On July 7, 2014, it was announced in the Washington Business Journal that Washington is among the best cities for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates. Consumer finance site NerdWallet ranks the Washington region third in the nation on its list of “Best Places for STEM Graduates,” topped only by San Jose and Seattle. And that’s not all – the pay is among the best in the nation as well. The annual mean wage for STEM jobs in the Washington region is $99,237.45. NerdWallet also factored in rent as a cost of living and how much the total workforce STEM jobs make up. In the Washington region, STEM-related jobs account for 12% of all occupations.
Another study released by the Brookings Institution using data from Burning Glass, a company that analyzes online job postings, delivered the same results. Within the nation’s top 100 largest metropolitan areas, 4.7 million online job ads were examined, and Washington was again ranked third. Overall in the Washington area more than 55% of the job postings required some STEM skills. The Washington area wasn’t only highly ranked for STEM jobs, it has the second-largest number of job postings overall and also ranks second in the nation for STEM jobs that require at least a bachelor’s degree.
The Universities at Shady Grove (USG) brings together nine of Maryland’s top public universities on one campus and prepares students for careers in these high-demand STEM fields. Through USG’s strong partnerships with local businesses, students can pursue degrees that meet specific workforce needs and help assure students post-graduation career opportunities within the Washington region. At USG, students are able to select from a wide-range of STEM-related degree programs. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County offers Biotechnology, Cybersecurity, and Geographic Information Systems. The University of Maryland, College Park offers Biological Sciences, Math Education and Public Health Sciences degrees. Salisbury University recently added Exercise Science and the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore added Construction Management & Technology. The University of Maryland, University College has a vast range of degrees including, Information Technology, Investigative Forensics, and Laboratory Management. USG offers these and many other in-demand, STEM-related degree programs.
USG is committed to building the next generation of leaders in STEM fields. In 2016, USG will break ground for a new, state-of-the-art STEM facility, which will help meet the growing demands for STEM degrees. The $162million, 220,000 square-foot project will be the fourth academic building on the USG campus. The new facility will serve thousands of additional students in the STEM programs. The new building will house degree programs in engineering, computer science, and medical disciplines. The facility will provide teaching laboratories, active learning classrooms, clinical training facilities, academic offices, and an expanded level of student services necessary to support program enrollment growth. Innovation and product design labs will also provide flexible space for inter-disciplinary student research projects.
The STEM facility will be adjacent to the University System of Maryland Institute for Biosciences and Biotechnology Research (IBBR), providing students access to the latest research to support their studies, and allowing commercial and research partnerships to flourish in the region. USG will continue to foster collaboration across scientific disciplines, increase the number of STEM graduates, and help advance the regional and state economy. In a few years the Washington region will be the #1 city for STEM graduates.
NerdWallet article: http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/cities/economics/best-places-stem-graduates/
Brookings study: http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/2014/job-vacancies-and-st...