The fields of science, technology, engineering and math, collectively known as STEM, have gained a lot of attention in the recent years the United States. The US is lagging behind several countries when it comes to math and science education. STEM is critical for global competitiveness; however the field is not attracting or retaining as many professionals as in the past. This month at LTAW we will be talking about this field in particular – what is it, how can you get into it and why STEM is critical to the future.

While record numbers of jobs are being lost in industries like manufacturing, mining, and utilities and transportation, those jobs that remain require STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills. In fact, many fields require STEM skills, even in non-STEM jobs. So, what are STEM skills, and why are they important?

STEM skills are those skills we use to process and solve problems. When we run into a problem at work, skills such as critical thinking and active learning help us process information more quickly. We use problem-solving skills to identify the problem, develop and evaluate options, and create and implement solutions. If you ever need to troubleshoot a situation at work, analyze data, or just create a simple spreadsheet to track sales, you are using STEM skills.

In today’s world, technology is changing rapidly. Many mundane, and sometimes unsafe, jobs that used to be performed by humans are now performed by machines. However, running and maintaining the machines, as well as understanding what to do when something goes wrong with them, requires workers with STEM skills.

Technology also allows companies to gather huge amounts of data, which can be sliced and diced in hundreds of ways, targeting customers and clients with precision. As a result, many jobs that traditionally might not have required analysis skills now do. Understanding how to make meaning from big data and create solutions based on it are STEM skills.

Why bother developing STEM skills if you’re not in a STEM career? Dr. Richard Larson from MIT said it best:

Becoming knowledgeable about STEM is not about the 0.01% who might become Ph.D. researchers or the 1% who might become engineers.  In this data-informed, technology intensive 21st Century the entire populace needs to become STEM literate. We all need STEM thinking skills. Many apparently non-STEM jobs have become STEM jobs, especially in the trades.  Do you know that the average new car has about 50 microprocessors? Forget about crawling under it with a few of your Dad’s old tools to fix it! And Moore’s Law of computers, which has resulted in the iPhone being equivalent to a multi-ton supercomputer of the 1970’s, has affected most other trades as well. But perhaps the most important reason for everyone to become STEM literate is to build a more informed citizenry. In that way we individually and collectively become better decision makers about all the options that our world and we face. STEM is not only for Ph.D. researchers. It’s for all of us!

Getting to Know STEM!

The fields of science, technology, engineering and math, collectively known as STEM, have gained a lot of attention in the recent years the United States. The US is lagging behind several countries when it comes to math and science education. STEM is critical for global competitiveness; however the field is not attracting or retaining as many professionals as in the past. This month at LTAW we will be talking about this field in particular – what is it, how can you get into it and why STEM is critical to the future.

A recent survey by the Silicon Valley Bank indicates that nearly 90% of start-ups plan to hire this year. (Startups are defined as “high-growth tech and healthcare companies with less than $100 million in revenues and fewer than 500 employees.”) Great news, if you’re looking for a job!

But, do you have the skills they need? According to the survey, 82% of executives surveyed are looking for workers with STEM skills, and 40% say STEM skills are the most critical skills they need. “Across sectors, executives are looking for workers with STEM . . . skills. Four in 10 (40 percent) say it is the most critical job skill, versus only one in five (17 percent) who say management, marketing, and other non-STEM skills are most critical. . . STEM skills are particularly critical to very early-stage companies and to hardware companies.”

However, finding the right workers will be challenging. Eighty-seven percent of executives surveyed say it is difficult to find the workers with the skills they need. Especially hard-pressed are those in the software and hardware industries. Andrew Evans, CFO of Symplified, says, “As soon as good employees raise their heads, they are snatched up.”

So, what can you do? If you have STEM skills, now is your time! If you still need to build your skills, get yourself assigned to projects at work that help you build STEM skills, or pick up a course at a college near you. (Check out an earlier LTAW blog for other suggestions on building skills.)

Happy job hunting!

Getting to Know STEM!

The fields of science, technology, engineering and math, collectively known as STEM, have gained a lot of attention in the recent years the United States. The US is lagging behind several countries when it comes to math and science education. STEM is critical for global competitiveness; however the field is not attracting or retaining as many professionals as in the past. This month at LTAW we will be talking about this field in particular – what is it, how can you get into it and why STEM is critical to the future.

Over the past couple of weeks the debate about whether there is really a shortage of STEM trained talent has escalated fueled by a report released recently by the Economic Policy Institute  which asserts that there are plenty of US born STEM educated individuals to take the growing number of jobs.  The Economic Policy Institute receives 30% of its funding from labor unions.

In essence the report concludes that “guest workers”, those with non-permanent residency status (H-1B temporary visa program) are hired for up to 50% of the available jobs in STEM and that in computer and information science and in engineering, U.S. colleges are graduating 50% more students than are hired into those fields each year.

On the other side of the argument, Change the Equation which is a nonprofit that works with companies facing skill shortages in STEM jobs says there is indeed a real deficit in this area.  This group claims that based on their analysis, the number of STEM-focused job postings outnumbered unemployed STEM professionals by nearly two to one when health care jobs were included.   Health jobs were excluded from the Economic Policy Institute study.

I guess it comes down to who is counting and how and what is counted as a STEM job.  Based on LTAW’s analysis of the literature on this topic, which is indeed plentiful, those who predict a serious shortage of STEM trained personnel seem to outweigh those who claim you can’t believe the hype.

The jobs in the STEM field that experts say currently experience more demand than supply include the following.

• Engineers
• IT Staff
• Accounting and finance
• Mechanics
• Nurses
• Machinists and Machine Operators

Even jobs that do not require a four-year college education like machinists and machine operators require strong math and technical skills.  Based on a study by University of Phoenix called Future Work Skills 2020, computational skills is one of the top ten needed competencies regardless of the field one might be in.  The point is, that no matter what career you might choose, there will undoubtedly be a need to know something about science, technology, engineering and/or math.

Getting to Know STEM!