Acquiring knowledge in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math are a much greater part of the economy than previously thought, according to a report released Monday by the Brooking Institute’s Metropolitan Policy Program. Almost half of these positions, commonly dubbed STEM jobs, are filled with workers by an associate’s degree or less education.
According to the report, 20.1 percent of Utah jobs are now considered STEM positions. This figure is in stark contrast to previous estimates of 4 to 5 percent by the National Science Foundation and others.
In Utah, 116,200 jobs now fit the qualifications to be considered STEM positions and command an average annual salary of $65,481, compared to non-STEM earnings of $37,658. Those with STEM jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree in the state earn an average of $80,269 while their counterparts with an associate’s degree or less earn an average of $48,588. One of the surprises revealed by the Brookings report is that 46.7 percent of the STEM job holders in Utah have an education of an associate’s degree or less.
In the report, “The Hidden STEM Economy,” much of the change in the statistical evaluation of STEM jobs is due to a redefinition of these workers by the Brookings study. Previous studies classified workers as STEM only if they worked in a small number of professional occupations, but the Brookings definition classifies occupations according to the level of knowledge in STEM fields that workers need to perform their jobs. As a result, many non-professional jobs in manufacturing, healthcare, construction, and mining industries are now considered STEM jobs. One large difference is in the number of jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree, as experience and on-the-job training help fill the demand for STEM skills.
As expected, in Utah the majority of STEM jobs are held by those in the computer-related occupations. Of the 19,280 workers in this sector, 87.8 percent hold bachelor’s degrees or higher. Other STEM jobs with large numbers of employees include health diagnosing and treating professionals (16,530), financial specialists (9,780), construction trades (9,600) and engineers (6,650). The Enterprise
