In most Latin American countries, the number of students of humanities and social sciences dwarfs that of engineering students. Last time I counted, the state-run University of Buenos Aires, one of the largest in Latin America, had 29,000 psychology students and 8,000 engineering students — a ratio of more than three psychologists for every engineer.

“In most Western countries, young people would rather go to the dentist than go into engineering. Law, business, and medicine — just about anything but engineering — seem to be the preference of today’s youth,” says Dave Goldberg, a professor emeritus of engineering of the University of Illinois, and head of The Big Beacon movement to transform engineering education.

via Commentary: More engineers needed in U.S., Latin America | McClatchy.