Employment in science, technology, engineering and math occupations has grown 79% since 1990, from 9.7 million to 17.3 million today, outpacing overall US job growth. In 2018, 71% of all jobs required STEM skills, according to the Pew Research Center.
Through rigorous, multidisciplinary events touching every letter in STEM, Science Olympiad lights pathways to apprenticeships, college and careers while at the same time developing essential employability skills. According to a LinkedIn survey of hiring managers, the three top soft skills in new employees are communication, organization and teamwork. Participation in Science Olympiad is the perfect springboard to jobs in the 16 National Career Clusters as endorsed by Advance CTE.
STEM co-curricular programs like Science Olympiad provide young adults with a glimpse into the future by providing opportunities for career exploration and mentoring, achieving results: 75% of female students who have a mentor feel they will be successful pursuing a STEM career.
A recent Science Olympiad grad from Cornell University said: "Science Olympiad led me to explore new avenues of science and engineering, but most importantly, I built leadership skills, the ability to work on a team, and better problem-solving approaches. The effects are material when I work on group projects or need to cooperate with other people."
