Determinants of Training in STEM Careers

• In Event: 283 - Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work Paper Session. Work, Careers, Organizations, and Labor Markets in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Fields

Abstract

STEM workers are widely seen as crucial to the U.S.’s economic future, and training is widely regarded as key to maintaining worker skill sets, yet we know little about which STEM workers use training or how this has changed over time. Using data from the National Science Foundation’s National Survey of College Graduates, we examine the likelihood of attending work-related training at three points—1993, 2003, and 2010—using a host of explanatory variables. We find that predictors of training are divided between one’s demographic characteristics, educational background, and current occupational field, and that there is a slight democratizing trend in the attendance of work-related training over time. In particular, gender and citizenship status have decreased in significance as predictors of training, while the presence of children in one’s household remains important; respondents with professional degrees are most likely to attend training, while respondents with doctoral degrees are least likely; and most likely to attend training are engineers, individuals working for 2-year colleges, and individuals who supervise others, while least likely are individuals whose work is unrelated to their degree and individuals working in for-profit businesses—especially with few employees. Interestingly, most likely to attend training in 1993 were computer and mathematical scientists who did not have a degree in the computer and mathematical sciences, while most likely to attend training in 2010 were engineers who were educated in STEM-related fields. Overall, the likelihood of training has also declined over this time period—particularly in STEM occupations.

Authors

• John Skrentny, University of California-San Diego

• Kevin Lewis, University of California-San Diego