Thread: 'Brain waste' thwarts immigrants' career dreams

'Brain waste' thwarts immigrants' career dreams

By DEEPTI HAJELA Associated Press
Posted: 03/26/2011 10:21:40 AM MDT

NEW YORK—After finishing medical school in Bogota, Colombia, Maria Anjelica Montenegro did it all—obstetrics, pediatrics, emergency medicine. Since she has moved to the United States, her resume includes jobs as sales clerk, babysitter, and medical assistant.

The 34-year-old woman's situation reflects a trend that some researchers call "brain waste." The term refers to immigrants who were skilled professionals in their own countries, but can't find work in the U.S. that makes full use of their education or training.

The Migration Policy Institute, an immigration think tank, estimates that 1.2 million college-educated immigrants in the United States were underemployed, out of a population of 6.7 million. About another 350,000 were unemployed.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_17707482

Go home and put your brain to good use there.

the reason we don't let them use their degrees from 2nd and third world countries is far too often the traning they have gotten is either lacking , or the degree is bogus ..

immigrants are not the only under employed:

Currently, even after a slight boost in jobs growth, unemployment for 18-24 year olds stands at 24.7%. For 20-24 year olds, it hovers at 15.2%. These conservative estimates, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics U3 measure, do not reflect the number of marginally attached or discouraged young workers feeling the lag from a nearly moribund job market.

The U3 measure also does not count underemployment, yet with only 50% of B.A. holders able to find jobs requiring such a degree, underemployment rates are a telling index of the squeezing of the 18-30 year old Millennial generation.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/11/ ... risis.html

seems to me the underemployed immigrants are doing better than our own citizens

Okay, these reactions are a little disturbing. I thought this forum was against ILLEGAL immigration?

The ONLY nod to illegals in the whole article was this sentence

Some are held back even further because they're also in the U.S. illegally.

and I agree totally that if that is why you can't use your degree/training then boo hoo, but this article wasn't about illegals.

As a legal migrant myself I find the attitude in this thread worrying.

Worrying?

Well I can't speak for everyone but I am worried

We are allowing WAY to many people into this country ,
Sure this site is about illegal immigration but if I"m not mistaken
the platform has been changed to include A SLOWDOWN on all immigration

The country going broke, we have way to many Americans out of work
immigrants are lowing the living , education and other standards in this country

We use to be a nation of rocket scientists , now we appear to be ok with being a nation of busboys and landscapers

Its time to take a breather , a time out , a slowdown
Close the borders , weed out the bad seeds , give it 10 or 20 years and see where we are at.

At this point with the situation with dwindling natural resources , I think we need a very very low legal immigration system at this time and for the future.

I want a raise of hands here.....how many of you clicked the link and read the actual article? If you did you would find that not only is she here LEGALLY, she is now, and has been for a while A US CITIZEN. She is working on getting legally licensed for medical practice here. I am guilty too, I should have clicked before jumping to conclusions in my response.

justthefacts, When did we change our position from supporting legal immigrants? funny, but I do not see a name change...nope still says AMERICANS FOR LEGAL IMMIGRATION PAC

Originally Posted by cayla99

I want a raise of hands here.....how many of you clicked the link and read the actual article? If you did you would find that not only is she here LEGALLY, she is now, and has been for a while A US CITIZEN. She is working on getting legally licensed for medical practice here. I am guilty too, I should have clicked before jumping to conclusions in my response.

justthefacts, When did we change our position from supporting legal immigrants? funny, but I do not see a name change...nope still says AMERICANS FOR LEGAL IMMIGRATION PAC

We do support legal immigrants , I never said we did not

I said the I believed the platform changed to support lower levels of legal immigration.

Medical certification in this country is very much harder to gain then in your average 3rd world butcher schools , I wish her good luck, With obomba care this country will need more doctors

From the sound of it she is the kind of immigrant we should be allowing in

"How many people in her own country are suffering cause she's waiting tables!"

If you are qualified to be a doctor at home but you aren't qualified here

and you want to be a doctor the solution is to go home and be a doctor

or go to school here and get qualified.