FTFA...
"...the U.S. graduates more visual arts and performing arts majors than engineers. It also noted that the U.S. ranks 27th among developed nations in the proportion of college students receiving undergraduate degrees in science and engineering."
It strikes me that this stems from the philosophy that children in the US are encouraged to pursue 'whatever you enjoy most' under the misconception that is the career they will be best suited to and thus make them happiest. In other countries this doesn't happen. Parents push their kids towards the careers that pay well and are likely to ensure them a happy future. Later in life the kids thank their parent for this. How many penniless actors are there in the US that wish they'd chosen another career?
Sure, this philosophy works fine if you actually have won the lottery or have rich parents, but what do kids really know about making these decisions? You can say that an 18 yr old is perfectly mature enough to make up their own mind, but in reality the decision made much earlier in life. It doesn't happen often that a teenager, who has spent their whole childhood indulging in the arts, suddenly realizes he/she has made a mistake and then switches to a career in engineering.
