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Fueling the Photonics Workforce
Resolving a near-term shortage in qualified photonics technicians will require innovative cross-training approaches for employed techs from other specialties.
Much has been written about the looming shortage of workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The 2013 U.S. National Academies report Optics and Photonics: Essential Technologies for Our Nation highlights the lack of qualified scientists and engineers in photonics. But equally worrisome is the potentially severe shortage of skilled technicians—the “geniuses of the lab”—that could limit the U.S. workforce in a rapidly growing photonics industry.
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