Your potential STEM graduate

Our son Ben goes to the Denver School of Science and Technology, a high school with a clear goal of preparing high school graduates for college degrees in STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. When I talk to parents, I often hear that the school sounds great, but it is too specialized or my kid is not a "math kid." Ben would probably not describe himself as a "math kid", but he is doing math and lots of it at DSST.  So much math in fact that he and the vast majority of his classmates will complete calculus before they graduate.  I don't know about you, but I barely walked past the one section of calculus at my high school, much less took the class.

The fact of the matter is that more and more of today's jobs desire applicants with STEM fields.  A report from the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University recently found that jobs in STEM fields and Health Sciences are the fastest growing in the economy.  Further, the report says that people with STEM degrees are in high demand for many high paying non-STEM fields.  As a result, those trained in STEM are highly competitive for all jobs.

What is interesting is that when asked, almost half of high school graduates will tell you that they are interested in a STEM degree.  Students are more savvy than we realize, most know where the money is and are smart about where to find it. So you might want to take another look at your son or daughter, they may be a closeted STEM student.

The bottom line is that taking advantage of high school to challenge your son or daughter to take as much math and science in high school is a good thing, even if they don't end up as an engineer.

In a piece I did for my job at Complete College America this past week, I discussed new research that provides some insights about what it takes for a student to graduate with a STEM degree.   Bottom line, if your new college student doesn't complete calculus in their first year of college, a STEM degree is not in the cards.   Further, we know that students who start in College Algebra, rarely make into and through Calculus. So, if you have a kid dreaming of being the next Silicon Valley mogul, make sure they get through high school Calculus and enter directly into college calculus or beyond their freshman year.

While your kids might not like it, their future will be a whole lot brighter if they take lots of math - and not only because they won't be sleeping in your basement.