STEM education fuels and powers future innovation.
Hey There!
It gives me so much pleasure to connect with you through this medium. Allow me to introduce myself. I lead a team of Engineers and Product managers (those who develop customer experience) on Consumer Product Innovation in Verizon. As my team name indicates, we focus on innovation, that is, bringing new products and services to customers to simplify their already busy lives.
We as a community are evolving rapidly to include technology in some form or another to simplify our daily lives. Be it something as simple as asking Alexa to call Mom, your refrigerator telling you that you are out of milk or even a robot to fold your clothes after doing laundry. I know… I would love to have that kind of help at my home. :-) The possibilities are endless. All of these are made possible through careers in STEM.
STEM education fuels and powers future innovation beyond the learnings in a classroom. A lot goes behind building a robot such as critical thinking, collaboration, teamwork, problem solving, effective communication, user experience, presenting to sell your ideas to others and of course building it. Most of these skills are formed in school, be it those science classes, experiments, science fairs, math problems (yes, those word problems and equations!), group projects where you work together as a team to solve problems.
With the global pandemic, the need for innovation has never been greater. As demand increases, the job opportunities are endless. STEM careers pay well. Check out the US Department of Labor site for stats on STEM related jobs versus others. The difference is significant!
As you all learn STEM, you also become more aware not just of the benefits of technology, but also the problems it can create. Take global warming, for example. STEM education can help address many of the issues around society in general. A Gallup poll said 70% of young people were more concerned about global warming than the older generations. This stat is significant because through the critical thinking and problem solving skills acquired from STEM, solutions can be found to make this world a better place.
I hope I have given you enough reasons to stay with STEM and pursue a career in it.
Wishing you success in your STEM endeavors and looking forward to the exciting innovations you’ll come up with to make life just a tad bit simpler!