tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929346053949579231.post1787665604244615215..comments2024-03-23T00:59:24.057-04:00Comments on Sapping Attention: Some preliminary analysis of the Texas salary-by-major data.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04856020368342677253noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929346053949579231.post-74234156348072294792018-09-04T15:17:33.844-04:002018-09-04T15:17:33.844-04:00That's useful information about engineering, t...That's useful information about engineering, thanks. I'm very curious how the skills-vs-signaling distinction pays out in the hiring of engineering students. There's also the possibility that engineering schools nonetheless weed out more heavily than most other programs.<br /><br />I think you're right that this is one of the cases where the existence of data may change the way the data works going forward. That would suggest that higher ed might be even more upended in the next decade. <br />One problematic possibility is if, say, certain degrees (say, engineering) continue to be able to weed out the worst candidate majors, while others (say, psychology) have to let everyone in. Then wage gaps might persist or even accelerate (as everyone tries to major in engineering) out of proportion to the actual value added.<br /><br />Importance attributed to pay is important, yes. And there are certainly gender correlations. There may also be major correlations, too--I suspect part of the problem is that, even now, people who major in humanities are those who attribute less importance to being wealthy. There could even be causal effects, which would really skunk up quantitative analysis.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04856020368342677253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929346053949579231.post-7639411600509712422018-08-29T10:16:37.649-04:002018-08-29T10:16:37.649-04:00One possibility: there's not a close relations...One possibility: there's not a close relationship between earnings multiplier and enrollment change, because most people have not had the data to really make that call (until now). Humanities has the reputation for being low paying, whereas STEM fields which do not pay well do not (people think all STEM pays well). If this is the case, then the fact that more data is coming out may cause that relation to tighten up more in the future.<br /><br />By the way, while it is unquestionably true that women suffer from pay discrimination, another factor is that there is a measurable and real difference in how much the median woman weighs pay in her career (and major) decisions, compared to men. In fact these may be related; women are offered lower pay, even by women bosses in some cases, because of a tendency to think that they will accept it and not bolt. If student loan debt causes women to prioritize pay more, and be more willing to change jobs in search of a higher salary, the differential might shrink, not only because of that fact alone but also because it may cause employers to be less confident that they can pay less to women and still keep them as employees.<br /><br />By the way, I have two engineering degrees, and I have never gotten any kind of engineering certification. That is not unusual. Engineering degrees are, in many cases, enough in themselves to signal to an employer that you can do technical work. There are some fields like civil engineering where certification is much more important, but in most engineering fields it is not.rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02587634589065610863noreply@blogger.com