Asian American Identities: Racial and Ethnic Identity Issues in ...

High percentages of Chinese and East Indians have excelled in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics areas in the United States and as a result there is a demand for scientists and engineers from these areas. In fact, between 1988 and 1995, Chinese (international) students earned 7.5 percent of all science and engineering doctorates, 13 percent of all physical science, and 15 percent of all mathematics doctorates (Johnson, 2001). Similarly, with the recent changes in immigration (H1-B temporary visas), more East Indian immigrants with skills in technology-related fields (e.g., computer science and engineering) have been able to make a living in the United States. Estimates in the late 1990s put the number of East Indians working in technology firms in California’s Silicon Valley at about 300,000. They also account for more than 15 percent of high-tech startups in the region (Silicon Valley). The average or mean income of East Indians in that region is estimated to be $200,000 a year (Asian Indians in USA, 1998). These facts help to explain why East Indians maintain the highest median income of any group currently residing in the United States (as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Census, 2004). The aforementioned characteristics are important features of these two groups, which will be revisited in later chapters as they characterize the subsection of Chinese and East Indians that are represented in the present study.

Today, Asian Americans in general continue to be a rapidly growing population (Census 2000). They are a multilingual group possessing a variety of values and perspectives about the world (Espiritu, 1992). It is important to note that other major ethnic minority groups in the United States, for the most part, tend to share a common language: African Americans and Latinos speaking English and Spanish, respectively.