Guest Writer: Henry Grosso – High School Intern
Our society is changing drastically in response to the constant advances in technology. In fact, there is very little we do in our lives that is not created and supported by advanced tech. As time progresses, this means the usual suspects for high paying, desirable careers, like medicine, law, and finance may have some competition from careers in the tech industry. But will interest in the field be able to match that growth?
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) is arguably one of the main pillars to diversifying your skillset and making you stand out more than others. Over the years, STEM has become increasingly more popular, but still it has not been incorporated into the lives of enough people. Maintaining a quality group of candidates who are pursuing IT careers has been a major issue for the United States for many reasons, but if certain measures are taken, we can expect to see exponential growth.
A common reason why students don’t pursue a degree in STEM is because of the difficulty, which has been causing a low percentage of teenage interest. A Pew Research Center Study shows that about 52% of adults believe the main reason young people don’t pursue stem is because these subjects are too hard for them. Others feel that the main reason young people are not pursuing STEM is because they think it is not useful for their careers (23%) or because STEM is boring (12%) and does not hold any real value. Another reason for why people don’t pursue STEM is because of the high cost of education,and a lack of resources available for those who cannot afford it.
Since the interest in STEM is fairly low in comparison to other jobs, it leaves the tech industry with a very small talent pool. The number of job opportunities is continuing to increase, however the concern is whether or not the interest from people grows with it. As of 2016 roughly 13% of the US workforce was employed in STEM, and now throughout the 2020’s, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said that over 1,000,000 STEM jobs have been added. This is more than any other industry.
A survey conducted by the Junior Achievement USA and ING U.S. Foundation found that about half of the 1,025 students ranked STEM as their top career choice, suggesting that the interest in this field is growing. However, a survey conducted by Microsoft found that females become interested in STEM subjects around the age of 11, and quickly lose interest at around the age of 15. A major reason for this lack of interest is because women are more likely to pursue careers in areas where men and women are treated equally. 6 out of 10 females admitted that they would pursue STEM related jobs if they believed they would be viewed as equal to their male counterparts.
Although Women have made substantial gains from being 8% of STEM workers in 1970 to roughly 30% today, they are still underrepresented within the industry. Many organizations are in support of increasing women’s status in the tech world. One organization in particular is the National Girls Collaborative Project, who’s main mission is to “make sure that all girls have access to resources which enhance STEM education and interest”.
Lastly, the question is what schools and organizations can do to make sure that more teens are prepared for the rigors of study in IT. Companies like Microsoft are trying to deepen the talent pool by encouraging immigration reform, as well as an increase in domestic STEM programs. Currently within the education system, many schools require students to take 1 or 2 tech courses during their 4 years. It would be even more beneficial for students if this requirement was expanded to at least 1 per year. One great program that collaborates with schools is called Snapology, a program that targets learning with STEM. Snapology consists of building social skills and teamwork while teaching science, technology, engineering, art math and English. This program is also accessible to gifted and special needs students, which makes it very versatile.
Technology is going to continue to take over the workforce over time. With that in mind, it is important to introduce and encourage our young minds to get involved. Having more knowledge and experience at a young age will only increase one’s capabilities and remove their limits later on in life.