What are the most promising S.T.E.M. careers of the future?

Hi Jake,


I guess one reason you might have got no replies yet is because this is quite a UK based forum, and degree programmes over here, and what employers are looking for, might be different to those over with you. But from a UK point of view, what stands out to me is that, apart from "mechatronics", the engineering and science degrees you've picked up are very employment sector specific. No degrees in electronics, or computer science, or mechanical engineering etc. 


My personal view (based on my experience in recruitment and working with other engineering managers with similar experience) is that sector specific degrees can be quite limiting, the problem is that real advances tend to come from taking fundamental engineering advances in one sector and applying them to another. So, for example, a pioneering alternative energy company will need physics graduates, electronics graduates, mechanical engineering graduates, software graduates who can bring the latest advances in those fundamental fields. They may actually be less interested in graduates in "alternative energy".  


To put this into context, for many years I worked on equipment design for the professional music industry. On another forum a number of us (including people who were much more recently involved than I was) were advising a young student about the best degree programme to enter that industry today. We all came to basically the same conclusion: if they wanted to design the concept of new systems then a degree in music technology could be the way to go, and if they wanted to design the detail of the system then a degree in software / signal processing engineering or electronics engineering could be the way to go. Neither is right or wrong, just likely to lead to different parts of the process.



But on the general question of what are the most promising STEM careers of the future - don't (fully) believe anyone who gives you an answer, nobody knows! The whole point of STEM is that it's about discovery and invention, no-one can predict what's going to become the critical area even in 10 or 5 years time. But it doesn't matter. Provided you expect change and don't expect it to give you the same job day in day out for 50 years, any STEM background can give fabulous opportunities to be part of that change and development, and so in the end the most important choice is which degree they will enjoy doing the most! Because that's the one they'll put the most work into, and so get the most out of. 



Hopefully some other thoughts will come in, it's an interesting topic.


Cheers,


Andy

Are these suggestions for courses and career choices at Masters degree level - i.e. something you do to specialise after you have done a main degree in a core subject (Engineering, Maths or A Science ) already ?

I share Andy's concern that these are not what I consider Science (Physics/Chemistry/Biology), Engineering (maybe specialising, for example in electronics mechanics, or software) or mathematics (where folk end up in all sorts of places, doing things as diverse as robot vision and machine learning or modelling of novel low error communiction links and faiure modes in complex systems).

If not else where on the website, I'd suggest it is missing a bit, which is the pre-requisites.

As an illustration, you will not be a robot designer without engineering design skills, and they will involve some fairly solid maths.

My advice to a youngster for job security would actually be not to specialise until the last minute just before (or maybe after) going job hunting, as there is a serious risk of being something like the expert in canals when steam engines came along, and with a skill set soon defunct.

More useful it is to have a rock solid grip of the fundamental principles so that when change comes you can pick up the magazine articles and text books and keep yourself up to date, be it with wind turbines rockets or fun fair rides.

I do not know about the US (frankly their qualifications are a mystery) but in the UK I'd rather have someone who looks like they are bright and can be trained and kept up to date as required, with less knowledge of the  current task, than someone who can only do one thing right now without the core understanding of why and how..

I type as one with a degree in Physics and a PhD in  Electrical and Electronic Engineering, who has yet to be short of interesting work, but we also employ plenty of engineers and mathematics graduates !


I imagine others will differ.

regards Mike.