Universities call it “rikei banare,” or “flight from science.” The decline is growing so drastic that industry has begun advertising campaigns intended to make engineering look sexy and cool, and companies are slowly starting to import foreign workers, or sending jobs to where the engineers are, in Vietnam and India.

Same problem faced in the U.S. If I had a nickel everytime a little boy said they wanted to be a baseball player, or a little girl said they wanted to be a 4th grade teacher, *I* wouldn't need to pursue engineering. I went to "Introduce a Girl to Engineering" at GT a few weeks ago, and 99% of the middle school girls I talked to didn't know what engineers did or that different types of specialties were available. I was pretty fuzzy on it myself at that age, and my dad has two engineering degrees. It is really a sad state of affairs.

-janelane, engineering *is* sexy and cool.

High-Tech Japanese, Running Out of Engineers - New York Times