2018’s Best & Worst Metro Areas for STEM Professionals

How do STEM graduates perform in the labor market relative to graduates from other fields?

Since several academic programs are professionally focused, for example engineering, the path to a first professional job it typically very successful. Again, because these programs are professionally focused, they often require internships or include cooperative education in the curriculum that results in graduates better prepared to join the workforce, and with a shorter learning curve to productivity. It is important to remember that regardless of academic preparation, some type of experience in the field is important and strong soft skills like communication, teamwork, leadership, etc., are essential in staying employed and thriving.

According to recent census figures, the majority of STEM grads do not ultimately work in a STEM occupation. Why is that the case?

In Peter Cappelli’s 2015 book, he mentions this phenomenon. He attributes it to the idea that many of the jobs are not particularly enjoyable as professionals grow and progress. Other reasons might include that if someone if a particular geographic area wants to progress professionally, they may not be able to move up within that particular industry. This is an example of other career and life values outweighing an initial chosen profession course. Tech skills are very transferrable, consequently professionals with these types of skills and move to many types of professional positions. It is also important to understand how this data is being organized. It is becoming increasingly difficult to silo careers into one field, as innovation is requiring more interdisciplinary.

How can the U.S. stay ahead of other countries in attracting and retaining the best STEM professionals?

• Continue to integrate experiential learning (particularly professional internships) into educational internships. In addition, invest in apprentice-type professional preparation programs. This would expand opportunities for more people to pursue opportunities in the STEM fields (see Germany).
• Be thoughtful about the recruitment process. Again, in Cappella’s book, he tells of a situation where an engineering firm posted a position on their online HR system. They got thousands of applications. Not one was qualified. The reason was that one of the required qualifications was a particular job title only available at that company. No one outside of the company, even if they had the needed skills, would not have been seen as qualified.
• Organizational climate -- the companies within the sector need to make sure their organizations are places people want to work.
• We need to reconsider/address immigration rules/laws with regard to highly skilled professionals.

In the competition to host Amazon’s second headquarters, what can cities do to improve their STEM capacity? Which city do you think will be the winner?

I imagine that Amazon has a particularly complicated and detail process to make their decision. Regardless of whether or not a community is being considered it is important, if not imperative, to invest in and support education, from pre-school through higher education. Of course, this would include STEM education, but it has to include the arts and humanities, because those endeavors help make our communities places where people want to live. Of course, I would like to see Amazon come to the Kansas City metro.

How can local authorities make their cities more appealing to STEM graduates and technology companies?

As mentioned earlier, life outside of work is incredibly important. Progressive community leaders that can align with the demographics on new professionals will be important. Providing entertainment and cultural opportunities that help bring meaning is important. Combining that with strong education systems for children and professional development opportunities for working professionals is also very important.

How do STEM graduates perform in the labor market relative to graduates from other fields?

Part of the answer to this is the very complicated issue of defining what a STEM occupation is. A person with extensive training in mathematics for instance may end up conducting analysis for a profession or field outside of STEM. For instance, the National Security apparatus of the U.S. is the largest single employer of mathematicians. They are doing mathematics, but not in a STEM field per se. So, the granularity of the data gathered by the Census Bureau obscures the facts. It isn’t false, but it isn’t accurate either.

In the competition to host Amazon’s second headquarters, what can cities do to improve their STEM capacity? Which city do you think will be the winner?

Investing in infrastructure, public transit, roads, and digital infrastructure all are key to attracting an industry so desperate for personnel and data flow.

How can local authorities make their cities more appealing to STEM graduates and technology companies?

Seek to understand the demographics and preferences of these individuals. Providing access to vibrant lifestyles on a 24-hour day can be key. STEM workers who are independent contractors and who value highly flexible lifestyles and workflows seek opportunities for leisure as a part of their work-lives. Create an atmosphere of innovation and re-invention.

How can government, employers, and educators increase the number of women and minorities in STEM fields?

This is the 700-billion-dollar question. Assuming interest in this work is normally distributed in all these populations, this is the ripest source of new STEM-educated workers. One thing we can do in my industry (education) is seek to break down the artificial walls that keep underrepresented populations out of these fields. There are a number of ways in which to accomplish this, chief among them though is actively seeking ways to fund and support members of these populations in the educational process.

How do STEM graduates perform in the labor market relative to graduates from other fields?

In my field of education, STEM graduates are highly sought out, along with special educators to teach in secondary level schools. In order to teach a STEM topic in grades 9-12, most states require an equivalent of an undergraduate degree in that content area. Unfortunately, many graduates that are knowledgeable of the STEM areas choose areas outside of education due to lower salaries and higher workloads in education.

According to recent census figures, the majority of STEM grads do not ultimately work in a STEM occupation. Why is that the case?

Considering my field is STEM education, I immediately noticed that education is considered a non-STEM major in those census figures. Which most likely means it is also considered a non-STEM career.

Secondary teachers of STEM fields are required to major in the content area in which they are certified, thus I would question whether they are “counted” as being in a STEM career upon graduation. Also, many STEM fields recommend graduate degrees, and I would question whether those figures include those post-baccalaureate students that are attending graduate school. Also, in the report, “Health Care” is considered a non-STEM career choice. Many STEM fields are directly linked to healthcare industries, such as Biology, Chemistry, and Computer Science. While I do not want to refute the Census report, I would prefer to see some of the criteria used to classify STEM vs. non-STEM before I can fully support the statement that STEM graduates are not working in STEM fields.

How can the U.S. stay ahead of other countries in attracting and retaining the best STEM professionals?

This is a question that has to start well before they are deemed “professional” aged. This must start with the children in the U.S. and within our schools. STEM concepts need to be incorporated into the lives of young children, instead of forcing the concepts in their educational setting when they become adolescents. I certainly do not want to discredit the need of teaching children other non-STEM subjects; however, with the exception of mathematics, STEM content isn’t taught on a daily basis in most elementary schools. Many times, young children only get to experience Science lessons once per week, and most do not experience any Engineering lessons until middle school.

While I understand the scheduling struggles with elementary schools in organizing the schedule to meet accountability needs, the answer does not lie in reducing one content area to make room for another. We must integrate all content within lessons to make room for all of them in a meaningful way. Children need to read about Science in reading class. They need to learn to build things in Mathematics class. They can use technology throughout the day in all content areas. More project-based instruction should take place at all ages, to integrate the content areas and create interest in STEM fields. Not until our children become more interested, engaged, and excited about STEM content will the U.S. be able to attract and retain STEM professionals.

How can local authorities make their cities more appealing to STEM graduates and technology companies?

Cities need to focus on local infrastructure and environmental factors. Transportation issues plague many large cities. No one wants to spend hours a day in their car driving to and from work. Public transportation opportunities and faster road conditions are factors that can greatly increase a city’s appeal for STEM graduates and technology companies. And, as simple as it may sound, STEM professionals want fast and reliable Internet and television that will not put a strain on their financial situation.

Things like high-speed Internet and televisions options, such as YouTube TV and Hulu TV, are incentives for someone in a STEM field. Cable and satellite companies are monopolizing residents’ televisions and bank accounts, thus more sophisticated Internet and television options are currently a massive appeal. Additionally, environmental factors are important. Citizens want to see clean energy, easily accessible recycling opportunities, increased air quality, and other sustainability measures to assist in making their city the cleanest and healthiest place to live.

How can government, employers, and educators increase the number of women and minorities in STEM fields?

First and foremost, women need to be treated the same as their male counterparts in STEM fields. Until that happens, there will be a deficit of women in STEM careers. Traditionally, women are paid less, promoted less, and discriminated against more than their male counterparts. Children need to be taught at an early age that engineering is not a “boy’s job,” and that an elementary teacher is not a “girl’s job.” There’s a lot of moving parts involved with this concern -- companies need to recognize that women are just as capable as men in the field and reward them as such, children need to be introduced to STEM concepts to pique their interest at an early age, and stigmas associated with certain professional careers should be obsolete.

How do STEM graduates perform in the labor market relative to graduates from other fields?

STEM graduates are in high demand. A key indicator is the annual salary earned by recent college graduates with various majors. A recent government study found that the mean salary for STEM majors was $65,000 annually. Those who chose computer and information science, growing and highly popular STEM fields, earned $72,600. In contrast, non-STEM majors earned a mean or average salary of $49,500.

According to recent census figures, the majority of STEM grads do not ultimately work in a STEM occupation. Why is that the case?

In today’s high-tech, information age economy, both STEM and non-STEM graduates can expect to work in several careers over the course of a lifetime. STEM graduates often move to management positions and other “STEM-adjacent” fields as their career matures. One study found that only 40 percent of engineering graduates still are working as engineers 20 years later. There are many senior level jobs in the corporate world and in government that require technical skills and knowledge. STEM graduates are natural choices to fill those jobs.

How can the U.S. stay ahead of other countries in attracting and retaining the best STEM professionals?

The U.S. has the world’s leading higher education system. Many talented young people travel to this country seeking undergraduate or graduate degrees in STEM. Too many of those students return to their home country after graduation. While many factors affect policies about visas and immigration, we need to adjust those policies to keep more of those skilled, highly educated STEM workers in the U.S.

Furthermore, we need to strengthen our K-12 systems and to broaden participation in STEM education. My book, “STEM the Tide: Reforming Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education in America,” provides a comprehensive blueprint for these needed changes. The key step is to recognize that most students can master STEM. It is a terrible mistake to assume that groups under-represented in STEM fields (women, students of color, white students from poverty) lack the aptitude to succeed in STEM. Presently, America has a vast reservoir of hidden, or untapped, STEM talent.

In the competition to host Amazon’s second headquarters, what can cities do to improve their STEM capacity? Which city do you think will be the winner?

Research has shown that the cities that historically have attracted high-tech firms are places that welcome and value diversity. Start with that. Those places that value diversity also tend to have strong higher education institutions.

As to predicting the winner, I would place my money on Austin, Pittsburgh or a sleeper, Rochester.

• Austin -- Jeff Bezos is from Texas. Austin has welcomed and supported tech companies for decades. Austin prides itself on welcoming all kinds of people. This was highlighted in the ‘Keep Austin Weird’ campaign (and T-shirts).
• Pittsburgh -- This city is a model of how to redefine and recreate a dying industrial town as a high-tech center. This process was catalyzed by the presence of two major research universities in the city.
• Rochester -- This city has an advantage that I have not read about in the media discussions of Amazon’s decision. Rochester already has been the successful host city for two early giant high-tech corporations: Kodak and Xerox. This recent history has infrastructure implications. They know how to support a technology-based company.

How can local authorities make their cities more appealing to STEM graduates and technology companies?

Support diversity. Do not pass laws that place some groups at a disadvantage. Support and strengthen both higher education and K-12 education.

How can government, employers, and educators increase the number of women and minorities in STEM fields?

I have written two books about this. The key change is a consciousness raising: recognize that talent is found in every group. Groups differ in STEM achievement largely because of the availability, or lack, of opportunity.

According to recent census figures, the majority of STEM grads do not ultimately work in a STEM occupation. Why is that the case?

There could be different reasons why there is both a STEM crisis and surplus. One reason why STEM graduates do not ultimately work in a STEM occupation is that they are highly desirable candidates, who get hired by other occupations that offer higher salaries and better opportunities. Relatedly, more and more students are choosing the STEM programs not for the job opportunities within the STEM fields, but for the education and training that will prep them for other jobs. And the STEM programs are indeed responding to this, as expressed by the dean of Villanova’s College of Engineering, who said that they are not training students to be engineers, but are giving them an engineering education with which students can do many other things. If we look at the jobs engineering students take after graduation, we see that operations at financial institutions is popular option as in those positions, students can use their quantitative backgrounds and problem solving skills, and do analytics (and get paid more).

How can the U.S. stay ahead of other countries in attracting and retaining the best STEM professionals?

I believe that attracting and retaining the best of talent not only in STEM fields, but beyond requires an understanding of what people value in their lives. New generations have less of a need for permanence and “things.” Yes, they would like to be compensated for their efforts, but what gets them really excited about their jobs are the opportunities to learn, grow and advance, as well as having meaning at work, which includes freedom to manage their own efforts, output and time. So, STEM fields need to consider whether the jobs they offer allow professionals the happiness, satisfaction and well-being that they seek.

How can local authorities make their cities more appealing to STEM graduates and technology companies?

Affordability of cities plays a big role, which includes salary, taxes and overall cost of living, yet it is not sufficient. The lifestyle offered overall, which takes into account living conditions and social benefits, including physical threat and safety (e.g., violence, crime, medical), discomfort (e.g., climate, geographic isolation, cultural or psychological isolation) and inconvenience (e.g., availability of housing, recreation, goods and services, and education facilities) is also very important in terms of attracting people and companies. In addition to these, STEM graduates are also looking for tech-savvy work conditions, which include state-of-the-art workspaces and creative exercises, as well as availability of various institutions that are open to creative partnerships, such as universities, governmental organizations, think tanks, innovation labs and other interesting and creative groups.

How can government, employers, and educators increase the number of women and minorities in STEM fields?

The easier (yet not easy) answer is to start early by providing students with early experiences, that signal equally to both girls and boys that they belong and can succeed in STEM fields. Such early experiences may help with changing stereotypes and exposing students to multiple role models. These early efforts can then be reinforced by comprehensive career support later in life, including mentoring opportunities and professional development for growth and advancement.

Yet, a deeper societal and cultural change is necessary to increase the number of women in STEM fields. Especially in computer science, engineering and physics, the social and structural environment communicates a greater sense of belonging and ability to succeed to men than women. Conscious efforts, such as debiasing interventions that alter unconscious biases like “women have lower abilities in math and science than men,” as well as changing the language used in society (in the family, at school, at workplace) are direly needed to change the masculine culture associated with these fields.