Why STEM Matters

WHY STEM MATTERS ABOUT 3 MILLION JOBS ARE UNFILLED BECAUSE AMERICANS LACK THE BASIC TECHNICAL SKILLS TO FILL THEM. With many positions in science, technology, engineering and mathematics being filled by people born outside the country, the United States is stepping up its efforts and making STEM education a top priority. It Starts in School Effective education in STEM fields is vital to ensuring the American workforce will remain competitive with others around the world. So how bad are things now? ONLY 1 IN 2 37% 16% U.S. high schools that offer calculus American high schools that don't offer physics Percentage of high school seniors proficient in math and interested in a STEM career 2 GRADE LEVELS How far behind American students are relative to same-age international counterparts 34% Percentage of U.S. eighth-graders rated proficient or higher in a national math assessment in 2009 29% 27TH Public school math teaching vacancies that were difficult to fill or left unfilled Where the U.S. ranks among developed nations in undergraduate degrees in science or engineering 11 1 IN 3 EIGHTH-GRADERS WHO HAD TEACHERS MAJORING IN THE FIELD THEY TEACH: 31% Math 48% Science Americans who said they'd rather clean a bathroom than solve a math problem The Plan to Get Ahead .... The Educate to Innovate initiative, launched in 2009, aims to move American students from the middle of the pack to the top of the pack in math and science over the next decade. It has garnered $700 million in public-private partnerships. THE PLAN INCLUDES INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS OF INVESTMENT IN: K-12 Educational activities that take place outside the classroom K-12 instruction Graduate Undergraduate education fellowships Why STEM Matters Degrees in STEM fields can help graduates land jobs – jobs that pay better than average. 60% +11% 47% Employers having difficulty finding qualified employees Difference in STEM wages vs. same-degree counterparts in other jobs Bachelor's degree-holders in STEM fields who earn more than PhDs in non-STEM occupations EIGHT OF THE TOP 10 MOST VALUABLE BACHELOR'S DEGREES ARE IN ENGINEERING FIELDS, AND ALL 10 REQUIRE ROBUST STEM EDUCATION: Petroleum engineering $120,000 3 Pharmacy sciences and administration $105,000 (T Mathematics and computer science $98,000 Aerospace engineering $87,000 Chemical engineering $86,000 Electrical engineering $85,000 Naval architecture and marine engineering $82,000 Mechanical engineering $80,000 Metallurgical engineering $80,000 T Mining and mineral engineering $80,000 WHERE THE STEM JOBS ARE TODAY: 48% 30% 13% Computers and math Engineering Physical and life sciences Management WHERE THEY'RE GOING: HIGHEST PROJECTED GROWTH THROUGH 2020 IN STEM JOBS 62% 36% 32% 31% 31% 28% 28% Biomedical engineer Medical scientist Network and computer systems administrator Software Biochemist Database Software and biophysicist administrator systems developer applications developer SOURCES http://www.usnews.com · http://www.stemeducationcoalition.org · http://www.thomasnet.com · http://www.lpfi.org • htp://www.forbes.com · http://time.com · http://www.ed.gov · http://timssandpirls.bc.ed uhttp://www.whitehouse.gov • http://www.sciencefestival.org · http://changetheequation.org · http://www.commerce.gov · http://manpowergroup.us topeducationdegrees.org