Schools across the country are improving their STEM education programs, but that doesn’t mean more students are interested in entering into a STEM related field. Eighth grader Maura Charette of Virginia is well aware of the fun, interesting, well-paying careers waiting for students who show good performance in math and science, however she isn’t quite convinced a STEM career is the right choice. She feels that engineering is overemphasized and misrepresented. A career in engineering is explained with a team project such as “building bridges out of drinking straws and marshmallows or telling a toy robot to turn left and right”. She states that careers in science, technology and math come off as existing only to support the engineering profession.
It is unfortunate that Student’s opinions of STEM careers, especially engineering, are being formed in this manner and engineers should take this into account when speaking publicly about STEM careers and education.
To read the full article from IEEE spectrum, Click Here.
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