In an age where people can have careers as trendy as a fitness blogger or as traditional as an accountant, many adults say teens should set their sights on jobs in science, technology, engineering or math, commonly referred to as STEM.
More than 30 percent of Americans say they would encourage high school students to pursue jobs in a STEM-related field, according to a September report from the Pew Research Center.
President Donald Trump is also nudging young adults to consider STEM careers. In September, he signed a memo dedicating $200 million dollars a year for technology education grants for women and minorities.
College students can reap countless benefits by majoring in STEM, educators say.
“STEM workers actually do command higher wages, overall, compared to non-STEM workers, and the growth rate of STEM-related occupations is higher than non-STEM-related occupations,” says Christina Tartaglia, a co-founder of Scientista, which supports women in college and graduate schools while they pursue STEM careers.
[Prepare for college classes as a STEM major.]
Employment for biomedical engineers and software developers, for example, is expected to grow by 23 percent and 17 percent, respectively, between 2014 and 2024, which is much faster than the 7-percent average for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average pay for these jobs, which may require only a bachelor’s degree, is more than $85,000 and $100,000 per year, respectively.
The skills students gain in STEM fields go beyond number crunching and technological innovation.
“Engineering degrees help students develop creative problem-solving techniques,” says Jennifer Stephan, associate dean of undergraduate advising for the school of engineering at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
As a college applicant, it can be appealing to consider STEM. Prospective students who are trying to decide whether a STEM major is for them should think about what subjects naturally interest them and what the academic expectations are for STEM majors.
“Applicants who might be considering an engineering field typically have successfully taken a lot of math and science at a rigorous level at their high school and have enjoyed it,” says Stephan. Very often, she says, they’ve taken four years of math, four years of science and related electives, such as anatomy or Advanced Placement chemistry.
Once they enter college, students often have to plan for lots of studying.
“It’s a full-time job,” says Evan Korth, a clinical professor at New York University who teaches computer science. A student in that discipline may end up dedicating between 30 and 60 hours a week, he says, to attending class, completing homework and studying.
[Learn how women and minorities can find colleges that offer STEM support.]
About 42 percent of engineering majors and 40 percent for physical science, math and computer science majors spent between 11 and 20 hours per week preparing for class, according to the 2016 National Survey of Student Engagement. Engineering students might study discrete math and physics, while computer science undergrads might take courses on data structures and operating systems.
Patricia Blumeris, a junior at Tufts who’s studying mechanical engineering, suggests prospective STEM students think about the courses they’ll need to take to complete their degree at different institutions.
For example, many engineering programs, she says, have an online outline of what classes students will need to take each year.
“Do those classes interest you? Would you be happy taking those classes for four years?” she says. “Really base your decision off of that , because four years is a big chunk of your life, and so it’s important that you’re going to enjoy at least some of the classes.”
Courses, however, may not give students a full perspective of a STEM discipline. One way prospective students can get a feel for how much they’ll like a STEM major is to get hands-on exposure.
Those interested in computer science, for example, can try out coding through sites like Vidcode or Codecademy, says Korth.
[Explore resources for women undergrads interested in science and engineering.]
Applicants should also speak with STEM undergrads, says Blumeris.
“Try to find someone who’s in an undergraduate engineering program,” she says. “Pick their brain about what classes have been like.” Prospective students can ask their high school’s guidance counselors if they know of recent graduates who are now majoring in the discipline that interests them, she says.
One thing college applicants should not do, says Stephan, is to go into STEM solely for the job prospects.
“That approach just puts a student at risk of four years of probably painful study — maybe not — but in all likelihood working in a job that they really don’t enjoy. And that’s not a recipe for being successful,” she says. “To be most successful, it’s to do work that you find rewarding and engaging and that you enjoy.”
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Determine Whether a STEM Major Is the Right Choice originally appeared on usnews.com
