These unprecedented times have created an unprecedented era in STEM.
Here’s the good news: the demand for skilled workers in STEM has never been higher.
The numbers on this simply don’t lie.
Statistics from the Department of Labor, US World News Report, and the biggest names in the tech sector all paint a picture of tremendous growth.
The bad news? Well, if you ask us, there isn’t any. We like to think of it as more of an opportunity.
Enter the “Tech Dilemma”: there is a surprising shortage of qualified workers to meet the soaring industry demand.
Unprecedented growth and lucrative opportunities in STEM
On one hand, value and careers in tech are skyrocketing in a way that not even a global pandemic could slow.
The market cap of Netflix has doubled in the past year—it was trading at $254 a share a year ago, and is now hovering around $500. Google, now Alphabet, is up big, as is Amazon.
Speaking of which, Amazon also recently announced that they are ramping up investments in corporate and tech jobs, looking to hire 33,000 new employees with annual compensation packages at $150,000.
Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, told CNBC earlier in the year “that the social media company expects to hire an additional 10,000 people by the end of 2020.” The majority of hires will be in highly-compensated product and engineering roles.
STEM education in schools, especially in a world of distance learning, might be falling short
On the other hand, findings from a recent iD Tech survey included the fact that, among parents with children in an online or hybrid program (82% of all respondents), 56% of parents are not confident in the quality of education their children are receiving this fall.
And, that number is even higher for STEM offerings, with 65% of parents responding that they don't believe STEM programs offered to their students meet their standards.
And then there’s the stress factor, something that surely will not surprise parents juggling distance-learning. In the same survey, the majority of parents polled stated that schooling this fall during the COVID-19 pandemic was more stressful for their students (55%) and for themselves (68%).
“Zoom fatigue” and a feeling of online anonymity also take their toll. Our survey results show a lack of individualized student attention (57%) and an increase of students being bored during the school day (43%).
The picture is clear: It’s time to take action.
iD Tech tackles the “tech dilemma”
"The need is enormous right now—there is a massive skills gap between the needs that major tech companies have, and what we are teaching our kids every day. Gaining deep exposure to STEM topics on a regular basis at an early age is absolutely vital to the future of our kids, and to the future of our country," said in a recent press release by Pete Ingram-Cauchi, CEO of iD Tech and father of three school-aged children.
We believe there’s a solution to the “tech dilemma”: emboldening kids to pursue their passions and shape the future through STEM.
There are many pathways to technology, and now is the perfect time to take that first step. It’s more important than ever that every kid feels seen, even in distance learning, which is one of the reasons why we are also proud to launch online math tutoring.
There’s no telling where one course, one mentor, or one spark might lead! Cole Bowden, a former iD Tech camper, embraced his pathway and rose from student to instructor to now engineer at Facebook. Our commitment is to help more and more students step into Cole’s shoes and launch their personal journey to that awesome dream job.
CAMPERS with a Purpose
The “tech dilemma” highlights another need that’s important to us: representation and access.
We believe every child deserves the opportunity to learn and succeed in this industry, and we are dedicated to moving the needle in STEM education. Through our social impact initiatives, we provide life-changing STEM experiences that embolden underrepresented students to shape the future.
We live for camper experiences like these, “I fell in love with coding (and anything related to that in general). Being a part of this program gave me a chance to do something that every second, every millisecond that I was there, I enjoyed it.”
The more kids are excited about technology, the closer we are to building the future they deserve.