Best 10 STEM Careers in 2022
Jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) continue their promising rise in the employment market. Even in 2022, STEM careers remain in high demand with a very low unemployment rate. If you intend to break into this stable job market, here are the best careers to specialize in today.
1. Information Security Analysts
The projected growth rate for information security analysts is around 33% for the years 2020 through 2030. Demand for specialists in this field has dramatically grown because of the rising emphasis on e-commerce. Information security analysts are primarily concerned with protecting data obtained, stored, and used by organizations in their computer systems. From banks to governments to e-commerce websites — the need to keep client information secure is crucial if you want to maintain your company’s goodwill.
Information security analysts guarantee that scandals like Target’s major security breach in 2013 do not happen again. With this job, you’ll need to develop network systems that prevent third parties from hacking into the system and accessing vital information. The average salary for this position is $103,000 with an unemployment rate of just 1.2%.
2. Software Developer
The projected growth for this career is at 22.2% with an unemployment rate of just 3%. As a software developer, your main responsibility is to create software, programs, and apps that you use in your day-to-day life. This goes beyond simple games like Candy Crush or Words with Friends. Software developers may be asked to build more complicated programs such as mobile apps for banks, government offices, e-commerce platforms, and more.
The average income for this job position is around $110,140 with close to half a million job positions in the market today.
3. Nurse Practitioner
The pandemic placed emphasis on the need for more nurse practitioners. However, the fact is that nursing has always been a high-demand job in any country. Unlike registered nurses, however, nurse practitioners have additional schooling which allows them to do more in the medical field. This includes taking patient history, authorizing treatments, and even prescribing medications.
The median salary for this job is $111,680. What makes it different from a physician? Well, physicians require more training than nurse practitioners. If you’re already a degree holder as a nurse, it doesn’t take too much time to become a nurse practitioner.
4. IT Managers
Information technology managers are a unique combination of tech experts and managers. While they can also perform technical jobs associated with computers, their responsibilities are more extensive. Their duties include developing long-term goals for their employers, figuring out tech needs, and coordinating with different programs and specialists to meet those goals. As an IT manager, part of your job is to navigate through the constantly changing landscape of tech needs for the company
The employment growth for the position is projected to be 10.9% with a median income of $151,150.
5. Epidemiologists
Epidemiologists are specialists who study and predict the pattern and progress of diseases on a large scale. The demand for degree holders specializing in the epidemic study significantly grew over the past year thanks to COVID-19. There’s no sign of the demand slowing down soon as the projected growth is at 29.6% with a median income of $100,983 as of 2022.
6. Data Scientist
As the world shifts to an online platform for practically everything, opportunities for tech graduates are quickly expanding. As a data scientist, your responsibility is to acquire large amounts of data and find information that’s useful for your client or employer.
It’s a lot like being an investor because a data scientist looks at different variables and then makes predictions based on those variables. Naturally, the job requires not only programming skills but also quantitative and qualitative reasoning skills. Job growth projection is an impressive 31.4% with a median income of $98,230.
7. Civil Engineer
Job growth for civil engineers is expected to be around 8.2% from 2020 to 2030. This career has been in high demand for years as cities and countries strive for more development to attract more investors. Responsibilities of a civil engineer include building bridges, roads, structures, and other massive construction works. It’s an age-old profession that also covers the maintenance and repair of these massive structures. If you become a civil engineer, you’ll spend your days both in the office and in the field inspecting buildings. The median income for civil engineers is $88,570
8. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
With a projected growth of 7% in the following years, health and safety specialists are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Employees in this sector are usually graduates of scientific or technology majors. Their responsibilities include collecting work data and analyzing the best ways to guarantee safety and efficiency in any work environment. If you decide to take this up, then you’ll be responsible for creating operational standards to reach peak performance while still keeping the workers safe from work-related injuries. As of 2022, the median salary for this job is $68,750.
9. Statisticians
The growth rate for statisticians is at an impressive 35.4% with a median salary of $92,270. This is one of the most flexible careers because statisticians are useful in practically any industry. As a statistician, your job is to collect vast amounts of data, execute experiments, analyze information, draw conclusions, and report and make recommendations. Statisticians are crucial in governments, but they’re also employed by the health, environmental, and sports sectors.
10. Foresters
With the increased attention in the environment, forester job positions are opening up across the country. Their primary function is to help with land management and conserve and rehabilitate public and private lands. If you love the environment, then being a forester will give you the chance to restore wildlife habitats, help fight forest fires, and even assess timber. Job growth for foresters is assessed at 10% with an average salary of $64,700 as of 2022.
Preserve Your Documents Safely
If you’re a degree holder of any STEM major, these job opportunities are available to you! As early as today, secure your future by saving all relevant documents of your education. From a custom diploma holder to scanned copies of your transcript, we have products that can safely and proudly hold your diploma, so you’re always ready to pull it out and show your expertise.
Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34334836/
https://www.bls.gov/emp/images/growing_occupations.png
https://smartasset.com/data-studies/fastest-growing-stem-jobs-in-the-us-2022
https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/best-stem-jobs
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/epidemiologists.htm
https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/epidemiologist-salary
