We must spark youth to pursue STEM careers

We’ve heard a lot about “STEM” training lately. It stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

One reason it is a trendy acronym is because of a big push to encourage girls and young women to consider careers in those fields. If they can see themselves in those jobs, they can pursue an educational path that will lead them there.

Society needs more young people excited about science, in general. All of those young minds are needed to help dream up and develop whatever big things come next to cure diseases, develop the next generation of computer systems or a transportation system we can’t even imagine at the moment — to name a few things.

It’s important to inspire young people to consider careers in science because the average age of scientists in the United States is increasing, according to research by Ohio State University economists Bruce Weinberg and David Blau. The average age of employed scientists rose from 45.1 to 48.6 between 1993 and 2010.

At Ohio State, 37 percent of tenured or tenure-track STEM faculty members are 55 or older.

Scientists entering their 50s are at least a decade away from retirement, so we have time to get people ready to take over. But parents, teachers and other mentors need to encourage children who have the aptitude and interest to open their minds to the possibilities of a STEM career.

And not just because retirement looms for some scientists. The Ohio State researchers also note that revolutionary ideas have come from youthful scientists, so young minds could inspire uncounted discoveries.