I am sure you have heard that “the future is in STEM” (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). Indeed, the statistics back this up; STEM occupations have grown in number by close to 80% since 1990, and is projected to grow at a faster rate than non-STEM occupations. in the next decade. [1]
But what people don’t realise is that even if you are not a scientist or an engineer, one cannot avoid the impact of the technology revolution in our economy today. The technology industry is by far the largest component of the S&P 500 index in the United States [2], and the popularisation of blockchain cryptocurrency may mean the technology industry being even more closely tied to your (digital) wallet. Even in the more tangible fields of engineering, the emergence of South Asia and Africa as new middle-income countries is leading to a high demand in engineers of all fields. The truth is that STEM fields is revolutionising our economy.
Therefore, it is important that you or your child, as a student who is going to enter a technology-driven workplace, are well-equipped with a STEM education in order to understand and process the trends in technology and engineering, and how these trends can send ripples – even shockwaves – through industries which appear to be quite unrelated to it. This is why STEM education cannot be ignored, even for people who are sure they wouldn’t enter into a field requiring technical knowledge of a scientific field.
But more importantly, the STEM revolution is changing the way we need to think. With “menial” tasks like typing, copying and editing documents being increasingly automated, employers are looking out for the skills which cannot be replaced by automation – these are exactly the skills which a rigorous STEM education imparts. These are the 21st century skills of problem solving, creative thinking and innovation, skills which are increasingly the focus of educational syllabi all around the world, but especially in Singapore with its cutting edge educational framework.
Are you ready for an STEM future?
[1] https://www.idtech.com/blog/stem-education-statistics
[2] https://fortune.com/2020/08/17/sp-500-stock-market-tech-stocks/#:~:text=By%20far%20the%20largest%20sector,27%25%20of%20the%20benchmark%20index.
