LA Times: Only 28% of STEM graduates work STEM jobs

[Chrishaune]

Money over everything is destroying everything.

Gotta open eyes, because they aren't going to change the way they think.

People have to adjust. People have to work together. Get off the system and start sustaining themselves by doing what people always have done until the last 150 years. Grow your own food, take care of yourselves, work together.

What they are doing is grooming people to be slaves. Dependent on them. The whole idea of basic income is to control people and what they can/cannot buy. You think they are going to give you a card with money on it and not control what you can do with it?

 

[maxamusa]

just cause you get a degree doesn't mean you're going to be able to do a job.

some people who study engineering hit the field and get that wake up call.

IDK shyt about the other stem stuff just speaking on engineering.

 

[kaldurahm]

Get into healthcare. Nursing, x-ray tech, lab tech etc.. just to have a job if anything falls apart. Easy to get hired and can work everywhere. Only thing is they make you work and probably won't earn 100k unless You're an RN at the least, or work 2 jobs/overtime

 

[Lexington Steele]

There was never job security. The thing is you were well paid, so smart people would invest or save money for a rainy day since there's so much turnover. Tech world moves FAST and we are in a time where the stock price is everything. All it takes is a bad week or two and it's time to cut. It's a shytty industry to be honest.

Corps are really fukking over their employees with the government's help. It's crazy how unions got wiped out and had all this negativity surrounding them. All a play because businesses want to get rid of people on a whim and unions prevent that. Let the Corps run the show and we have this kind of society.

You can thank Bill Clinton for that. It was one of his major moves. The Democrats were backed by labor unions but Bill betrayed them for the billionaire money. Now both parties are on the same team, financially.

 

[CopiousX]

Let's address the number 1 fukking problem: companies refusing to hire Americans bc they can save money hiring h1b visa foreigners



Not sure why they didn't put that on the slides how bc we see it happening

This is nonsense. There is a federal cap on h1b holders. Only 80, 000 can be issued per year.


And even with that issue limit, there are only 600,000 h1b holders spread across dozens of stem and non stemfields like business/finance . Compare that to a native pool of tens of millions of stem positions for domestic applicants. H1bs are literally a drop in the bucket

 

[Tombstone]

It's a thing or problem innate to the field as well (no pun).

At the end of the day many employers (especially recruiters) really don't know how to gauge the value of a Physics degree.
For the field itself If you really want to do research and the work most people think of when they think of Physicists, you need a PhD.
However, only having BS in Physics is maybe one of the worst STEM degrees pound-for-pound.

Breaking into engineering with that degree is tricky because degrees like Physics don't get ABET accreditation and that makes engineering firms legally liable if they hire one to do engineering work. You can maybe do some analytic work, but many times they'll just hire another engineer. Some do eventually break in, but it'll be a grind or many times they don't quite become an engineer but an "engineer". One of my best friends from college basically has this role right now.

Sadly, a large amount of Physics grads actually end up teaching high school. Some did break into tech taking advantage of the recent boom, but it's hard to go up against CS grads when the market looks like it does. Same goes for other engineering fields - a Physics major just has too much good competition to go up against for specialty roles.

Overall, it's actually a degree that financially isn't worth the hassle and many people in the field will tell you the same. You either make the change into engineering/comp sci or you go full-on to power ahead and get your PhD (which will lead to a less financially rewarding career in research). The funny thing is engineering R&D is where PhD Physicists will start to take over. If going for a PhD then Physics > all other engineering discipline PhD's.

It's basically the tweener of STEM degrees. Definitely not unemployable, but will require an open mind by employers and can be tougher when specific fields get more competitive. This basically leads many to the situation like OP's post states where they don't even end up working in STEM as a career. Physics majors probably make up a large portion of those stats.

You’re a good poster so I’m not gonna try to argue back and forth.

As someone’s who’s been in tech the past few years some of the best software engineers I work with have Bachelors in Physics.

I know dudes in cyber Security, embedded systems, data science etc with a BS and talk with managers who prefer to work with physics graduates over CS grads.

But these are also people who minored or got comfortable with programmjng. The degree courses arent really relevant towards CS/engineering but the problem solving is invaluable which is second to none than any other major besides maybe math . Some people don’t know how express their value in problem solving with their degree plus dealing with the Human Resources filters who are just looking for the engineering degrees on the resume.

Theres other degrees like biology, biotechnology, chemistry which are less valuable with only a BS.

Physics is one of the hardest majors so there’s definitely easier routes but again the benefit is the problem solving/analytical skills you develop.

 

[IIVI]

You’re a good poster so I’m not gonna try to argue back and forth.

As someone’s who’s been in tech the past few years some of the best software engineers I work with have Bachelors in Physics.

I know dudes in cyber Security, embedded systems, data science etc with a BS and talk with managers who prefer to work with physics graduates over CS grads.

But these are also people who minored or got comfortable with programmjng. The degree courses arent really relevant towards CS/engineering but the problem solving is invaluable which is second to none than any other major besides maybe math . Some people don’t know how express their value in problem solving with their degree plus dealing with the Human Resources filters who are just looking for the engineering degrees on the resume.

Theres other degrees like biology, biotechnology, chemistry which are less valuable with only a BS.

Physics is one of the hardest majors so there’s definitely easier routes but again the benefit is the problem solving/analytical skills you develop.

Oh I 100% agree.

Physics and Math majors probably got the most difficult courses, depending on which you are more comfortable with (those Pure Math proof-based classes I know have forced some people to change their majors). They definitely got the analytical mind and no doubt make some of the best programmers, engineers and general problem solvers.

It's just tricky when it comes to hiring them. A recruiter who's job is on the line to find talent in tech will most likely filter for CS majors and same goes for a recruiter asked to find engineers on a deadline. While most other people from other fields are basically a shoe in based on their degree, a Physics major will have to jump through a few more hoops and do a little more salesmanship to get the same respect and consideration. Additionally, they may also get low-balled for pay (with some companies having a hard pass policy as well). That's all I'm saying.

I know more people who regret going for a BS Physics degree and wish they went into Engineering instead rather than the opposite. If someone were to ask me for my personal advice and they tell me they love Physics but want to work as well I'd say do some BS for Engineering (plenty of Physics involved) then MS Physics.

 

[staticshock]

Money over everything is destroying everything.

True, but that goes both ways. STEM & Engineering people just seem so insufferable online. They expect to make $120K fresh off the graduation stage

 

[maxamusa]

True, but that goes both ways. STEM & Engineering people just seem so insufferable online. They expect to make $120K fresh off the graduation stage

The idea of paying dues is repulsive 2 these new guys.

 

[xCivicx]

I been saying this

 

[maxamusa]

Get into healthcare. Nursing, x-ray tech, lab tech etc.. just to have a job if anything falls apart. Easy to get hired and can work everywhere. Only thing is they make you work and probably won't earn 100k unless You're an RN at the least, or work 2 jobs/overtime

I use to play chess with an old Chinese guy. Some broad asked us 1 time if she could play...his reply was
"This is a game for generals....not nurses"
I miss that fool wonder what he's up 2

 

[#BOTHSIDES]

Here a popular youtuber who was a former tech lead at Google and Facebook/Meta. To sum it up, he says the industry is oversaturated and Americans are fighting against super hungry immigrants fighting for a visa. He said it's a crazy rat race. Definitely try to go into big tech at a MAANG company if your heart is there, but also look into government contracting if MAANG doesn't work out. It's not as sexy but it is rewarding. If you are a citizen, you can hop on projects where citizenship is required and/or a clearance is needed. You literally are cutting out all of that foreign competition right there. You can eat really well and don't have to worry about the economy or layoffs if you can actually do the work.

P.S. The youtuber below can be real cynical. He just wants future developers/engineers to be prepared for the realities.

My background is Bachelors of Science Computer Engineering Technology with 12 years of software development/engineering in the workforce.

This is this guy's Schtick! He's always doom and gloom about everything.

Fellas, womens, kids... go into STEM.

 

[Wargames]

Gotta open eyes, because they aren't going to change the way they think.

People have to adjust. People have to work together. Get off the system and start sustaining themselves by doing what people always have done until the last 150 years. Grow your own food, take care of yourselves, work together.

What they are doing is grooming people to be slaves. Dependent on them. The whole idea of basic income is to control people and what they can/cannot buy. You think they are going to give you a card with money on it and not control what you can do with it?

Honestly I never considered it but you’re absolutely right

 

[LunaticVillage415]

This is not news. Folks been complaining about not finding good jobs with STEM degrees since at least 2009. Life is a gamble in America. Amerikkka ain't the land of opportunity for real. You're damned if you do damned if you don't.

Going to college worse than gambling your family's life savings at a casino. Because most people are gambling on their future with money they don't even have. And at 18, 19, 20 years old, you don't know shyt about life and shouldn't be literally gambling with your future. Especially gambling on the ability to secure high paying jobs that can easily be automated or outsourced to Pradeep and 'nem for the low.

My nephew is 22. He was jealous of his friends going to college. I told his ass just get any regular job and learn to show up day after day in the season of growth that is his 20's.

College doesn't even teach you that. College is high school 2.0 and the "college experience" 20 somethings want involve alcoholic drinking patterns and denial of being a responsible adult. And you come out tens of thousands in debt unless you have rich parents. College used to only be for rich kids for a reason. And lowkey, college only still mostly benefits rich kids with connections.

 

[Buddy]

It's still better than liberal arts
I haven't read yet but what could ya'll possibly be talking about