<p>I found [URL=<a href="http://media.egotvonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/stem-shortage-600x5978.jpg%5Dthis%5B/URL">http://media.egotvonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/stem-shortage-600x5978.jpg]this[/URL</a>] image and thought I would share it.</p>
<p>I like how it says 5% of jobs are STEM related, yet it implies that the 19% of students majoring in STEM fields is too low... There's something wrong here.</p>
<p>The “Interest is in Sharp Decline” graph is misleading. If you look at the [actual</a> data](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11_286.asp]actual”>http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11_286.asp) on degrees granted, all three of those fields have shown a general upward trend in absolute figures.</p>
<p>The ratio of students pursuing STEM has fallen not because of a decline in STEM majors but rather as a result of faster growth in other majors, notably business.</p>
<p>I think you raise a good point, though you’d need to adjust the 19% figure to account for the fact that not everyone goes to college.</p>
<p>Good point, but I don’t know how many science careers there are which don’t require any degree. I’m probably just naive, though.</p>
<p>I also enjoy how the Biology curve under “Interest is in Sharp Decline” really hasn’t changed much. In fact, Engineering is the only one which has declined much.</p>
<p>Science is where the money is yea sure:</p>
<p>The majority of people with the aptitude for science don’t major in it
The majority of people who begin to major in it switch out before completing it
Those that complete the degree choose not to work in the field</p>
<p>Let’s think logically here. Something is strongly repelling people from the field. Could it be the fact that what few jobs there are pay janitor wages ($15-20 and hour) have no benefits, not job security and companies treat them like toilet paper?</p>
<p>Although the message the poster conveys is very sad it is unfortunately very true. </p>
<p>I just graduated from college and will be part of the 43% who will not work in the STEM field although they earned a STEM degree. My reason? There’s no job that will pay nearly as much as in other fields. Like the previous poster said only about $15-20 dollars.</p>
<p>Secondly I definitely feel for the low grades for STEM majors. STEM is already hard enough, but with low grades that’s gonna hurt people in STEM even more.</p>
<p>
That wasn’t my point. Let’s assume that all of those STEM jobs (5% of the total) require a STEM degree. Then we’d need 5% of the total labor force to have STEM degrees. You’re saying that 19% is a lot higher than 5%, and you’re right. However, the 19% figure refers to the percentage of degrees in STEM, not the percent of the labor force with STEM degrees. You need to do this:</p>
<p>(19% of degrees in STEM) * (x% of people entering the labor force with degrees)</p>
<p>Oh, you’re right. No idea what I was thinking haha.</p>
<p>Not all STEM majors are considered equal. Some STEM fields (engineering) offer considerably greater job prospects than other STEM fields and all other fields, for that matter. </p>
<p>The fact remains that if you go for a pure science undergrad major, you generally do so because 1) you have a passion for that field, and 2) your passion is so great (not just a passing hobby) you know you want to go to grad school for that area.</p>
<p>terenc, I’m gonna have to disagree with you there. Lots and lots of people major in a pure science to get into med school, dental school, pharmacy school etc. </p>
<p>Also some people just major in it because they don’t want to major in any of humanities. Not everyone wants to go to grad school in their undergrad major.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
Last I checked, med, dental, and pharmacy schools are all grad schools.</p>
<p>Note that the STEM job demand may not necessarily match up with the numbers of students graduating in each STEM major. For example, about a third of STEM majors are in some kind of biology, but there are not a lot of biology jobs for the relative to the number of graduates.</p>
<p>Note also that some STEM graduates take jobs not usually thought of as STEM jobs. Finance jobs often recruit math-heavy (i.e. math, physics, computer science, statistics, engineering) STEM majors from prestige schools, and some students major in applied math or statistics with the specific goal of preparting for actuarial exams and actuarial work.</p>
<p>
But not grad school “for that area” where “that area” is chemistry, biology, etc.</p>
<p>
Semantics. It doesn’t take away one iota from my argument. </p>
<p>Med/dental/pharmacy definitely fall under the domain of / are significantly related to biology and chemistry.</p>
<p>In case someone else decides to bring up another (irrelevant) point, I’ll also add another exception: if you go to a top school and pursue a career in a field that does not care about your major (consulting, IB, etc).</p>
<p>How does a person know they want to go to grad school before they even start college?</p>
<p>The pre-med dreamers often know that they want to go to medical school as high school seniors, before their dreams are crushed by B+ or lower grades in freshman chemistry.</p>
<p>
They should know by the time they actually declare a major, which is late sophomore year at most colleges for the pure sciences.</p>
<p>My point is that any student who chooses to major in the pure sciences should be aware that they are going to need to go to grad school. Now, obviously you are always going to have students that are ignorant/unaware of reality. But this is not what I’m addressing because it is true of any field, including engineering.</p>
<p>I went back and looked at the image from the OP again. If “2/3 will require a bachelor’s degree” then 1/3 (~33%) will not. So, why is it alarming that “35% of the STEM workforce will have less than a bachelor’s degree” ?</p>
<p>^ Good observation. However, are we sure it was saying that 35% is an alarming amount? Maybe it was saying “Even if you only want an associates degree, you can still get a STEM job!”</p>
<p>I also just noticed how the more STEM education you have, the less likely you are to make more than the average for your education level. Does this confirm the idea of “overqualified” job applicants?</p>
<p>Also, I like how it says that to get more students interested in STEM majors, we should “curtail grade inflation.” Maybe there isn’t grade inflation in the non-STEM majors; maybe STEM majors are just harder…</p>
<p>^ I think you hit the nail on the head. These degrees are just more difficult to earn for an average person, and it should stay that way. Inflating grades just makes it all the more difficult to determine who the top notch students really are. But that will not solve all the problems with STEM jobs. Until the market shows a true demand for STEM majors (mostly referring to outside of engineering), there will be no changes to the current situation.</p>
<p>The trouble is not that STEM is harder it is that there is no incentive to working harder for the degree. Quite the opposite in fact.</p>
<p>Also the suggestion that one should go to grad school in STEM is a terrible one. There are droves and droves of science PhD’s working endless post-docs because there are no jobs for them. The only way to make a decent living in STEM is with a professional degree or an unrelated graduate degree like business. A science graduate degree is just digging the hole deeper.</p>
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