Read on Twitter
@dcoxpolls and I recently published a report for @AEI to better understand how STEM workers think about their educations and careers THREAD 1/7 https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/stem-perspectives-attitudes-opportunities-and-barriers-in-americas-stem-workforce/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWWpNM01UTmpZMkZsTkRKayIsInQiOiJYQ2FLWkZEMTQyTnpPc3hEMm1iTFVJRFJLdmI4eTRydFhTMDUyQ2VJMHlYc0o1SjhkSGU4NXBZM0JvemFRK0VSSmxhNkFWNllBTVVad0NrU0RicHJsUT09In0%3D
First, the good. STEM workers are in most cases happy with their careers. More than 90 percent of current workers would recommend a STEM career to students indicating a high level of satisfaction. 2/7
Further, STEM is about more than coding. This is a point that often gets lost- you need tech skills. But if you want to build a career, you need more than that - you need soft skills to help manage people, work in teams, and communicate. 3/7
Now for the not so good news. African-Americans and Latinos and women all see many obstacles in career paths dominated by white and Asian males. This is a problem if we want to ensure equality opportunity and help build technology platforms that serve everyone. 4/7
STEM associate degrees are also a challenge. Those who with such degrees are significantly more likely to quit STEM probably due to "skill atrophy" in a fast-changing sector. Broader credentials & more attention to flexible skills are needed. 5/7
STEM careers can be pressure cookers - nearly 75 percent of workers feel pressure to learn new skills. It’s more of a problem for younger workers but it’s an issue for older ones too. However, nearly 80 percent of workers said employers provided tools to help them. 6/7
Advanced technology as a huge effect on all our lives. We need to do a better job of diversifying it - educationally, ethnically, by age, gender and more. Read the report at @AEI 7/7 https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/stem-perspectives-attitudes-opportunities-and-barriers-in-americas-stem-workforce/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWWpNM01UTmpZMkZsTkRKayIsInQiOiJYQ2FLWkZEMTQyTnpPc3hEMm1iTFVJRFJLdmI4eTRydFhTMDUyQ2VJMHlYc0o1SjhkSGU4NXBZM0JvemFRK0VSSmxhNkFWNllBTVVad0NrU0RicHJsUT09In0%3D
