University of Massachusetts > STEM > UNDERSTANDING FACTORS THAT ENCOURAGE

Understanding Factors That Encourage Career Choice in the
Life Sciences

Concept Papers

Economic expansion up to and during 2000 in the biotechnology industry probably was the first time that experts clearly saw the evidence of a workforce gap. Since then, many measures have been taken to create the "high technology" school or to develop laboratories for children and youth, to prepare young people to take positions in this new technological work force. A challenge that requires further examination is: How do we ensure that there is a balance among skills preparation, sustained interest in and openness to careers in biology and medicine?

Commercial development alone cannot bridge the gap among technology preparedness, Internet access and commitment to life sciences careers. Latinos still trail whites and other minority groups in computer ownership, Internet use and e-commerce. (Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, April 2002, www.tripi.org). Still others argue that expanded social networks (Bob Pearlman, "Digital Divide in Silicon Valley) presage success for any group in the biotechnology fields." At the same time, Job Outlook 2002 by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reports that communication skills and a strong work ethic are the top two of five new-hire skills (honesty, teamwork and interpersonal skills following closely behind).

Pearlman and others suggest that insufficient exposure to careers in technology may explain some part of the lack of commitment to STEM careers by American youth (see Joint Venture's 2002 Work Force study, pp. 11 and16, http://www.jointventure.org/PDF/2002workforcestudy.pdf).
Failing to "get on board" at a propitious time educationally may just be a matter of normal development. A closer look at the data suggests there are really three gaps that challenge efforts to fill the talent pipeline: a sizeable awareness gap, an interest gap and an access gap. Interest gap is where we need to focus.

A huge body literature says that career interests are shaped by a variety of factors including social influences (parental "SES," family, friends community, the media) and personal characteristics. Mentors can mediate negative influences. A recent report in the Chronicle of Higher Education, points to the value of mentors at the risk of minimizing the importance of a "real-world" laboratory experience itself. Researchers Seymour, Lopatto and Russell ("What Good is Undergraduate Research Anyway?" Aug. 17, 2007) report that undergraduate research doesn't necessarily correlate with a research career, except for the value and quality of the mentoring.

Mentors for minority youth are viewed as a powerful way to get ahead in productive future professions (Bob Gonzales, Mayor of San Jose, CA (2002 Word Force study, p.22). However, the best studies of factors to support STEM career choices fail to provide a place for understanding "intangibles" like drive and attitude. Are signature projects (technology packages, school to career efforts like LINC 2, the Future initiative from the Boston Mayor's Office) sufficient to create a smooth pathway from school to a productive career choice in biotechnology?

So-called soft skills, such as communications and cooperation, are traditionally pointed to as being as important as academic success. Thinking, which encompasses many disciplines and a multicultural comfort level and perspective, may also be required. If such preparation embodies the ticket to economic upward mobility, as Ken Kay, Partnership for 21st Century Skills describes in a recent article (Education Week, vol. 26, issue 40), how to we capture the attention of young people so they actively reach for and take full advantage of these opportunities?

It may be that a closer look at "match" is warranted. In the literature, a focus on "social networks" as a means to bring talented youth closer to STEM choices touches on "match" between a young person and the field, his or her disposition and work ethic and the requirements of a STEM field. A deeper understanding of this complex is needed.

Fostering synergy between businesses and the community and offering an array of internships, intensive training programs, and tools (e.g., www.yearup.org) is certainly important. In addition, an expansion of participation in the STEM work force may require an expanded understanding of personal and temperamental considerations that might increase the likelihood of a match between a young adult and a potential field of interest.

There is hope. We can learn from the high school students who did research in several special summer programs at Boston University, MIT and Harvard. They can speak the new life sciences language and appear to understand it.

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