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February 05, 2008, 02:13 PM ET
Tech Employment: the Creative Side
An article in the Post-Tribune, in Gary, Ind., brings up an interesting point about tech employment, one that was broached recently by a Wired Campus reader, concerning the division of technological skills:
“Academics divide engineers into two groups: ‘transactional’ engineers, who perform tasks by rote, applying the knowledge they’ve learned to a set of repetitive tasks, and ‘dynamic’ engineers, who use their judgment, creativity, and knowledge to find new solutions to problems.”
“The first type [says Larry Jacobson, executive director of the National Society of Professional Engineers] is not hard to find, while the second type is rare and in high demand.”
The article goes on to describe how enrollment growth in engineering programs at Purdue University—mostly from foreign students—and prospects for more tech jobs in the region.
Coders or programmers, transactional or dynamic engineers: There’s a theme of hierarchy, with the more creative class in higher demand. What can college programs do to help students meet the demand? Are the skills for innovation inherent in the individual? —Hurley Goodall
Categories: Teaching
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