Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!oliveb!amdahl!johnm
From: johnm@uts.amdahl.com (John Murray)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Are Americans Intellectually Inferior?
Message-ID: <00Uvr19Q3V1010d85Q6@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>
Date: 27 Jan 89 20:39:48 GMT
References: <1461@trantor.harris-atd.com> <19554@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 32

In article <19554@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>, matloff@bizet.Berkeley.EDU (Norman Matloff) writes:
> Immigrant Asian-Americans tend to have a fantastically good "network,"
> so they know that there are lots of openings for computer engineers,
> and that one can get a good salary in this line of work.  Many of the
> non-Asians do not know this.  I wonder if this knowledge would change 
> their aspirations?

This "network" phenomenon is not peculiar to Asian immigrants - or to
computer engineering for that matter. It's a by-product of the "ghetto-
forming" process which occurs among immigrants from many backgrounds. For
example, much of the fresh vegetable trade in New York seems to be in the
hands of people with a Korean background, many Irish immigrants end up in
the bar trade, police, construction, etc.

One factor which hasn't been considered is the attitude difference which
many Americans seem to have about "doing favors". It seems that some folk
from a foreign background are more willing to help "a friend of a friend"
(to study, find a job, etc.) without necessarily expecting compensation.
It's a sort of "buy me a beer sometime" type of attitude.

On the other hand, I sense that Americans would be more likely to feel
that they were under an obligation to the "benefactor", and therefore
would prefer to pay some "market value" for a service. Hence, people make
money helping kids apply to college, selling class notes and term papers,
grief counselling, etc. - jobs which typically are done as "favors" by a
person's friends and relatives in many other countries.

To go back to the original question:-  Yes, the knowledge would change
their aspirations. It probably does change them for the people who have
paid for the knowledge.

- John M. (My own opinions, etc.)