• Parents
  • About STEM
  • K-12 Programs
  • Undergraduate Programs
• Students
  • About STEM
  • K-12 Programs
  • VT Undergraduate Programs
  • STEM Careers
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • Resources
• Policy Makers
• Informal Education
  • About Informal Education
  • Funding Opportunities and Partnerships
  • Assessment
• K-12 Educators
• Business
• Higher Education
  • Funding Opportunities and Partnerships
  • Assessment
• Governor's Conference
  • Background
  • Reading
  • PowerPoints
  • Notes
• Newsletters

STEM Students

What Is STEM?

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Why Should I Be Interested In STEM?

For more than a century, America has been at the forefront of innovation.  Many of the things you use everyday were invented in the United States, from the zipper (1893, Whitcomb L. Judson), to chewing gum (1870, Thomas Adams), to the lap top computer (1983, Radio Shack).   Can you imagine a life without email (1971, Ray Tomlinson) or video games (1972, Nolan Bushnell)?  The light bulb, the first engine powered air plane, movies, scotch tape, the electric guitar and even JELLO₁ were all invented in America.  We are a country of creative thinkers and entrepreneurs.

As our world becomes more and more connected, opportunities abound for those with education in the STEM related₂ fields.  By 2016, it is predicted that almost three-fourths of the fastest growing jobs will be in the STEM fields.  Additionally, of the top ten paying jobs in America now, nine are STEM related.  Is a STEM career right for you?

Find out more about exciting jobs in the STEM areas by clicking the robotic frog.

1.  incandescent light bulb (1879, Thomas Alva Edison),  engine powered airplane ( 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright), motion picture (1891, Thomas Alva Edison), scotch tape (1930, Richard Drew 3M), electric guitar (1941, Les Paul),  JELLO (1897, Pearle B. Wait).

2.  Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/ accessed November 17, 2009