IMPORTANCE of STEM

STEM fields is an acronym for the fields of study in the categories of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The acronym has been used regarding access to United States work visas for immigrants who are skilled in these fields. It has also become commonplace in education discussions as a reference to the shortage of skilled workers and inadequate education in these areas. The initiative began to address the perceived lack of qualified candidates for high-tech jobs. It also addresses concern that the subjects are often taught in isolation, instead of as an integrated curriculum. Maintaining a citizenry that is well versed in the STEM fields is a key portion of the public education agenda of the United States.

In 2012, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an expanded list of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) designated-degree programs that qualify eligible graduates on student visas for an optional practical training (OPT) extension. Under the OPT program, international students who graduate from colleges and universities in the United States are able to remain in the country and receive training through work experience for up to 12 months. Students who graduate from a designated STEM degree program can remain for an additional 17 months on an OPT STEM extension.

An exhaustive list of STEM disciplines does not exist, but the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lists disciplines including:

Physics

Actuarial Science

Chemistry

Mathematics

Statistics

Computer Science

Psychology

Biochemistry

Robotics

Computer Engineering

Electrical Engineering

Electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Industrial Engineering

Civil Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Astrophysics

Astronomy

Optics

Nanotechnology

Nuclear Physics

Mathematical Biology

Operations Research

Neurobiology

Biomechanics

Bioinformatics

Acoustical Engineering

Geographic Information Systems

Atmospheric Sciences

The National Science Foundation is the only American federal agency whose mission includes support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering, except for medical sciences. It lists its disciplinary program areas as:

Biological Sciences

Computer & Information Science & Engineering

Education and Human Resources

Engineering

Environmental Research & Education

Geosciences

International Science & Engineering

Mathematical & Physical Sciences

Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences

Cyber infrastructure

Polar Programs

The Department of Labor identifies fourteen sectors that are "projected to add substantial numbers of new jobs to the economy or affect the growth of other industries or are being transformed by technology and innovation requiring new sets of skills for workers."

Advanced Manufacturing

Automotive

Construction

Financial Services

Geospatial Technology

Homeland Security

Information Technology

Transportation

Aerospace

Biotechnology

Energy

Healthcare

Hospitality

Retail

A bright future for STEM graduates

Professor Heiko Schröder, Head of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's School of Computer Science and Information Technology, a leading innovator in science and technology programs, predicts a bright future for those graduating from STEM programs: "Worldwide there are predictions that tell us that IT will grow again very significantly and the shortage of jobs in the industry is already apparent so we expect a growth in student numbers. We also know that industry investment in terms of IT, both computers and software, will grow more than ever before. American predictions are that the spending of companies on computers will grow by a factor of five in the next ten years and spending on software will multiply by more than a factor of two and with these increases that will make the spending on IT by far the biggest investment that companies have to make

Excellent employment prospects

As investment in research and development continues to grow and is supported by more open government policies, the growth of the science and technology sectors is likely to continue at an increasing pace over the next 20 to 30 years. Yet, according to the figures released by the Paris based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2007, the number of qualified graduates leaving university-level education in fields such as mathematics, physics and chemistry has declined by up to 50 per cent over the last eight to ten years. This will certainly have an impact on the employment prospects of anyone graduating in a related field in the coming years.

The shift to a more technologically and scientifically driven global economy can only be good news for international graduates in the STEM subjects. With the number of appropriately qualified STEM graduates below the level of current global demand, employment prospects are buoyant, even in light of the current economic uncertainty. Countries as diverse as China, Denmark, Finland and Malaysia have prioritized so-called innovation strategies to develop their capacity in research and development in the fields of biotechnology, information technology, mobile communications and genetic research, all of which require skilled Masters and PhD graduates. Such demand is likely to only increase. According to the executive search firm Heidrick and Struggles's 2007 Mapping Global Talent report, developed in association with the Economist Intelligence Unit, the demographic patterns of China and India coupled with the countries' strong focus on the STEM subjects will have a profound impact on both their national and the international labour markets: "We can predict that these two countries will yield an increasing number of talented graduates in the hi-tech sector given their strong tradition of engineering and science at the university level."

But what does this mean for prospective international applicants to Masters and PhD degrees in the STEM subjects? In reality, this change in the world's demand for qualified, highly skilled graduates in science and technology establishes an entirely new kind of labour market. 

 If Chinese and Indian students, approximately 75,000 of whom are currently pursuing STEM graduate programs in the UK and the USA alone, return home after their degrees, attracted by the increasingly lucrative employment opportunities available there, who will fill the local UK and US vacancies? With national student numbers in these subjects continuing to decline, employers are likely to seek STEM graduates from a far broader range of sources than ever before, establishing a dynamic and, in some cases volatile, labour market where those with the right qualifications are in the strongest position.


SOURCES: FORBES and US home land,wikipedia

STEM LIST:- check whether your branch is present!!!!!