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In other words, for all the hyperventilating about the STEM worker shortage, the job seekers (not employers) are the ones who have to hustle.
What? Are you an adult? A mature adult knows that EVERYONE has to hustle in ALL areas of life to be successful. This has nothing to do with employee vs employer.
I'm still trying to figure out why Americans resent having high paying STEM jobs.
Meaning which one can you specialize in and hope to get a job with the highest income?
It depends on a lot of factors--location, aptitude, interests, connections, luck.
I see lots of traditional tech jobs that call for an MSEE or MSCS. Typically, larger companies, doing computational software, circuit design, firmware, etc.
Newer types of companies e.g. venture funded startups like really smart people who are very self-motivated and have created interesting websites and apps. Degrees are less important. Though, a STEM PhD is always an asset.
Math is always a good choice. Take several math courses--calc, linear algebra, discreet math, probability. Take all the basic comp sci: algorithms and data structures, databases, AI and machine learning, OO, cryptography, and be fluent in Java, Javascript, plus a few tools like Node, Go, Rust, React, C#, SQL.
I guess that's basically a math and computer science major. That, combined with a few hobby projects as mentioned above, should help springboard you into a six figure career.
What? Are you an adult? A mature adult knows that EVERYONE has to hustle in ALL areas of life to be successful. This has nothing to do with employee vs employer.
I'm still trying to figure out why Americans resent having high paying STEM jobs.
Have you taken a course in freshman-level economics? A glutted market means lower prices--or in this case, wages.
If you're really trying to figure out why Americans--or anyone else--resents having high-paying STEM jobs, maybe you need to look for some evidence to disconfirm your hypothesis--you know, like scientists do.
ETA: You've commented on people being dissatisfied with STEM careers before. It obviously annoys you for some reason.
You can use a STEM degree from a good school anywhere as the purpose of STEM is to teach problem solving skills. I went to a top engineering school (#1 in my field) and most of my class did not go into engineering, not because of a lack of jobs, rather they were pursued by many companies and had tons of options. And I disagree that a STEM PhD is always valuable. There IS a glut of PhDs as universities keep cranking them out, hiring in academia is awful, and everyone with a STEM PhD seems to want to go into "industry". As a result way too many PhDs and after all that education, you don't want to take an entry level job and the research jobs that are available are few.
Have you taken a course in freshman-level economics? A glutted market means lower prices--or in this case, wages.
If you're really trying to figure out why Americans--or anyone else--resents having high-paying STEM jobs, maybe you need to look for some evidence to disconfirm your hypothesis--you know, like scientists do.
ETA: You've commented on people being dissatisfied with STEM careers before. It obviously annoys you for some reason.
I work in STEM. I'm not annoyed at all. I just find it odd when people tell others to avoid an entire field using anecdotal evidence. Technology is ever expanding. The OP is one person. Surely there will be at least one job available for the OP.
Technology isn't going to disappear. If Americans avoid the industry, we can't get mad when other people step in.
I work in STEM. I'm not annoyed at all. I just find it odd when people tell others to avoid an entire field using anecdotal evidence. Technology is ever expanding. The OP is one person. Surely there will be at least one job available for the OP.
Technology isn't going to disappear. If Americans avoid the industry, we can't get mad when other people step in.
But that is the problem. Americans aren't avoiding STEM. There is just an oversupply of American STEM graduates. That's right, technology isn't going to disappear. But the oversupply means lower wages and lower opportunities for STEM graduates.
I work in STEM. I'm not annoyed at all. I just find it odd when people tell others to avoid an entire field using anecdotal evidence. Technology is ever expanding. The OP is one person. Surely there will be at least one job available for the OP.
Technology isn't going to disappear. If Americans avoid the industry, we can't get mad when other people step in.
Bobsell in this thread is not using anecdotal evidence to prove that people should avoid STEM if they want a stable career and a good paying job. Sheerbliss is also not using anecdotal evidence.
Last edited by BusinessManIT; 05-31-2018 at 05:00 AM..
Reason: Adding
I work in STEM. I'm not annoyed at all. I just find it odd when people tell others to avoid an entire field using anecdotal evidence. Technology is ever expanding. The OP is one person. Surely there will be at least one job available for the OP.
Technology isn't going to disappear. If Americans avoid the industry, we can't get mad when other people step in.
Fast food* is ever expanding and isn't going to disappear, and there will surely be one job available later. But that doesn't make flipping burgers a good career choice. Read Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell to understand basic supply and demand.
When enough anecdotes pile up, it's wise to pay attention. I'm aware of anecdotal evidence, along with different kinds of studies--and survivorship bias and correlation v. causation (not things I learned in engineering school, BTW). Survivorship bias and correlation errors never seem to make it into "what careers pay best" discussions.
*Unlike fast food, many areas in technology are politely called "cyclical," meaning employees are laid off wholesale from time to time. Anyone in STEM surely knows colleagues who've been through this.
Last edited by sheerbliss; 05-31-2018 at 06:16 AM..
In other words, for all the hyperventilating about the STEM worker shortage, the job seekers (not employers) are the ones who have to hustle.
Hell yea. Am I the only engineer in the US that still gets 4 requests per week to interview for jobs? 7 years ago, I put my name into 6 online services, found a job at age 60, worked till retirement, and I am still getting calls for interviews. I was never unemployed for more than 6 months in the last 40 years, although I did have to move to five different states to get jobs, and many times took less than my asking salary to land the employment. STEM is great for people that are not afraid of work and hustle. Apparently, that includes a lot of posters here.
Wow, I must be very special.
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