Thinking of a career in STEM

22 August 2022 | Resources | Published by SBY Admin

First up, what does STEM stand for?

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

Why is STEM important?

STEM is part of all areas in our lives. Science is within everything in our world, technology continues to grow in our day to day lives, engineering provides designs, solutions and also tackles issues associated with global warming and maths is in every career and almost everything we do includes maths.

Do all careers use STEM?

The vast majority of jobs include aspects of STEM. For some jobs it will play a small part and in others STEM will be used widely. If you choose a career in STEM you may will be exploring problems, solving problems, carrying out research and working on new ideas. Your work may be in different settings from offices to site work, in research facilities or in laboratories.

What jobs are in STEM?

With such a huge variety of jobs in STEM where do you start? Some jobs seem more obvious:

Chemists
Astronomers
Architects
Web & Software Developers
Computer Analysts
Nuclear Engineer
Data Scientist
Statistician
Financial Advisers

But have you considered how these jobs use STEM:

Medical Illustrator – this mixes science and art, the work you create may be used in research, medical journals, in the media and in hospitals
Zoologist – this role means working with animals, studying them, noticing their behaviours and how they use their environment.
Pyrotechnic Engineer – this role uses chemistry to create fireworks that create a show to entertain people. Imagine people gasping at your display!
Fragrance Chemist – this is a role for a scientist who studies odours and how they can be used. This career can involve developing and testing new fragrancies for use in perfumes, soaps, shampoo and face masks.

What next?

If a career in STEM could suit you consider finding out about work experience to try it out. Many companies will offer work experience but not always advertise it, so don’t be afraid to email and ask! You will need to continue studying STEM subjects at school. Don’t drop mathematics this is especially important. You could also consider studying computer science if you have that option and if it fits.