STEM crisis or STEM surplus? Yes and yes

Abstract

The last decade has seen considerable concern regarding a shortage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers to meet the demands of the labor market. At the same time, many experts have presented evidence of a STEM worker surplus. A comprehensive literature review, in conjunction with employment statistics, newspaper articles, and our own interviews with company recruiters, reveals a significant heterogeneity in the STEM labor market: the academic sector is generally oversupplied, while the government sector and private industry have shortages in specific areas.

Perceptions of the Social Relevance of Science: Exploring the Implications for Gendered Patterns in Expectations of Majoring in STEM Fields

“…In a second set of analyses we consider each field separately (e.g., distinguishing those who expect to major in the biological sciences from those that do not, those that expect to major in the physical sciences from those that do not, and so on). 2 A correlation table including all of the dependent variables and the independent variables described below are included in Appendix A (Table A1).…”

“…Specifically, 16% of boys and 19% of girls in our sample planned to major in the biological sciences whereas 17% of boys and 18% of girls planned to major in the physical sciences 1 Findings from a sensitivity analysis with these students retained in the sample were consistent with those presented here. 2 Note that the dependent variables measuring students' field-specific interests are not mutually exclusive, as students indicated their expectation of majoring in each of the four fields. Among those planning to major in any STEM field, students were roughly split between those expecting to major in only one field (49%) and those expecting more than one (51%).…”

“…Labor market analysts have been sounding the alarm regarding the need for more workers trained in science, technology, engineering and math fields (STEM) for more than a decade, as the U.S. economy is increasingly reliant on innovation and growth in these fields [1][2][3]. Researchers in several disciplines have attempted to understand why, despite the high demand and the accompanying high status and income associated with careers in many STEM fields, the percent of students choosing to study these fields in college has remained stagnant, or even decreased in some cases [4].…”

Life after University for Engineering Graduates

“…In 2014, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 74 percent of those who have a bachelor's degree in a STEM major are not employed in STEM occupations 26 . One challenge is the current inadequacy of career counseling at the collegiate level 5 .…”

Engagement in Practice: The Development of and Lessons Learned from a Community-Focused App Development Course

“…In order to fill these job openings, recruiters are looking beyond students with traditional educations. According to a 2015 article 3 , in certain cases, it does not even matter whether a candidate has a bachelor's degree in a specific area: companies are looking for candidates with hands-on experience in software development through "hack-a-thons," extracurricular projects, and internships.…”