With the invasion of technology we are experiencing today, there is a need for the brains behind the operations. This means jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, AKA
S.T.E.M. STEM jobs are the fastest growing jobs in America right now, however there are a few problems. Number one, it is no surprise that America is not the greatest at sciences and math. And if you weren't aware, the US
didn't make the top 20 internationally for science, math, and reading scores. This means that international students are getting jobs in the S.T.E.M. field over American students.
Here in
Maryland, we have a unique problem in that we have way too many S.T.E.M. jobs and not enough workers! There are over 220,000 jobs right now in these fields with only 40% of them being occupied by graduating S.T.E.M. students. In 2008, Maryland Governor
Martin O'Malley set a goal ending next year to increase the number of graduating S.T.E.M students in the University System of Maryland by 40%. With a near
40% increase from 2006-2013 in the number of grads in this booming field, the initiative is working.
Projected job increases in the STEM field
Photo: Department of Education
The problem is that we have many jobs in this field, but by the time students get to college they have already forgotten about Math and Science majors and have looked on to other major opportunities. The basis of the S.T.E.M. program is to provide hands-on learning for younger students in Middle and High Schools, to get them more familiar and engaged with these subjects before they get to college.
Wicomico County has
"STEM Saturdays" for these younger students, along with
Summer programs as well. Once students get to SU, the goal is to keep them in their major. Salisbury University's Kristen Paul says this is the biggest issue in the S.T.E.M. program.
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With a hefty grant from the
National Science Foundation, the city of
Salisbury along with Wicomico County has been able to put on these programs for younger students to grasp math and science concepts at a younger age. The grant however ends in 2015, but Paul says that the University will seek funding for their programs to keep them going.
