A Look At STEM Fields And Subjects

Written By Admin on Senin, 20 Mei 2013 | 01.02

By Mike Osmond


STEM fields and subjects which are science, technology, engineering and math have been a frequent subject topic of discussion lately. The discussion was triggered by the issue of US guest worker programs in these fields. It was started by an observation that there appears to be an imbalance in the number of workers coming in from other countries into the US instead of the workers being sourced from within.

The companies who are bringing in workers from outside do so to have a global pool of workers that has the best minds out there. The impression that one may get is that the US has a shortage of workers to fill STEM related positions that are available at the moment and that may open up in future. Another conversation trigger is the fact that when it comes to domestic workers, there are enough of them to fill the positions that are available.

The argument is not there is no need for guest worker programs or that they are unimportant. As a matter of fact, a collaboration of more than one mind creates better results and incredible innovations. The point is that it is important and necessary to devise a way to communicate to potential employers that it is important to first assess and consider hiring local talent before outsourcing it.

The finding of various studies is that there are two major factors that are steering STEM fields. The first is that the number of domestic workers is on the rise. The second is that there is a growing number of guest workers even though their compensation package has steadily been declining.

This is a disproportion in the job market that is causing a status that is separate and imbalanced among job seekers. Other study findings have revealed that despite the fact that there is a bigger number of STEM workers entering the job market, it is only one domestic worker that gets a job out of every two jobs available. This statistics have the potential to affect the job market and it is important that these numbers are critically looked at and their possible implications as well.

For a long time, STEM fields have been at the heart of technological innovations including circuit boards, hardware and gadgets. While these are part of the field, it compromises other sectors as well. It is thus important to approach matters to do with this field critically and with a broad view.

There is a stereotyped way of portraying those who work in this field which attracts a lot of students and guest workers from other countries. Also, it is often men who are portrayed working on one gadget or another which has kept the number of women in the field low. There is a need to address this to avoid misleading depictions about this field.

The US government is taking action but a wider approach is needed. Sourcing talent, funding of educators and making learning resources available is necessary to ensure the US can compete globally. A good number of corporations have bought into the vision and are putting out resources for promoting education in the fields in the starting stages of the education system.

With the passage of time, there will be an increase in demand for those who have done well in STEM subjects as the application of technology in everyday services and products increases. It will not be possible to meet the need unless the authorities see the need to educate more people in these subjects and also create opportunities for them to gainfully utilize their skills. The military for instance presently needs people with training in these fields.

Projections for 2020 indicate that there will be a rise of jobs is STEM fields by 17 percent while other fields will see an increase of 14 percent. One good measure that has been put in place to make sure there will be workers for jobs in the fields of math and science is that the subjects have been included at middle level and high schools. The issue of trained educators has been addressed as well.

This is of great importance if the economy of the country is to be secured in future. It is upon the team that advices the President to take action further to giving advice. They also need to come up with practical ways to close the gap. One way to do this is to redirect young one and engage them in the study of STEM subjects where they are required to be inquisitive and not just to take in material. Economic stability rests on their output as does related factors like the national standard of living.




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