Need for IT beats demand for other STEM jobs

Maybe the acronym “STEM” should start with the letter “T.”

Among businesses in Ohio, the demand for people who specialize in information technology — the “T” in “STEM,” which stands for “Science, Technology, Engineering and Math” — far outpaces demand for people in other STEM professions.

Four times as many Ohioans work in computer-related jobs than in the other STEM fields combined. Also, the number of IT job openings exceeds the number of people graduating from Ohio colleges with IT degrees.

It's the other way around for many STEM professions, where the number of graduates often exceeds the number of job openings, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data compiled by employment data analysis firm Economic Modeling Specialists Inc.

The numbers don't necessarily mean that too many Ohioans are graduating with degrees related to science, engineering and math, said Jim Shanahan, director of the Entrepreneurship Innovation Institute at Lorain County Community College, and Jane Dockery, associate director of the Center for Urban Affairs at Wright State University.

However, the data do indicate that, of all STEM fields, Ohio's colleges need to put the greatest focus on convincing students to study information technology, they said.

“Compared to other occupations, it's big,” Dr. Shanahan said of IT. “Compared to STEM occupations, it's big.”

Wright State and LCCC analyzed the data for the Technology Transfer and Commercialization Task Force, a group of industry and university representatives that the Ohio Board of Regents formed to figure out how Ohio's colleges can help the state create more high-tech jobs.

The task force is putting together a report that will include several recommendations on how colleges can convert research dollars into new technologies, increase the amount of capital available for startups and improve the state's high-tech work force.

Though Dr. Shanahan wouldn't say what recommendations the work force committee will make, he noted that IT would be a big focus area. So will the idea that students pursuing degrees in one STEM field should be grounded in concepts from the others, as they tend to be connected.

Numbers game

Numerically, however, the STEM fields are quite different.

A group of occupations consisting of 10 IT fields employed a total of 106,279 Ohioans in 2010 — four times more than all other STEM occupations combined. And there's apparently room for more people: In 2010, job openings in those fields exceeded the number of people who graduated from Ohio colleges with related degrees by 2,471. That gap equals 2.3% of total IT employment in the state.

By that same calculation, colleges are producing what looks like a surplus in other STEM fields. For instance, when all five engineering occupations are combined, the number of 2010 graduates exceeds the number of jobs openings by 245, which is equal to 1.3% of total engineering employment in the state. On a percentage basis, forestry and conservation had the biggest surplus, 172, or 14.3% of a work force of 1,206.

The numbers, however, don't tell the whole story. The surpluses could be bigger than they appear because not every job opening calls for a recent college graduate; many are filled by people rotating between jobs.

Then again, the surpluses could be smaller, too: Roughly half of STEM graduates don't go to work in their field of study after graduation, according to a study called “STEM” that the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce released last December.

The study suggests that many STEM graduates don't take jobs in their fields, even though the positions tend to pay well, because they are more interested in pursuing jobs that fulfill personal desires.

Plus, other industries often want their ability to solve problems — another reason for colleges to put more focus on STEM skills, said Nicole Smith, a senior economist at the center who worked on the study.

“Part of the value of STEM is your marketability,” Dr. Smith said.

Worker shortage? Up pay

However, some researchers, such as Hal Salzman, who reviewed George-town's study, argue that many STEM graduates end up in other fields because they have a hard time finding jobs in their field of study.

Dr. Salzman — a senior faculty fellow in the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University — said when industries lack people with certain skills, they raise wages and get what they need. For example, there was a shortage of petroleum engineers a few years back, but after salaries in the field went up, the number of graduates almost tripled, he said, citing his own research.

“We've not been able to find an area where industry says, "we'll pay' and graduates don't respond,” he said.

Ms. Dockery, of Wright State, described the gap in IT graduates in Ohio as a “wake-up call” for colleges in the state. As for other STEM fields, it looks like Ohio is “pretty much on track,” she said.

Even so, needs vary by region and by industry, Ms. Dockery said. Surveys conducted by Wright State suggest that some industries in that region, especially aerospace, have had trouble finding technical employees with the knowledge and experience they want.

“The employers are frustrated,” she said.

Ken Alfred, executive director of the Cleveland Engineering Society, said local companies remain “relatively cautious” when it comes to hiring engineers because of the downturn. Even so, he noted that he has seen a few more job postings online as of late. Plus, companies still talk about how hard it is to find talent.

“It is still a challenge to find the right types of people to fill roles that are available out there,” Mr. Alfred said, adding that his daughter, who has an advanced engineering degree and lives out of state, has had trouble finding a job in her niche.

Dr. Shanahan, of LCCC, said colleges likely will need to turn out more STEM graduates in almost every category as high-tech industries grow. He described it as “job No. 1” for the task force's work force committee.

Job No. 2 will be to make sure students have the knowledge and, especially, the on-the-job experience that high-tech businesses want.

“Obviously the next big question is, what are we teaching them?” he said.