Women, Grab Your Incredible STEM Opportunities Now!

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Women can be remarkably successful in STEM careers. While women have made some progress, many do not believe they are good enough.Rachel Winston, Ph.D.
  • Women can be remarkably successful in STEM careers. While women have made some progress, many do not believe they are good enough. There are numerous summer programs targeted to promote women in engineering, computer science, mathematics, and scientific research. Still, the numbers are low.

    In the 1980’s only 5.8% of U.S. engineers were women. That number has risen to 14%. In Canada, women in engineering has, surprisingly, dropped from 21% at the turn of the century to 17%, despite the efforts to encourage women to enter engineering fields.

    STEM fields are growing and starting salaries are higher than in other fields. According to the National

  • Association for Colleges and Employers, the 2017 graduating class was paid the highest for chemical engineers with computer, biomedical, material science, and electrical engineers close behind. Those who majored in History, English, Psychology, Sociology, and Education earned approximately half as much per year. Even accounting majors earned $20,000 less per year.

    Convincing women to pursue engineering is difficult as their classmates are mostly men and courses are significantly harder than non-STEM peers. Nevertheless, the potential for high salary, benefits, and career mobility is high. Women must make a personal choice to persevere, but the chance for innovation, opportunity, and income may outweigh the alternative for the highly motivated.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Winston

CEO Lizard Publishing | Director of Mathematics, Brandman/Chapman University | UCLA Professor of College Counseling | UCLA Professor of College Counseling | Advisor to MASTERthese

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