STEM Career Guides ‘I want to be a…’

Our Career Guides cover STEM career guides and Manager Career Guides.

STEM careers refer to jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

STEM careers have been a buzz word in the world of work for a while now. With STEM careers being seen as the highest paying positions of any field, the incentives are good. However, it is believed that only 23% of the overall UK STEM workforce are women. The gap is big and the opportunities abundant.

With STEM careers for both men and women rising, many schools and colleges are pushing more and more girls to take STEM-orientated GCSE subjects. According to 2018 Workforce Statistics by the Wise campaign, over 900 000 women work in STEM occupations in the UK. Wise’s goal of 1 000 000 women by 2020 is therefore in close reach.

Events like Women in Data and Women in STEM help to get this message out. The Women in Data event has now become the biggest UK data event of its kind in the UK. With companies like Female Leads actively encouraging girls from a young age to become future leaders. Stemettes.org, on the other hand, works hard to inspire young women into STEM careers. They not only provide events, workshops, exhibitions and mentoring but encourage girls to find women in STEM role models.

So what careers are at the top of the list for aspiring female scientists and engineers?

STEM Careers to study with the highest pay

As Benjamin Franklin so famously said: “To fail to plan is to plan to fail”. This applies to career guidance too. To realise the end goal – what are the options out there and what education do you need. As mentioned in our article, Future STEM Jobs, we are educating our children for careers that we might not even be aware of. Therefore looking at STEM, it is can provide security. Most future jobs would most likely be based in STEM. Here are some of the highest paying STEM careers for women (and men) to study for now, according to a study done by ADZUNA in 2018.

1. Aeronautical Engineer

Average Salary: £51 448

Number of UK jobs: 26

2. Civil Engineer

Average Salary: £47 503

Number of UK jobs: 1 505

3. Computer Science

Average Salary: £47 197

Number of UK jobs: 4 236

4. Chemical Engineer

Average Salary: £45 527

Number of UK jobs: 194

5. Life Science

Average Salary: £43 872

Number of UK jobs: 1 362

6. Statistics

Average Salary: £43 731

Number of UK jobs: 438

7. Electrical Engineering

Average Salary: £43 412

Number of UK jobs: 831

8. Pharmacy

Average Salary: £42 984

Number of UK jobs: 407

9. Mechanical Engineering

Average Salary: £38 752

Number of UK jobs: 1 432

10. Mathematics

Average Salary: £38 125

Number of UK jobs: 1 100

According to this study, technology graduates have the most opportunities. However, even though Engineering and IT topped the list, there is no reason to drop Maths and Sciences.

Best STEM careers – most opportunities

1. Computer Science

Average Salary: £47 197

Number of UK jobs: 4 236

2. IT

Average Salary: £36 542

Number of UK jobs: 1 847

3. Civil Engineering

Average Salary: £47 503

Number of UK jobs: 1 505

4. Mechanical Engineering

Average Salary: £38 752

Number of UK jobs: 1 435

5. Life Science

Average Salary: £43 872

Number of UK jobs: 1 362

6. Mathematics

Average Salary: £38 152

Number of UK jobs: 1 100

7. Physics

Average Salary: £26 617

Number of UK jobs:1 046

8. Chemistry

Average Salary: £27 795

Number of UK jobs: 923

9. Electrical Engineering

Average Salary: £43 412

Number of UK jobs: 43 412

10. Statistics

Average Salary: £43 731

Number of UK jobs: 438

The above lists should give you a good indication as to which STEM careers are both the highest paying and have the most opportunities.

You will find various STEM careers listed below. For an overview on becoming qualified in one of these careers listed, follow the associated link.

STEM Career guides

Honoured to feature interviews by the inspiring Women In Data Ambassadors below. In collaboration with Girls in Data, we hope to inspire girls to follow the footsteps of these amazing role models and follow their dreams wherever they may lead.

STEM Career Advice

Making the right choices

With the current skills shortage in these careers, a lot of emphases is put on the training and education in Maths and related subjects. Our blog on Women in Tech specifically looks at how to get girls more involved in this field. According to this article on the Skills Shortage, the cost to the STEM sector is £1.5 bn. It is estimated that new STEM jobs will double in the next 10 years. With a reported 89% of STEM businesses currently struggling to recruit, the pressure is on.

Joining a STEM society is a great way to connect to your chosen profession and it looks impressive on your CV. It might also help you acquire those core competency skills needed.

There is no doubt that these careers are in demand and will be more so in the future. As these careers mostly involve tertiary education, it is important to know the requirements and necessary subject choices needed to follow your chosen direction. Join or start a STEM club at your school and connect to a world of information.

A rise in non-tech jobs

The rise in tech jobs and the growth in tech companies have brought on the inevitable growth of non-tech jobs within tech companies. A recent article on research done by Glassdoor shows the rise in non-tech jobs quite clearly.

Some of the key findings from this research:

• As tech companies grow, so does the need for operations managers, marketing, sales, finance etc.
• Over half of the job vacancies at tech companies are for non-tech roles (54%).
• The five most in-demand non-tech jobs are an account manager, operations manager, account executive and marketing manager.
• The five most in-demand tech jobs are a software engineer, product manager, software development engineer, solutions architect and a web developer.
• According to this research, the average median salary for tech jobs at tech companies in the UK is £40 400 and for non-tech jobs, it is £38 100.

Career Guides for Schools

Careers Guidance is particularly valuable at these key stages:

• Which GCSE options to choose? (During Y9)
• What sort of Level 3 qualification to take – A level, Level 3 BTEC, Apprenticeship, T levels (Years 10 and Y11).
• Where to go after Level 3 – University, Apprenticeship, Work, (Year 12).
• After graduation.

Also, keep an eye on our careers blog page for a more detailed look at different top jobs in the UK.

Our STEM careers blogs

Become a Business Intelligence Analyst / How to become a machine learning specialist / AI specialist / Best STEM Careers / STEM Careers Guidance.