The New York Times last week had a story about the reality of Genetically Engineered Salmon reaching your dinner table sooner than you think.

In a move apparently designed to make the Smoke Monster from LOST a reality, a research team from Harvard’s Weiss Institute have created self assembling nano-devices that can change shape on demand.

Boeing has succeeded in building an Airplane, the new 787, that can withstand lightening strikes.

And finally, after years of failing to figuratively build a better mousetrap, researchers at the DSK ISD International School of Design in India decided to just LITERALLY build a better mousetrap.

That is a question I’ve been wrestling with the past few days and I like the answers I keep arriving at less and less.

For engineers, the idea of our jobs being packed up and moved overseas has largely been an abstract concept; it’s something that we’ve never had to worry about. Moving jobs offshore is a problem for people who work in factories or answer phones. We told ourselves that we had a high level of education and that our jobs were delivering some product that couldn’t be replicated by someone far away. In essence our white(ish) collars kept us safe and secure.

But is that still true?

In the past it was cliché for bright young student to come from (insert random country), get a student visa, make all the American students look lazy, get a great IT/engineering job, and then live their lives here in America, visiting their home country every few years and making us all wish we traveled more.

But then the internet happened and rapid global communication became stupidly cheap. Things that required little to no human interaction (like helping solve your computer problems) went almost overnight to places like India where large groups of people were willing to do the work for cents on the dollar. Those companies that don’t, or are unwilling to, go overseas have a steep uphill battle to fight against their competitors.

So, engineers are safe right?

Not exactly. What do we as engineers really produce? Essentially we drive computer programs, manipulate designs, and generate reports to accomplish some project. Nearly everything we as engineers do is electronic now, and much of it can be done anywhere across the globe by anyone with the right education and experience.

Does India have engineering schools? They have 15 technology institutions that are rumored to be harder to get into than Harvard. China is in the processes of developing their own world class universities, Russia has a ton of experienced engineers looking to earn a fraction of what we do here in the USA. The list of countries capable of producing American grade (or better) engineers goes on and on.

Do you really think they want to leave their home countries to come here just for a job? Some might, but why earn only a middle class income here in America when they can be a top earner in their native land?

Boeing has been doing this for years, sending parts to be designed in Russia by experienced aerodynamicists. Managers can send an assignment out and have it done in the morning by engineers working through the night, taking advantage of the time difference.

So what can we do?

The way I see it we as engineers have two options. Both of them require change on our part:

1. Lower our prices: Being an engineer will never make you rich, but it will provide a comfortable living. If we are willing to lower our own salaries to the global average, our senior managers would have one less reason to send our jobs overseas.

2. Get better at what we do: People across the world are willing and able to do our jobs for less. We need to find ways that they can’t compete. Perhaps that means providing extra face-to-face time, or developing niche work that couldn’t be sent in large volumes somewhere else.

Either way, I’m certain that the way we are doing business will be very different a few years from now. We (the Americans reading this blog at least) had better get busy finding ways to keep our jobs secure. Anyone else have any good ideas on how to do that?

K-Exchange: Brendan, thanks for speaking with us, first off, can you tell us a little about yourself?
Brendan Freund: Sure, I’ve lived in the Wood River Valley my entire life, which has provided me awesome outdoor opportunities and where I’ve done almost every sport out there including running cross country and playing soccer and tennis competitively in high school.

What has really driven me throughout these past years, though, has been my passion for math, music, and science. There’s nothing else that excites me more then these subjects and I’m so excited to learn more about them at Stanford. I’ve played piano for about 12 years now, and picked up the guitar last year. As far as math and science, I took Multivariable calculus and Physics C this year. I’m really looking forward to going to college next year where labs are a huge part of science class, I had to take Physics C online this year which was too bad because I didn’t get to do any labs.

KX: Why did you choose to go to Stanford?
BF: I chose Stanford for many reasons. What I love about the school is the atmosphere, the laid back yet intense academic feel. I also loved it because there is so much going on. There are hundreds of clubs to join and there is no limit to what I could do. It was almost overwhelming when I went to the activities fair, because I wanted to join every other club I saw. I’m so excited to get in that mix, and become a part of that incredible atmosphere. That’s why I chose Stanford. Oh, and the campus isn’t too shabby either.

KX: California is a long way from Idaho, are you looking forward to getting so far away from home?
BF: I am glad that I’m going far away from my home. Not because I don’t like where I’m from, because I absolutely love my home town, I’m just ready to move on. There’s so much out there for me to learn, so it’s time for me to head out. Plus California is really culturally diverse, so I’m excited to meet kids from other backgrounds.

KX: What made you want to be an Engineer? More Specifically, why did you choose to go into Mechanical Engineering?
BF: I chose to be an engineer because I love to work with materials hands on. I don’t want to be stuck in front of a white board dealing with theoretical proofs and ideas, I want to be able to create something.

Two summers ago, I took a course on Alternative Energy Engineering at Brown University. In that three week course, I pretty much decided what I wanted to do with my life. Mechanical Engineering is a good start, but I really want to focus on creating sustainable energy. This is going to be one of the greatest challenges for the future, and I want to be a part of the engineering world that tries to fix it.

KX: If you weren’t majoring in Engineering, what do you think you would be going to school for?
BF: I’ve been pretty dead set on majoring in engineering for a while now, especially since that Brown course. Music was something I was considering a major in, but I feel like that should be a fun hobby rather than something I set the rest of my life upon. I’m going to still pursue music in college, taking classes here and there, and playing in a group perhaps.

KX: What are you looking forward to most about college?
BF: I’m really looking forward to meeting new people from all over the world, and having the time of my life. Mainly, doing everything I love. Playing soccer, tennis, ultimate frisbee, socializing with friends, learning more about what I love, and being in an environment that offers everything I could possibly want. That’s what I’m most excited about. I’m sure there will be ups and downs, but I know that the next four years will probably be the best of my life.