WHY STUDY S.T.E.M.?
STEM is the acronym for SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING and MATHEMATICS. There are five (5) major reasons to study STEM subjects.
From pay to the greater good of all, there are plenty of benefits to
choosing to study a STEM subject. This doesn’t mean necessarily studying
for a university degree either – there are several pathways into a very
rewarding STEM related career, including the apprenticeship route,
including degree apprenticeships and apprentice employers who pay for their apprentices to progress to a university degree.
1. The average salary of STEM graduates
One of the reasons to study STEM has to be the earning potential. Graduates of STEM subjects can expect higher starting salaries
than graduate of other subjects. They can also expect to be earning
more than non-STEM graduates a few years into their employment. On
average STEM graduates are expected to earn £250,000 more over a lifetime than non-graduates.
2. Job prospects for STEM graduates
It’s important to keep in mind that whatever your education looks
like, it is connected to your future life in work so make it count and
make sure that you understand the value of what you are studying and
learning to your future.
Having a STEM qualification makes you very employable.
Demand for people working in STEM fields is high and set to increase
even more over the next five years. This is very important for female
students to understand as the UK demand actually cannot be met if more girls do not choose STEM careers.
3. The huge variety of careers in STEM
One of the other, very good reasons to study STEM is the huge variety
of employment that will lie ahead of you. STEM learning has a place in
almost every industry that you can think of, from the entertainment
industry (for example games design) and the sports industry to jobs in the space industry or even in space itself.
4. Employment in STEM Industries
You will meet many people along the way who will tell you that what
they do now has nothing to do with what they studied. Studying STEM
subjects are far more likely to lead to employment in a directly related
field however. For example 18.4% of chemistry graduates were employed
as science professionals six months after graduating and a further 19%
were employed as associate professionals and technicians, those who
graduated in electrical engineering in 2014, 38.8% were employed as
engineering professionals and a massive 58.8% of computer science
graduate were employed as IT professionals.
5. Making the world a better place through STEM
For many young people, the idea that they are going to make a
difference to the world is really important. Lots of you don’t want to
just ‘get by’ and earn a decent wage – you actually want to contribute
to making the world and people’s live better and this is another good
reason to study STEM.