engineering degree is transferable but it is a one way street. Once you leave a specialist engineering discipline then you basically cannot go back.
The peak of innovation for a scientist is in their twenties so that is not the time that you want them leaving to become accountants. There may well be efforts in Ireland to create the right research environment, that is great. Research should be well paid because that is what generates wealth. Unfortunately you see time and again that management, sales and support people earn more than researchers in practically every industry. While that is the case many of the best brains will become accountants and laweyrs rather than using their brain power.

I stayed in engineering and use relatively little ...

2008-07-28T09:31:00.000+02:00

I stayed in engineering and use relatively little of the actual detail of what I learned in college. The important thing I learned was the way of thinking and approaching problem solving. In fairness this is transferable to most other disciplines. The government wants to increase the quality of the research in Ireland, but this doesn't appear overnight. They seem to be adopting a 'birdhouse' approach, create an environment that a foreign researcher finds attractive and they will flutter in in droves. I guess the idea is that these people will then be mentoring the next generation of Irish PhDs to accademic excellence. Meanwhile they are setting up structures to support the transfer of reseach to the commercial domain, thereby notionally instigating the engine of the knowledge economy.
BUT this year there was 8 people in final year electronic engineering in UCD talk of the possibility of the departments in UCD and Trinity amalgamating as they have both been allowed to atrophy (possibly an admin decision to clear out the old wood). Electronic Engineering is viewed as a duff course because it's hard, lasts 4 years and you have to compete with a couple of million lower paid Indians and Chinese in the job market place. I think they should give greater monetary incentives to engineers, not in salary (as this just widens the gap between us and Asia as cost bases). Give us the farmer's subsidies! Of course it wouldn't work, but I'd like someone to give me more money :-)