10-Year Occupational Projections for STEM Jobs

Twenty-three percent of jobs in Oregon fall into the STEM category (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). You can view the relationship between employment and wages of STEM occupations with the career explorer tool on QualityInfo.org.

Chances are, you have heard the term STEM, but exactly what is a STEM job? Several definitions exist. While all are focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, some include health care jobs and even jobs related to the arts.

This article and the resources on QualityInfo.org use the Brookings Institute’s definition of a STEM occupation. According to the Brookings Institute, a STEM occupation requires a high level of knowledge in one or more core STEM fields. The selection of STEM occupations is based on information from the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET (Occupational Information Network Data Collection Program). O*NET collects detailed surveys of workers in every occupation. These surveys gather data that assess the knowledge level required to perform the workers’ current job. Based on the surveys’ responses, O*NET assigns a knowledge score for each occupation. The Brookings Institute used the knowledge scores to identify STEM occupations. Out of the 791 occupations tracked by the Oregon Employment Department, 279 are STEM occupations based on the think tank’s definition.

STEM is not a passing fad. This acronym has been, and will be, around for a long time. Why? Because it represents a group of occupations that many see as key to our economic well-being. You can read about STEM on Wikipedia and on social media. There are STEM blogs, newsletters, and Twitter accounts, programs, coalitions, and initiatives, all geared toward educating the world about STEM and educating individuals for STEM careers. There is no doubt, current and future demand exists for people with a STEM-related education.

Education and STEM

Want a STEM job? If so, attaining a postsecondary education may improve your chances. Most STEM jobs require education and training to learn the skills and knowledge for the job. The typical entry-level education for about 69% of STEM job openings is postsecondary training or higher. Nearly half (46%) of STEM job openings require a bachelor’s degree.

Looking at all projected job openings requiring advanced degrees in Oregon, 47% of openings that require a master’s, doctoral, or professional degree are STEM jobs. Forty-nine percent of openings that require a bachelor’s degree, and 58% that require an associate’s degree are STEM jobs. A wide range of STEM jobs exists across all education levels.

Physicians, pharmacists, and physical therapists lead the way among the doctoral or professional degree STEM jobs. At the master’s degree level, postsecondary healthcare specialty teachers and nurse practitioners account for the largest number of STEM jobs. At the bachelor’s degree level, registered nurses, business operations specialists, and software developers dominate STEM jobs. Construction managers, dental hygienists, as well as biological technicians lead the way among the associate degree jobs.

Will We Have Enough?

One reason you may have heard the term STEM is due to the ongoing discussion and concern about whether there will be enough graduates with STEM skills to meet the demand. Education planners and policy makers are working to assure an adequate supply of workers is available to meet the need – not an easy task given the various factors that impact both supply and demand.

Oregon’s STEM Investment Council was established and authorized by House Bill 2636 in 2013 and reports to the Chief Education Officer. The purpose of the Council is to assist Oregon higher education and the Oregon Department of Education with developing and implementing a long-term strategy to promote STEM education. These efforts will help build a foundation of awareness and understanding that students can carry with them throughout their education and into their careers.

Employment and Wages

Health care practitioners and technicians, computer and management occupations, and construction occupations dominate the expected job openings during the next decade among STEM jobs, but trained workers will be in demand in all areas.

More than 430,000 job openings due to both growth in the occupation and the need to replace workers who leave the occupation (for retirement, or move to another type of work, for example) are expected between 2021 and 2031. The growth rate for STEM jobs during this period is 12%, which is less than the growth rate for all occupations of 13%. Only 13 STEM occupations are expected to decline during the decade.

The Oregon Employment Department also categorizes occupations as high demand (occupations with more than the median number of openings), high wage (those paying more than the median wage), and high skill (generally occupations with postsecondary training or higher as a typical level to enter the occupation). Most STEM occupations are high wage or high skill, and 112 occupations are high-demand occupations. A total of 92 STEM occupations are high wage, high skill, and high demand.

While there is an investment of time and money in education for most STEM career fields, STEM occupations generally pay well.

The Oregon Employment Department has wage data available for 249 of the 279 STEM occupations analyzed for this article. Of these 249 STEM occupations, 225 occupations have a higher median wage than Oregon’s median wage for all occupations ($23.46 per hour) in 2022.

Summary

STEM jobs play a vital role in the Oregon economy today and will continue to be important into the future. While STEM jobs tend to require higher levels of education, they also tend to pay well, and the demand is high due to growth as well as the need to replace retiring workers.

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by Jason Payton – Occupational Economist – Oregon Employment Department

May 25, 2023 https://www.qualityinfo.org/-/10-year-occupational-projections-for-stem-jobs-2

Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Unsplash