Many kids struggle deciding on whether they should take the STEM route or the liberal arts route. I would suggest taking the STEM route for kids who are undecided. Building bridges, designing a house, making a website, assembling a car, and doing labs in science are all part of STEM.

STEM shows how to deal with and solve problems and what to do when stuck. These principles will stick with for life. For example, if a sink has a leak in it, then the homeowner have to identify the problem and figure out how to fix it. Another example would be if a garage door broke then the owner would have to repair the pulley system. 

Stephen Deangelis, an AI specialist, said in a WIRED article, “The lesson that needs to be learned here is that, if you want your child to succeed in life, teach him or her how to think critically and solve problems. “

 The  work environment for careers in this field is more self directed.  Programmers can work from the comfort of their homes. This can be good for people who like to work on their own or for a person who prefers not to interact with people all day. For example a forensic scientists would be working in a crime lab looking at fingerprints. 

Did you know that Maryland is one of the fastest growing regions for STEM careers?  Maryland has jobs with federal jobs, private sector biohealth, private sector cybersecurity, finance jobs and many more.

I think you should choose STEM careers because they pay well and are more secure.  The reason is that they are in high demand and if you’re getting into the computer science field the programmer can basically work anywhere since most businesses need computer people. 

“STEM jobs offer a substantial salary premium. The average advertised salary for entry-level STEM jobs requiring a BA or higher is $66,123” . And, there are plenty of jobs for those who have less than a college degree. It is ok to make less money, especially if its doing something you love but if you love STEM then it’s a bonus  and you can enjoy many of the luxuries life as to offer:  a home, children, education and travel.

Lots of kids are divided between STEM courses or choosing art courses. I think the best route would be to choose STEM because the careers are secure and pay well, the courses teach how to solve and to deal with problems. It also lets  creativity shine in different ways like programming a website, creating architecture for buildings, or simple stuff like taking different routes to solve a problem in math. While all this is true it depends on what is best for you and  what works best for you these are just things to consider when deciding your path of life. 

“As you get older you want to have a nice background knowledge in all areas to make good decisions in life” “Having a good scientific background helps you understand how the world around you works, ” said Chris Hahn a physics teacher.