When you think about STEM, what image pops into your mind? Is it a scientist in a white lab coat looking intently at a few vials of chemicals? Or perhaps it’s a stereotypical nerd writing code on a computer. Or an engineer developing new technologies in a secret lab hidden away in the bowels of a tech giant. Or maybe it’s your high school math teacher. Well let me tell you something, STEM is so much more. Although all the listed options are possibilities, there has never been a better time to be a woman in STEM.
First, let’s start by debunking some of those STEM stereotypes. I am in my senior year at a small university in Indianapolis. I am studying Operations and Supply Chain Management, and I am in STEM. I know what you’re thinking, it doesn’t sound like STEM, but trust me it is. In business, the Supply Chain professionals are tasked with engineering the supply chain, implementing new technologies into business operations, and analyzing statistics provided by the business or external business practices. In addition to that, the bachelor’s degree that I’m pursuing is a Bachelor of Science due to all the technology and mathematics courses that we are required to take. Want to know another unconventional STEM career? An Architect! Architecture is the perfect combination of physics and art. Who knew Frank Lloyd Wright was a STEM guy?! For more information about stem careers and salary statistics associated with them, go to https://bit.ly/2ZxiRJD.
Alright, let’s start talking about that COIN. According to Burning Glass Technologies, the average starting salary for a person in STEM is $66,123 annually! That is $13,824 more ANNUALLY than people who didn’t major in a STEM field. That is a WHOLE lot of extra guacamole at Chipotle! In addition to the 13,824 difference in salary, there are also a RIDICULOUS amount of jobs available in STEM. According to Burning Glass Technologies, there are also 2.5 STEM job openings to 1.1 non-STEM job openings.
So, we’ve talked about what some more unconventional STEM careers are, and how much money you’ll get, time to talk about why it’s an amazing time to be a woman in STEM. To start with, there is a severe lack of women in STEM. Because of that, companies are looking for women to be able to bring some diverse thought into the workplace. There is that old Greek proverb “Great minds think alike but fools seldom differ” which basically means that if you’re always coming to the same conclusion as others you might not have such a great mind. In order to reduce that companies are focusing on the diversity of thought. Men and Women think differently by our very nature. So, introducing more females into the workplace environment would aid in reducing the tendency for employees to think similarly.
Here is one more reason you should major in a STEM-related field (as if you need another one). We are going to get a little sappier here now. The more women that enter STEM fields now, the easier it’s going to be for our daughters. When my grandma was my age, the socially acceptable thing for a woman to do was to be a homemaker. In 62 years, it’s just now becoming commonplace for a woman to hold a position in STEM. 62 YEARS, and there is STILL resistance!
If the last of the female Millennials in college now and a good amount of the Gen Z females just starting out in college were to become some of my fellow ladies in STEM, then we can really make a change in society. STEM isn’t going to go anywhere. It’s time to change the face of STEM, it’s time to break the stereotypes. There has never been a better time to be a female in STEM, so what’s holding you back?