The main reasons for applying for STEM degree-related jobs are to have potentially interesting work and to use specialised skills/learning. High proportions of those final year
STEM undergraduates who definitely intended to pursue a STEM career were motivated by expected excitement, interest and challenge in the work, wanting to continue in a field they had enjoyed, or wanting to put their learning into practice (all reasons given by over 60%). Those less certain about continuing in a STEM career direction (but who still might do so) were similarly motivated, although a proportion had not enjoyed their degree course and did not see the logic of continuing in it (43%). By contrast, career-based or practical/tactical reasons, including having better long-term career prospects or being better paid, were motivating factors for staying in STEM for only a minority of students. Expected pay was a stronger factor for
Engineering and Technology, Mathematics, Other Physical Sciences, Architecture, Building and Planning, and Computer Science students (mentioned by over a third of STEM career ‘definites’), and more so for men than women (31% v. 25% of STEM career ‘definites’).
Graduates currently in STEM work (STEM Specialist employers/STEM Core jobs) had, similarly, in the main, chosen their current work for enjoyment/interest (over 50% gave this reason) or because it was the ‘type of work they wanted’ (over 40%), although salary, company benefits and location were also of importance (but mentioned by under 30%) and seemingly more so for them than for those in less STEM-focused work (i.e. those employed by STEM Generalists employers or in a STEM-related job). However, many individuals in the latter group rated factors relating to their employer’s reputation or training/development scheme as more important reasons than interest/enjoyment, suggesting that other more practical or more individual employer-orientated factors may have greater importance for those choosing this kind of STEM- related career path.
Reasons for not staying in STEM are less polarised and mainly to do with students finding other fields of more interest. Most students seeking employment in a non-STEM
direction (though relatively few) make a conscious decision to do so, primarily for potential interest in other fields (over half the undergraduates and nearly half of postgraduates gave this reason, Table 2.2). For most this was despite enjoying their undergraduate course, but 40% had not enjoyed it and this was also a reason for not wanting a STEM career. A quarter said they had never intended to work in the field of their degree. Potential earnings do not seem to have a strong role (mentioned by less than a third of students who might or definitely don’t want a STEM career). We found little evidence of students being prevented from pursuing a STEM career by an external reason, although there were a few examples (e.g. students being rejected by STEM employers, too few jobs, or too few jobs in preferred location). Once decided on a non-degree related direction, issues like employer reputation or prestige, or graduate scheme quality, became important in rationalising their decisions.
Understanding the actual decisions made by graduates now in the workplace (i.e. why they chose their job) revealed that pragmatic or tactical reasons became increasingly important once they left university. Many decisions combined personal aspirations, some knowledge of the labour market and employers, and pragmatic personal issues, which could result in very individual decisions and pathways.
Table 2.2 Most commonly cited reasons for non-degree related career intention (UK final year students and taught postgraduates who might, might not or definitely do not
want to pursue an occupation related to their degree)
Final Year UK s tudents
UK Taught Postgraduates M ig h t M ig h t n o t D e fi n it e ly n o t M ig h t M ig h t n o t D e fi n it e ly n o t % % % % % %
I have become more interested in another
field 31 54 58 21 42 43
There are too few jobs related to my degree
in my preferred location 29 17 10 34 17 0
I will find it easier to get a job 27 22 11 12 25 0
There are too few career opportunities in
my field 24 21 19 29 25 0
I will be better paid 20 29 31 18 42 29
My course did not prepare me well enough
to get a degree-related job 15 8 8 6 8
0
I have not enjoyed my degree course 12 23 41 6 8 0
I will have better long-term career prospects 10 26 32 11 25 29
Number of cases 1024 237 101 112 12 7
External influences while at university could pull in different directions. With the majority
of students developing and changing their career ideas while at university, there is much scope for external influences to play a role in their choice of career direction. Beyond the intrinsic influence of their own personal development and ideas, and the impact of their own university course, the most significant extrinsic influence was degree-related work experience, at least for those students who undertook it (around half of the undergraduates had done so, though this varied by subject). Although its impact also varied by subject, generally work experience was very positive – more students were minded to pursue similar work in the long-term, some with that particular employer. For others, although fewer, the experience was pivotal in developing the understanding that they were not well suited to that kind of work. There was also evidence of the influence of peer group, and the strong profile of large employers on campus – principally STEM Generalists and non-STEM employers in our definitions – which were very keen to recruit STEM graduates. It was clear that for many of the graduates interviewed who did not have strong prior STEM career plans, entry to the graduate scheme of one of the large accountancy firms, consultancies or banks was perceived as a ‘mainstream’ route for STEM graduates. They gained this impression from peers, visits to campus by alumni employed by those firms, and also some careers services.
STEM Specialist employers, often (but not always) smaller and recruiting fewer graduates annually than these large recruiters, somehow did not achieve the same profile with undecided graduates. Although individual stories varied, it was clear that for many such graduates, the resulting impact of these external influences was greater knowledge and enthusiasm for careers outside STEM, while the strong ‘pull’ into STEM of work experience tended only to occur for those who had been sufficiently career-motivated to apply for it in the first place.
As highlighted above (section 2.2), we found fairly low career awareness, or career motivation, when we asked why they had chosen a STEM degree in the first place. Students had chosen
a STEM degree mostly because of personal interest and enjoyment, and career-related reasoning was a less significant factor. Almost four out of five students reported that they
had chosen their degree course on grounds of personal interest and/or aptitude, and enjoyment at A-level (or similar) at school was cited by two thirds. The desire to follow a career in the field came third in importance, cited by around half. Barely one in six chose their STEM degree because it was essential for a known career goal.
Evidence from graduates reflected the student survey results, and those now working outside
STEM were more likely than those working in STEM to have chosen their degree subject for interest alone or because they excelled at the subject at school, i.e. not for career
reasons. Many commented that they had little understanding before university of how degree subjects and career directions related to each other, and with hindsight wished that they had known more about this. Some graduates did have a STEM career in mind when they went to university, and a higher proportion of those entered STEM careers than of the remainder. This suggests that improved career information prior to university could be beneficial.
Almost all final year students with a career in mind thought that their degree was at least preferable to achieve their career goal, but only half thought it essential. Taught
postgraduates were more likely to think their degree was essential, reflecting the stronger career motivation behind taking postgraduate study. Students in Engineering, Chemistry and Other Physical Sciences were more likely than students of other subjects to consider their degree to be essential for their career goal.