Published by Brunsell on 09 Sep 2009 at 03:18 pm
The importance of STEM education.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education has gotten a lot of attention in the press over the past few years. Quite simply, having a well educated and innovative STEM workforce is critical to the economic security and prosperity of the United States. More importantly, a solid STEM education provides all of our children with a strong foundation to “keep the door open” on many opportunities throughout their lives.
I was recently speaking with a CEO of a company that prioritizes hiring of scientists, mathematicians and economists because they are good problem solvers. They are creative, yet able to analyze data and trends. He told me that hiring those types of people is a very competitive process - he may only have a few candidates that are also being recruited by other companies. On the other hand, he adds, when we hire someone with a business background, we might have 50-100 (or more) applicants for a single position.
Payscale, Inc. released a report that ranked undergraduate college degrees by median starting salary and mid-career salary (w/o graduate degree). Seven of the top 10 majors were in engineering. The other three (economics, physics and computer science) all require a significant “STEM” background. In fact, every career in the top 20 (marketing comes in at 21) requires substantial science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics coursework.
Methodology Annual pay for Bachelors graduates without higher degrees. Typical starting graduates have 2 years of experience; mid-career have 15 years. See full methodology for more. |
40% of the top 20 majors are engineering majors (50% if you include computer science and construction management/engineering). I am in the process of sifting through survey data that I collected from about 380 ninth grade students regarding their perceptions of engineering as a profession. The one finding that quickly jumped out was that the average 9th grade student could identify just over one type of engineer. How are our students supposed to be prepared for STEM fields if they don’t even know that they exist!
Oh yeah, and why is it abnormal for high schools to actually have engineering courses (except Massachusetts -standards)? Engineering isn’t an “emerging” profession - it has been around long enough for schools (and policymakers) to have noticed.
If you are interested in putting more engineering into your teaching, check out:
Marta on 09 Sep 2009 at 9:22 pm #
Thanks for the links Eric. I had never thought of Engineering as a high school subject because it always seemed too “advanced”. But you definitely have a point and I have recently heard of a few schools offering it as a senior elective. I will post the links up on my Science Teacher’s Hub wiki under the Science Specialist subjects.
Brunsell on 10 Sep 2009 at 9:48 am #
Marta,
Many districts are using the model developed by Project Lead the Way (http://www.pltw.org/) to provide engineering experiences for students. Just like any other subjects, the “level” can be modified to provide age appropriate instruction. The “Engineering is Elementary” program is a fantastic example of that!