I thought Math would be safe?

I said my company, they just tend to view people with multiple higher level degrees as likely to leave if they get a better offer. It might be different but there is such a thing as being overeducated in my opinion in some fields. I know when I hire in my department I don't even look at people with a bachelors degree I tend to hire people from the local public school system who have their accounting diploma, or have an associates degree. I prefer to teach my employees beyond that on the job.

 

Now, this is the truth. I've had people strike up conversations with me on the Taipei metro, the streets of Beijing, etc. because of my white face. Very disconcerting.

 

It depends where you are located, for example in NC, where I live, they are reclassifying special education students, to cut teachers and they are combining students in certain special education classes. In my current district, we lost special education teachers as well as regular teachers.

 

Teaching isn't that safe either...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009393348_h1b28m.html


Math teacher, Francisco Size teaches at Mount Rainier High school in Des Moines on a H1B visa from the Dominican Republic.


STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Highline School District recruited Francisco Size, from the Dominican Republic, at a job fair in New York.
Francisco Size came to Washington from the Dominican Republic last year on a type of work visa that each year draws thousands of other foreign professionals into the state.

But the 42-year-old is not a computer programmer or software engineer for the typical high-tech companies using these visas.

Rather, Size works as a math teacher in the Highline School District — one of scores of teachers across the state hired on the H-1B visa.

While use of the visa in the private sector at companies like Microsoft is well-known and hotly debated, less is known about school districts' use of the program. In fact, at least 40 Washington school districts have applied for H-1B visas to employ teachers and staff over the past five years.

For example, Puyallup hired a high-school English teacher from Jamaica, Seattle hired a special-education teacher from India, and Bellevue hired a parent-outreach coordinator from Chile.

Districts say they use H-1B workers to fill teaching positions with long-reported shortages in such areas as special education and math. Districts also have hired foreign nationals as English, elementary-school and substitute teachers. Like any employer using the H-1B program, schools do not have to show a lack of qualified U.S. teachers before they hire foreign workers.

Schools have had mixed results with the visa workers. Some districts have not renewed the visas for certain teachers, while others decided to keep these workers long-term by helping them get permanent residency with employer-sponsored green cards.

Faced with laying off hundreds of teachers and staff this summer, Washington public-school officials may find it harder to support hiring new foreign workers.

Lori Simmons, employment director for Federal Way Public Schools, said "in this kind of climate" she doubted her district would hire an H-1B teacher.

"Districts all up and down the I-5 corridor are laying off teachers, and so we have experienced teachers looking for jobs," she said.

Each year, the U.S. government issues at least 85,000 visas to foreign professional workers who have at least a four-year degree. The process begins with an employer petitioning on a worker's behalf for a visa, which is valid for three years and can be renewed for another three. Ultimately, most workers hope an employer will sponsor them for the coveted green card that allows them to work permanently in the U.S.

Obtaining the temporary work visas may be more difficult before long. At a time when so many people are out of work, members of Congress have introduced a bill that would force employers to seek out U.S. residents first before employing H-1B workers.


Cultural differences

Due to limited budgets, school districts such as Seattle and Federal Way recruit teachers and recent college graduates with teaching degrees from within the state. Other districts send recruiters to job fairs across the country.

Highline School District is one that goes overseas. It sought teachers by going to Spain through a teacher-exchange program and to Jamaica through an agency that links districts with teachers wanting to come here on H-1B visas. Highline's trips were paid by either the country's program or a private agency.

Last year, the district hired Size, from the Dominican Republic, at a minority-educators job fair in New York. "He was a viable candidate," said Don Waring, the district's human-resources director. "There aren't enough American math teachers to go around."

After spending $3,500 on attorney and visa fees, Size landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport two weeks before he was to begin teaching several classes of remedial math. Despite some teaching experience in his home country, Size said he had trouble setting rules in the classroom and disciplining students.

"I think I really maybe don't know the culture of the students, how they think, how high school [is] like here, what they expect from the teachers," said Size, interviewed in his utilitarian classroom at Mt. Rainier High School.

Size said he became depressed, which he brought into the classroom. Highline will not renew his contract for next school year.

Now Size must scramble to find another employer willing to hire him, or he must return home. Last month he interviewed for a math teaching position at a Houston school that hires H-1B workers.

Surprise: visa's needed

Seattle Public Schools has employed a dozen H-1B workers over the past decade, many of them hired as special-education teachers.

The district usually doesn't know if potential employees will need to be sponsored for H-1B visas until after they are hired, human-resources director Brent Jones said.

The Pullman School District got surprised, and stung, when it hired a graduate from Washington State University several years ago, not knowing he was a foreign national.

Garren Shannon, director of information systems for the district, said at least four people applied for an entry-level job as a computer systems administrator. In March 2006, he hired Zhengmao "James" Yan, who he said was highly qualified and enthusiastic about the job.

"[He was] different from the typical applicant — the standard American kid isn't as aggressively eager to work," Shannon said.

Two weeks into the job, Yan told the district he needed a visa to continue to work legally in the country.

Shannon told Yan the district would sponsor him, but he'd have to pay for the filing fees and his own attorney to handle the paperwork.

But both were unprepared for the laborious H-1B process. "It's not for the meek and mild," Shannon said.

Fearing deportation, Yan quit after three months. The district had to start the hiring process over again.

Had he known the district would need to sponsor Yan for the H-1B visa, Shannon said he wouldn't have hired him: "I had other candidates that weren't as qualified but didn't come with the costs and work."

For the Issaquah School District, the hiring of Bettina Gehle of Germany on an H-1B visa several years ago was positive.

Gehle, who teaches sports medicine and other classes, has strong skills and a passion for the job, said Kathy Miyauchi, the district's personnel director. The district will sponsor Gehle for a green card, with her paying the costs.

"We are looking for qualities of a good teacher and that's the same whether the person is a citizen or someone going through the immigration process," Miyauchi said.

 

This situation is quite common, I have seen similar situations before. The other thing that the article fails to mention is that they are agencies all over the US, that recruit foreign teachers, there is even a federal program available. The sad thing is that some of these foreign teachers are told how wonderful it will be in the US and that they will get their pick of where they can go and this is far from the truth. I was talking to one of her foreign recruit teachers from Russia, she has a PhD and the district does not even pay her at the PhD or Masters rate, because they do not have to. The teachers are contracted from the company, where they are paid at the lowest pay scale. They are also brought in to teach remedial courses, never any of the core subjects. The Russian teacher I just mentioned, taught English Lit and the Classics, in my district, shes teaching remedial english for the 8th grade. Many stay simply at hopes of gaining a shot at citizenship, which strangely enough never happens because often they have to return back to their countries before the required living period in the US has been met and the companies normally terminate their contracts anyways. The other disturbing fact is that they are not offered any benefits and the districts can call the company and request another teacher at any time.

 

Careers in math aren't in as high demand as some of the numbers would have you believe.

Take Operations Researchers for example:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos044.htm

11% projected growth from 2006 to 2016. That doesn't sound that bad, but when you examine the numbers more closely you'll find that there are only 60000 people actually working in this field. So, over the course of 10 years, there will only be about 6000-7000 new jobs. That's 600-700 new jobs per year. That's nothing. Obviously those 600-700 jobs are going to go to the best and the brightest with PhD's and experience in computer programming or engineering, likely MIT grads.

Actuaries fare even worse when you look at the numbers:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos041.htm

24% projected growth from 2006-2016! Examine it more closely. There were only 18000 actuarial positions in 2006 with projected growth to 22000 by 2016. That's 400 new jobs per year! Plus, their average salaries are somewhat inflated because most insurance companies are headquartered near large cities where the cost of living is generally higher than average. Also, the barrier to entry is substantially lower for actuaries than most other math related professions. You don't even need a math related degree. Instead, you need to pass a series of difficult exams. Obviously, the market is flooded with wannabe actuaries at this point.

Take a look at mathematicians and statisticians. The future looks even bleaker.