ESA’s STEM list contains 50 specific occupation codes, and in 2009, there were 7.4 million workers in these jobs, representing 5.3 percent of the workforce.  To better put these jobs into context, we divide STEM occupations into four categories: computer and math, engineering and surveying, physical and life sciences, and STEM managerial occupations.

Across all levels of educational attainment, the largest group of STEM jobs is within the computer and math fields, which account for close to half (47 percent) of all STEM employment.  Second are engineering and surveying occupations, representing approximately one-third of all STEM employment, while 12 percent are in the physical and life sciences, and 8 percent in STEM management jobs.

Parallel to our list of STEM occupations, we also identify a set of STEM undergraduate degree fields that span computer science and mathematics, engineering, and life and physical sciences.  We define STEM degree holders as persons whose primary or secondary undergraduate major was in a STEM field. Consistent with the occupations selected for this report, we exclude business, healthcare, and social science majors.

Women in STEM jobs

According to the Census Bureau’s 2009 American Community Survey (ACS), women comprise 48 percent of the US workforce but just 24 percent of STEM workers. In other words, half as many women are working in STEM jobs as one might expect if gender representation in STEM professions mirrored the overall workforce.

Read the rest of the report and a listing of positions in this field at the Department of Commerce site.

Resources for women/girls in STEM fields:

AGORA for Women in Science Community

AWSEM – Advocates for Women in Science, Engineering & Mathematics
National Academy of Science Committee on Women in Science and Engineering
National Girls Collaborative Project
WEPAN – Women in Engineering Proactive Network

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