I'm currently building some mass and energy spectrometers for a few different missions. I work for a research institute that NASA contracts with.

To put it in terms of thenewgreen's inquiry, we need more jobs. This is a demand problem.

I get infuriated any time that I hear politicians talking about a "shortage" of STEM workers. This is another softball talking point that every schmuck regurgitates while they're simultaneously defunding science and tech faster than you can tabulate.

I graduated a few years ago with a lot of capable peers who've wound up working service, retail, and other nightmares with their B.S. in Physics. Me, I was lucky enough that my parents knew someone who helped me get my foot in the door for an internship, and then I went on to get hired after graduation. Even though I'm actively pursuing a PhD (knocked out my Physics GRE a few months ago), the argument that "everyone pursuing Physics needs a PhD to be effective" is bologna. I've contributed quite a bit towards several projects, often incorporating things I've learned in my undergrad career. My classmates could as well, if there were spots on the roster for them. More $'s = more spots.

Obviously, this is my personal, anecdotal experience, but I believe it to be a STEM-wide problem. We've defunded science and tech across the board, not just in my sector.