What job opportunities are available in STEM?
If you're looking for a career opportunity within the STEM industry, you may have arrived in the perfect place. STEM covers such a wide array of fields that there’s usually something for everyone. If you love Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics - chances are there’s going to be thousands of potentially opportunities available within your respective field.
If you’re looking for lucrative work opportunities with plenty of growth potential, STEM might also be for you. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, STEM careers had median wages and career growth rates in 2021 that were more than double that of non-STEM occupations. So if you’re incentivised financially as well, look no further.
How do you know if a STEM career is for you?
Okay I’m going to take a stab in the dark here and guess that you're reading this blog from your smartphone or laptop. Unfortunately I’ve not progressed into creating audiobooks just yet for my blog content so I think it’s a pretty safe guess that you're reading this on some sort of device. And you know what the device is? Technology. Do you know what that T in STEM stands for? Technology.
Can you imagine life without technology? It’s difficult given how ingrained cellphones, mass transportation systems, Wi-Fi, social media and voice assistants are in our world. In the past 20 years alone we’ve developed into a world where everything can be controlled using some form of technology. It’s both innovative and also a little scary. But the key is that none of it would exist without STEM, or the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.
As humans grow more enmeshed with their technology, careers in STEM continue to increase in size and importance. In addition to strong projected growth across this field, STEM jobs tend to pay well, and create a secure career that will always be in demand.
A STEM career may suit you if you’re eager to invent and innovate, enjoy taking on a challenge and learn best by doing rather than watching.
Highest paying jobs in STEM
We’ve all been in a situation where we’re incentivised by money. Whether we want to admit it or not. And if these financial motivations are a big part of career decision making then STEM certainly doesn’t fail. From Data Analysts, to Biology Technicians to Nurse practitioners; STEM careers frequently average over 6 figures as a starting salary. Of course experience and educational background are of paramount importance when looking at these jobs, and as with anything you will likely have to work hard to get to where you want to be; but it’s definitely something to strive towards.
If you're interested in analytical and technological concepts and enjoy using math and science skills then chances are you can land a high paying job. Additionally, advancing within a STEM career can help increase your earning potential, making these types of jobs attractive to candidates with technical experience. For example, a data scientist with 1 year experience obviously isn’t going to earn as much as a data scientist with 17 years of experience. The same can be said in any career but within STEM, this salary jump based solely on experience is going to be quite significant.
Jobs in STEM for women
When examining the overall participation of women in STEM occupations, it’s important to note that women can actively work in any field within the industry. There’s no specific areas that can be worked by women and no specific areas that cannot be worked by women. That being said, there are some areas that have a stronger presence of women. For example - Mathematics specifically has the fewest number of women, whereas Science has the most.
The overall average age of women in STEM occupations is 45.5 years compared to the average age of 47.4 years for men. Not much difference in analysing the age of which women are working in STEM.
At the end of the day - there’s no shortage of jobs in STEM for women, and thankfully the numbers of women in STEM are rising fast. There is, however, a shortage of mentors that can help and assist with the growing number of women wanting to get involved within a STEM career.
Women tend to have a harder time finding female mentors in STEM occupations. A more experienced employee can show you the ropes and promote your accomplishments. This is important for anyone in any career. It’s especially important for women in STEM, because climbing the career ladder and being treated equally is more of a struggle than it might be for a male coworkers.
Many people believe that all STEM roles are dominated by men. But as I alluded to earlier - this is not the case. While not all STEM fields have an equal mix of men and women, some have a higher percentage of women than you might assume. Others have more women than men. Here’s a few examples.
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians are made up from approximately 75% women. Registered nurses account for 88% women. Biological scientists are split down the middle at about 50% women and auditors are dominated by women sitting at 61%.
That being said - there are significant numbers of women working within every sector in STEM. The best part? Those numbers are all rising.
What job opportunities are available in STEM?
In conclusion - it’s easy to note that there is a wide array of job opportunities within STEM. It covers a broad range of subjects and many different experience levels are considered when looking into potential job opportunities.
STEM jobs are often thought of as high-tech careers, perhaps because they are the jobs of the future. Which is true to some extent. But not all of these positions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will have you wearing a lab coat.
In fact, these jobs are surprisingly diverse, covering such a broad and exciting range of topics. But with the world constantly evolving, one thing that’s for certain is that the demand for STEM workers is going to continue to increase. Which is awesome news for those of you reading this blog. It’s an exciting time to consider STEM as a career.
The STEM disciplines are interesting and challenging. They can help prepare you for careers in fields that pay well and are relatively abundant. Also, skills such as critical thinking and problem solving learned while studying STEM subjects are applicable to almost all careers and are in high demand.
Thinking about a career in STEM? I’ve put together a course for recent graduates looking to take their first steps into the industry. Email me if you are interested.