Demand for scientists and engineers has never been stronger, yet many young people across the country are avoiding science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, popularly known as STEM, according to a recent survey conducted by St. Louis, Mo. –based technology and engineering company Emerson.
The survey, which polled 1,000 U.S. adults, age 18 an older, showed 42 percent of respondents would have considered a career in STEM fields had they better understood a potential career path, and one-third of respondents didn’t pursue a STEM career because it seemed too hard.
Also, women were significantly more likely than men to avoid a career in STEM because they were afraid they wouldn’t succeed.
These findings demonstrate an ongoing need to educate young people on the vast opportunities that can await STEM-educated college graduates as they enter the workforce.
“Scientists and engineers power human progress, and STEM education drives these incredibly important careers,” said Emerson Chief Marketing Officer Kathy Button Bell, in a statement. “Emerson is committed to reaching out to the young people who will become leaders and innovators for Emerson, our customers and other organizations around the globe. We saw a tremendous response to I Love STEM last year, and we’re looking forward to turning up the volume over the year to come.”
Despite confusion about STEM career paths, the survey indicated most had high opinions of engineers, with 65 percent of respondents agreeing that engineers are creative, and only 30 percent viewing engineers as perfectionists.
Emerson has a long history of supporting STEM education initiatives. While I Love STEM is the highest-profile campaign the company has supported to date, it maintains strong commitments to STEM and robotics programs in communities across the U.S.
Green is well-known for his YouTube channels Vlogbrothers, Crash Course and SciShow, which combined have more than 10 million YouTube subscribers, nearly 2 billion video views, and nearly 4,200 videos.
“The new survey shows that we have more work to do to help reduce misunderstandings about science and math fields. We’re glad to continue this important work in the months to come.” Button Bell said.
