Career Guide for STEM Majors

STEM careers are well suited to inquisitive minds; science, technology, engineering, and math are all subjects based on exploring, understanding and even changing the universe around us. Luckily, today there are more STEM career openings than there is available talent. This means qualified STEM candidates are in high demand, so men and women in STEM industries typically see lower unemployment rates and higher pay than professionals in other sectors. Read on to begin the journey or gain new tools to further a career in STEM.

The United States government traditionally funds and promotes industries related to STEM in order to remain internationally competitive. This has created a high-salary job field with innumerable openings across a wide array of fields. Individuals with STEM degrees and certifications can find careers across the country in academia, research laboratories, small businesses, major corporations and more. With such a wide array of subjects and fields, a STEM career exists for nearly every passion.

*Green denotes occupations with higher than average projected job growth through 2024

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2014 – 2024

Despite growing initiatives and efforts promoting women and minorities in STEM, these demographics are underrepresented. For example, in 2015 over three times more men than women earned degrees in computing.

Source: Change the Equation, U.S. Department of Education Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 2001-2015

In order build a more diverse STEM workforce, various fellowships and organizations promote women and minorities. This also benefit STEM fields as a whole; more diverse STEM talent can result in more diverse ideas, which in turn bolster the STEM research and development community.

Find a program that meets your affordability, flexibility, and education needs through an accredited, online school.

STEM includes such a wide variety of subjects and fields that the options may feel overwhelming. Luckily, resources are plentiful. Mentors can guide and encourage STEM students and professionals; fellowships and internships can be used to explore the field and narrow interests; grants can fund independent research. There are resources for everyone, from the prospective student to the professional looking to develop their career below.

Vicki V. May, Ph.D. is an associate professor at Dartmouth College’s Thayer School of Engineering. She has received numerous awards, including 2013 New Hampshire Professor of the Year. She received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in 1991, then went on to earn her Master’s and PhD in Civil and Structural Engineering from Stanford University. Her research interests include seismic engineering, student-centered learning and K-12 outreach activities.

Talk to people in STEM fields to learn about what they do, look for summer camps or workshops in STEM, take an online course in a STEM field. I developed a massive open online course (MOOC) focused on structural engineering that is offered free through edX. Read about STEM field online, etc. The reality is that you can pretty easily transfer between different STEM fields so it is not necessary to be narrowly focused, at least initially.

I strongly believe that anyone can become an engineering (or other STEM professional), not everyone will necessarily want to become an engineer but given the right support and encouragement, anyone with a desire to be an engineer should be able to succeed. And engineering is so broad that there is something for everyone: some engineers focus more on design, some focus on analytical details, some build prototypes, some mainly work outside, some mainly work in a laboratory, some interact closely with clients while others work in an office, etc.

Hmm… I guess math and a good friend drew me into engineering. I was a music major initially in college but loved math, so I took math classes even though I didn’t need them for my major. A good friend was planning to study engineering (her father was an engineer so she knew all about engineering, whereas I knew nothing); I ended up helping her with math and decided that if she could do engineering, maybe I could too.

I see students who abandon their plans in STEM because they get a poor grade on an exam or assignment and decide engineering is not for them. Instead, I wish these students would seek out help or find new study strategies and realize that engineering (and other STEM fields) is very broad, so they may just need to find a different direction within STEM that they love.