Q&A by Megan Schmidt, editor, with David Archer, founder of LearningMeasure.com

Transcription

1 Career Ready Q&A by Megan Schmidt, editor, with David Archer, founder of LearningMeasure.com If college students could grade themselves on their career readiness, most would probably give themselves an A+. But hiring managers would likely flunk them. A recent survey of 2,001 college students and 1,000 hiring managers assessing workforce readiness found that students and hiring managers perceptions are misaligned when it comes to job competency. Fewer than two in five managers believed college graduates were well-equipped for a job in their field of study. Less than half said recent graduates could write clearly, manage a project, give a presentation, conduct a meeting or create a budget. Managers rated the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students slightly better in the assessment. Students in all disciplines tended to overestimate their professional abilities and expertise, the study found. Almost half of students believed that school prestige, high grade point averages, and their professional and personal network were important factors in securing a job. The employers, however, said they placed greater emphasis on internships and relevant

2 extracurricular activities experiences that will develop the practical skills and abilities organizations are looking for. David Archer, a radio frequency engineer, recognized a skills gap among young workers when he was charged with recruiting students and recent graduates for an internship program at a previous employer. Finding that many of STEM majors and recent graduates were lacking knowledge of core concepts and methods in their fields, Archer recognized a need for post-college education. He founded LearningMeasure.com in 2002, an online continuing education program for technicians, engineers, scientists and other technically minded professionals. Recently, Archer spoke to the ASQ Higher Education Brief (HEB) about the state of STEM education in the United States. What is LearningMeasure.com? LearningMeasure.com has more than 100 online courses on technical subjects and is constantly expanding its content. A subscription-based service, LearningMeasure.com provides access to all courses for $5 per month or $60 per year. Some courses are free to try before paying the subscription. In addition, employer and educator accounts are available that are free for institutions that have at least one student account associated with it. More than 4,000 students have taken coursework at LearningMeasure.com. At any given time, there are typically 200 subscribers. HEB: Tell us about your background. I graduated with an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Washington in Seattle in I started my career at the Boeing metrology lab in Seattle and worked there for 14 years. After that, I worked for EG&G special projects which later became JT3 in Las Vegas, and Raytheon in El Segundo, CA. I returned to graduate school in 2000, finished my master s degree in 2002, and received my doctorate in 2006 from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. I started LearningMeasure.com in 2002, while having a full-time job and going to graduate school yes, I know that is a bit excessive! HEB: When and how did you get the idea for LearningMeasure.com? Several things led to the idea. One was interviewing college juniors and seniors for a summer intern program for a previous employer. I was surprised by the lack of preparedness exhibited

3 by students interviewed. I gave all the candidates a short, 10-question test covering multiple topics to gauge their background. The average score was two correct. The test included a simple trigonometry problem that not one of the engineering students could solve. Students who said their specialty was signal processing could not tell me what a Fourier transform was. One candidate who said his specialty was electromagnetism didn t know a single one of Maxwell s equations. I reached out to professors, and they told me the same thing. Freshmen students did not have the educational background expected of them out of high school. The first two years of college is now used to teach what they should have learned in high school. Therefore, they never quite catch up to the level of knowledge that was previously expected of juniors and seniors. So, when students enter the workforce, they are not as prepared as previous generations. HEB: What is the current state of STEM in the United States? In an age when the problems that plague our world will increasingly require technical solutions, the number of people capable of solving those problems is decreasing. These problems include dealing with global climate change, developing alternate energy sources, defeating antibiotic resistant bacteria, dependence of national infrastructure on vulnerable computing systems (cyber-attacks and cyber terrorism) and the increasing proliferation of smart devices, to name a few. Even our political leaders need STEM education to make adequate decisions, yet most do not have these skills. The United States has a competitive disadvantage in STEM compared to other countries. HEB: Are there other factors that you think are contributing to lower levels of STEM skills and preparedness in the workforce? It is not exclusively a problem with undergraduate education. A university professional I talked with during my research said his institution was considering lowering its standards for doctoral qualifying exams for a department. Students were experiencing trouble meeting graduation

4 requirements. The logic behind the university s idea was that it didn t make sense to have a graduate school that never issued graduate degrees. The other issue is demographics. With the continued retirement of baby boomers, the continued drop in technical degrees and the increase in students graduating at lower proficiency levels, there is a need for additional training and education in the workplace to help workers succeed. Organizations are worried about the imminent retirement of their older technical employees, and there are no plans on how to pass knowledge on to the next generation. LearningMeasure.com is how I am doing my part to increase the general level of technical competence. All of us have an obligation to ensure there are next generations of technicians, engineers and scientists. HEB: What is the mission and vision of LearningMeasure.com program? The mission of the program is to provide low-cost quality technical education and training that emphasizes measurement, test and metrology, and can be taken at whatever pace is comfortable with the student. The vision is to continually expand and improve the offerings, and possibly eventually offer online degrees. LearningMeasure.com has employer and educator accounts in which students can be assigned courses with deadlines, and progress of the students can be tracked. From these accounts, custom courses can be created for companyspecific or institution-specific training. HEB: What are the benefits of online courses? The primary benefit is that the courses can be taken at your own pace at a time of your own choosing. Also, you can revisit the material over and over again when needed. Unlike a textbook, the course material is continually updated. HEB: How has the shift toward new learning models impacted the way students learn? It s too early to tell in many ways. It appears that the current trajectory of public schools using new learning models is clearly failing. I think the idea that there are different learning styles is

5 fundamentally wrong, and I think current data would support that concept. You need some repetitive exposure to learn facts, and you need practice to learn skills. You also need to master fundamental concepts and methods instead of pattern-matching things like formulas. It is better to learn and remember concepts, and develop the ability to think critically about them. For instance, if you understood how the quadratic formula works, you wouldn t need to memorize it. HEB: What s one thing you would change about the U.S. education system? Abandon the idea that you receive a formal education and then you re done. There should be a lifelong educational system accessible to all that allows people to upgrade their skills and education, continually learning from those at the top of their field. It should be easier for people to switch careers as needed based on the needs in the economy. Anyone who reaches a certain level of proficiency would be able to enter the teaching and mentoring professions at a salary level that s higher than what they would earn in the field, but they also should be held to higher expectations of student achievement and competency.