53.6% of all foreign-born Pittsburghers have science and engineering degrees

[BrianTH]

By the way, I also think it is important to keep in mind that immigrants can improve their education and/or training after arrival. Indeed, I wonder how many of Pittsburgh's college-educated immigrants actually got that education from local colleges.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

By the way, I also think it is important to keep in mind that immigrants can improve their education and/or training after arrival. Indeed, I wonder how many of Pittsburgh's college-educated immigrants actually got that education from local colleges.

My educated guess, from reading the link, is that most of them are there for grad school. They may have gotten their BS/BA in their home country.

2010, the highest proportions of
foreign born with S&E degrees were
found in “college towns,” or metro
areas where college or university
students and employees represent
a large proportion of the population
(Figure 5).

I do find a mistake in this article, to wit:

Looking at large metro areas
with a foreign-born population
greater than 100,000, the highest
proportion of foreign born with
S&E degrees was in San Jose-
Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (29
percent), followed by Baltimore-
Towson, MD (24 percent) (Table 4).7

The second is actually Pittsburgh!

Of course, the foreign-born children of original immigrants may have received all their education in the US.

[BettyTheHun]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Very much agreed, and in fact I would suggest the best scenario is one in which some of your immigrants actually generate new labor needs in the local economy by starting up new businesses. In that sense their ideas and innovations can be just as valuable or more so than their labor.

This is a good point. I know a guy from Japan who started a small company here. He only employs 5 people, but imagine x number of other immigrants who started companies and multiply that by y number of employees. The z could be significant.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Katiana

The second is actually Pittsburgh!

At 32.5%, Pittsburgh is actually #1 (San Jose is #2 at 28.7%). It is interesting the author actually overlooked Pittsburgh entirely.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by pman

and you're the educated one. let me slow it down for you sport, so it's okay to rob so long as you're educated? think carefully because that's exactly what your post says. I think it's wonderful that you afford your college tuition even though you weren't that well off but I'm not sure how that's relevant. your last statement is a bit too rich. and where do you get off assuming everyone who doesn't have a degree is a mugger and falls in with the shady crowd?

You need to learn how read becuase I guess you didn't get an enough of an education to noticed I added at the end of my sentence even though they are awful. Why is it ok for someone else to say some people have a larger positive economic impact than others, but I can't? Like I said....

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by pman

I think even that has to be qualified...after all, the type of immigrant that is needed is dependent on the economy. for example, a farmer doesn't need an engineer if he can't find someone to pick strawberries. that said, for a city, I do agree that someone with a degree will have a larger economic impact as measured in GDP; however, one should note that if someone comes here, moves into an empty house in an empty neighborhood, and opens a store, it may well have an impact greater than the numbers might suggest. and some might wonder, why do we need immigrants to do these degreed jobs at all? after all, isn't that what americans should be aspiring to? is it really better to have americans do the low wage jobs and immigrants the high wage jobs? I realize that's a loaded and complex answer. it's not the immigrant's fault that americans turn out engineers at half the rate of the developed world...it's just that some people make far too many assumptions which, as is known, makes an ass of u and me.

well said

I guess that's directed at me eh? You will never quit. Why do you even care what's said here anyway? It's not like you live here. You're an ass because you have a problem with showing me some respect and civility. I never had a problem with anyone else here and I've been on this forum for over 3 years.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I don't have a problem noting that some immigrants have more of a positive economic impact than others. That doesn't mean we should be making any immigrants feel unwelcome, but to the extent we are taking any specific measures to encourage immigration, I think it is reasonable to ask which immigrants have the most positive economic impact.

However, I wouldn't limit that concept to highly-educated immigrants. For example, entrepreneurial immigrants are also very useful for economic development. Same with immigrants that have skills or training in short supply in the local labor pool (independent from education). Note these two concepts go together--entrepreneurial immigrants may also have a need for certain other immigrants to fill some of the positions in their businesses. Generally, establishing an immigration flow with countries likely to supply a mix of such immigrants in the future is good, and in fact those ties can also lead to sharing capital, innovations, and so on.

That's a broad concept of "quality", but if you are considering the many ways in which immigrants can have positive economic impact, you need such a broad definition.

That's what I was trying to get at in general. There's probably a good chance that many of immigrants locally who are entrepreneurs likely have a degree of training of some sorts which could be shown through the amount of starts up locally that were started by immigrants who graduated college here.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

At 32.5%, Pittsburgh is actually #1 (San Jose is #2 at 28.7%). It is interesting the author actually overlooked Pittsburgh entirely.

What else is new?

[pman]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

You need to learn how read becuase I guess you didn't get an enough of an education to noticed I added at the end of my sentence even though they are awful. Why is it ok for someone else to say some people have a larger positive economic impact than others, but I can't? Like I said....

that's not the same as saying quality or superior. a larger positive impact is something else entirely. it was heartening to see your arrogance isn't limited to mexicans but to everyone
.

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

You're an ass because you have a problem with showing me some respect and civility. I never had a problem with anyone else here and I've been on this forum for over 3 years

I may be an ass but you're an arrogant jerk who lacks perspective. you resort to petty name calling at the drop of a hat. you get upset when I question your obviously arrogant opinions based on faulty assumptions. you clear have made an ass of you and me, though you mistakenly think I'm the only as..maybe to make yourself feel better. I care because I don't want you spreading narrow mindedness. I'm not stalking you or any other childish notion you might have, if you stop posting baseless claims I'll stop questioning them.

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

That's what I was trying to get at in general. There's probably a good chance that many of immigrants locally who are entrepreneurs likely have a degree of training of some sorts which could be shown through the amount of starts up locally that were started by immigrants who graduated college here.

it's not what you said though, so if that's what you meant, that's different. the concept of quality, as brian notes, should not be restricted to highly educated immigrants (or even highly educated citizens). Pittsburgh's poverty rate isn't exactly low....maybe immigrant's aren't the country's problem after all.
Apple's American job disaster | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/20/2011
the reality is, as has been pointed out, the higher educated immigrants are a function of university representation as a proportion of the population. when the city was a magnet of decent paying steel jobs for people without much training or education, you found a large proportion of foreign born (as high as 33% of the city) with little training. some people seem to forget that this country was largely built by people who had little formal education when they came here.