FACTS
1. Even with more than 13 million Americans unemployed, the manufacturing sector cannot find people with the STEM skills to take the nearly 600,000 unfilled jobs.
2. For every one available job in the United States, there are 3.6 unemployed workers, for every two available STEM jobs there’s only one unemployed STEM worker.
3. STEM employment is expected to grow 17% from 2008-2018 compared to 9.8% in non-STEM jobs in the same period.
4. 65% of those with Bachelors’ degrees in STEM fields earn more than Master’s degrees in non-STEM occupations.
5. The average hourly wage of a STEM Bachelor's degree is higher than a Master's degree in a non-STEM field.
6. 47% of Bachelor’s degrees in STEM occupations also earn PhDs.
7. Only 6.7% of women and 17% of men graduate with STEM degrees.
8. One half of all STEM jobs don’t require a four year degree and pay an average of $66,123, compared to $52,299 for non-STEM jobs, the difference of around $14,000 represents a 26% premium.
9. In the science and math portions of College/University entrance exams, a third of the takers said they were too challenging, and 28% said they were not prepared at school to seek further education in these areas.
10. Only 16% of American high school seniors are proficient in mathematics and interested in a STEM career.
11. The US will need to increase yearly production of undergraduate STEM degrees by 34% over current rates to match the demands forecast by STEM professionals
12. The US average annual income for an engineer, a very STEM specific career, is $79,000 compared to the overall annual income of $45,790.
13. 93% of STEM jobs have pay above the national average
14. As of 2015, the national average for non-STEM unemployment is 5.5%, which is double the STEM unemployment rate.
RESOURCES