19/11/2008 | World Grad School Tour, Masters and PhD

At the centre of the new world-Opportunities for STEM graduates

By: TIM ROGERS

The UK has similarly extended its focus on securing more STEM graduates through a number of subject-specific projects, all of which have potentially important consequences for international graduate students. One of the projects, “Stimulating Physics,” is intended to encourage more students to read physics at UK universities by re-packaging existing degree programs, establishing new degrees with direct relevance to the workplace, improving the marketing of physics degree programs to ensure that universities are making them as appealing as possible and encourage more applications from students who may not have had access to physics at an undergraduate level. Other initiatives focus on engineering, chemistry and mathematics, the latter being directly intended to encourage the study of the subject as a preparation for employment in a range of careers.

Making STEM subjects central
US Presidential candidate John McCain too has recognized the importance of the STEM subjects for the future of the American economy and has made them a central part of his proposed education policy: “America is the biggest exporter, importer, producer, manufacturer, and innovator in the world and in the global economy what you learn is what you earn. We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition; hold schools accountable for results; and strengthen math, science, technology and engineering curriculums.”

The impact of globalization and the increasing competition from other world players, particularly those located in Asia, poses a threat to the dominance of the US in the technology sector.

McCain’s view coincides with those of the American Electronics Association (AeA), an organization that represents the interests of all segments of the technology industry in the USA. The AeA are examining the strategic promotion of STEM subjects and the direct impact of increasing the number of students in these areas and their importance to the US labour market. The annual AeA’s Cybercities report makes clear that graduates in the STEM areas are currently able to enter a growing employment sphere: “The US tech sector continues to grow and create more jobs, with average salaries for the sector 87 per cent higher than the average US private sector equivalent (US$79,484 against US$42,405).” However, the impact of globalization and the increasing competition from other world players, particularly those located in Asia, poses a threat to the dominance of the US in the technology sector. Christopher Hansen, chief executive of the AeA, sees this as a fundamental challenge in the coming years: “The tech sector is not laying people off – if anything, the industry is having trouble getting enough people with the right credentials. Our public schools are not generating enough of the kinds of people who can go into engineering and math and really compete.”
With 5.8 million currently employed in the technology sector, a number approaching the previous high seen during the years of the dot com boom, the situation in the USA presents a real opportunity for international students. Now and in the near future, more qualified scientists, engineers and mathematicians will be required to meet the demands of the surging employment market than the local market can produce, thus creating the need to import more candidates with advanced qualifications. The real benefit to international graduates in the STEM subjects is clear – better than average salaries, excellent career prospects and the opportunity to be truly internationally mobile throughout their education and quite possibly their life.