STEM - Stop Talking, Start Helping!

There is a lot of talk across the nation in promoting STEM careers with our younger students.  This continues to be an issue that we need to address.  More jobs continue to open up within these fields and that trend will only accelerate as the Baby Boomers retire.

Take a quick look at the number of job openings that are expected thru 2022: BLS: Occupational Outlook Quarterly.  Let's review the top jobs identified in this report (as of Spring 2014):

• Software Developers - 218,500 openings thru 2022, average wage $92,660
• Computer Systems Analysts - 209,600 openings thru 2022, average wage $81,190
• Computer User Support Specialist - 196,900 openings thru 2022, average wage $46,620
• Software Developers, System Software - 134,700 openings thru 2022, average wage $101,410
• Civil Engineers - 120,100 openings thru 2022, average wage $80,770

You know what, those are pretty good wages!  I recognize that these are not the starting wages, that said, you can see that overall, these are jobs that will be in demand.  Students entering into these jobs should see wage increases that will allow them to earn a decent living.

My focus in this post will be careers in Computer Science.  While other STEM careers are critical - I'll focus on those that I'm most familiar with, those that have powered my careeer.

Unfortunately, here in the States, we are doing a very poor job of educating our students about what opportunities are available and are not focusing our curriculum to encourage young students to explore the career choices.

Only 1 in 10 of our high schools offer computer science programs for their students (as identified by TEALS).  That is a scary statistic - if 9 out of 10 schools can not provide early experiences to students that might be interested in Computer Science, how are we expecting these students to make the choice to pursue degrees in Computer Science.  More importantly, if it is this bad at the high school level - what do you think it looks like at the middle school level.

I firmly believe that if we don't find a way that allows middle school students a way to explore these careers early and then do not reinforce that through high school experiences, that we are failing the next generation.  More importantly, we are putting the future of our companies at risk.

So, here are my ideas of what needs to be done:

• Our local school boards need to find a way to introduce computer science curriculum into all middle schools.  These courses need to count as math or science credits.
• We need to specifically find ways to encourage both young men and women to take these courses.
• Our local school boards need to find a way to introduce computer science curriculum into all high schools.  These courses need to count as math or science credits.
• Alternately, some states are declaring that computer language courses would count as foreign language credits.
• Our states need to fund the expansion of STEM exploratory courses at both the middle and high school levels.
• Businesses need to step up and provide volunteers to go into the schools and assist students as they explore STEM careers.  Some of this is being done through initiatives like Lego League, but we need to find these types of programs and make them available to every school, every year.
• Businesses need to open up and hire more entry level technology students.  I have seen the tide shift to where many companies now only want to hire people with several years of experience.  They no longer want to hire newly graduated students and mentor them into the next generation of experts within their company.  Or they only want to contract and rotate people in and out every 18 months.  That may work for their bottom line today, but it destroys the expertise that they will need when current subject matter experts retire.

And, yes, before you ask, I'm holding myself accountable.  For years, I have taken time to regularly talk to high school and college students about career opportunities and what life is like working within the Computer Science field - specifically software engineering.  I have volunteered to assist as schools present various tech initiatives for their students.

If those of us in this field don't take the time to encourage the next generation to step up and become the future technology experts, who will?  If we don't take the time to encourage our schools to address the educational needs that will drive job opportunities, who will?  If we don't take the time to personally lobby/communicate with our state leaders on the need to drive change in this area, who will?

If you'd like more information on my background: LinkedIn Profile

Let’s Talk About the Next Generation …

STEM!  It’s where it’s at!  Science, Technology, Engineering and Math!  I’m most interested in promoting the “T” in STEM and getting the next generation to think about careers in Technology.

Here’s some facts …

• Growth of STEM related employment opportunities over the next 10 years is expected to be almost double that of non-STEM opportunities: 17% vs 9.8%.
• Those choosing careers in STEM related fields will see a wage difference of almost 26% in their favor.
• Over the last 10 years, STEM related employment opportunities grew 3x faster than non-STEM related employment.
• Projections for the next 10 years show that STEM related employment opportunities will grow substantially faster than for non-STEM related employment – 29% for professional, scientific and technical careers; 47% for computer systems design; and 58% in management, scientific and technical consulting services.
• Four out of the six highest paying professions are STEM related: Life Physical and Social Science; Business and Financial Operations; Computer and Mathematical; and Management.

Translation: If you want a job after you get out of school, and you want stability and the ability to earn a decent living – you need a background in one of the STEM disciplines.

This means that students going through high school need to be taking courses heavy in math and science to prepare them for college level courses.  I’m by no means saying that this is the only way to break in to these disciplines – but, your chances go down significantly if you are not preparing yourself properly.

Folks, it is our job to be talking about this with our kids and their friends.  Promoting what it is we do, why it is exciting, why we love doing it!  Kids don’t necessarily want to take the math courses or the science courses – it’s our job to encourage and in some cases push them.  They need to understand the long term impact of not being prepared means when they enter the workforce after their education.

For me – it’s all about Technology.  If you’ve read my introduction, you’re aware of the fact that I was introduced to computers by the time I was 12.  Yes, that was a long time ago when they were rare!  Once I touched one, I knew that was what I wanted to do professionally and I’ve been blessed to have done it the last 37 years!  By the way, what I learned in school way back then about computers doesn’t even begin to touch the capabilities that we have today.  Translation, if you want a job that keeps giving you opportunities to grow professionally and personally, I can’t think of a better career!

Find someone – change their life by talking to them about opportunities that exist.  More importantly, the jobs that will be available to them and the money they can earn, by pursuing careers within the STEM fields.  Offer to take your daughter and her friends in to the office and give them a tour.  See if you can talk about what it is you do at your local middle or high school – most teachers that I know love to have guests come in and talk to the students if it can align with the subjects that they are teaching.  Find your Engineering instructor or the instructor that teaches computer classes and offer to be a resource.  If you’re in the medical field – maybe you could spend some time in the biology classes.

Folks, it’s up to us to open the eyes of the next generation!  Can you spare an hour or two every few months to walk in to your local middle school or high school and make a difference?

Sources:
-    http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/documents/stemfinalyjuly14_1.pdf
-    http://curiosityintheclassroom.com/media/pdf/Career_Informational_FINAL.pdf
-    http://dpeaflcio.org/wp-content/uploads/The-STEM-workforce-2012.pdf

If you'd like more information on my background: LinkedIn Profile