WalletHub published a report this week that says Raleigh ranks 14th among the nation’s top 100 metro areas for STEM-related jobs. In a Q&A, WalletHub talked with Jeff Sackaroff, associated director of career services at UNC-Chapel Hill, about how areas can improve the STEM job environment and also attract more minorities as well as women.

  • How can the U.S. stay ahead of other countries in attracting and training the best STEM professionals?

Of course there are many factors to consider, but I think it’s important that we are providing the best possible education (STEM and non-STEM) in our schools.

Without getting into the multi-layered issues surrounding our education system, in particular standardized testing and common core, I think there is a struggle in getting kids excited about math, science, and engineering, especially females. I also think that culturally, we measure success in our country from an earning capacity, perhaps more so than from a helping capacity.

So, young people see the 12 year prospect of medical school as being far less lucrative than going into i-banking or consulting, where the payoffs come much sooner in their careers.

  • How can local authorities make their cities more appealing to STEM graduates and technology companies?

In North Carolina, like many other states, I know that local municipalities compete to bring start-up and STEM-related companies to their areas in the way of incentives and tax breaks.

I think it’s also important that we are creating mixed-use urban environments where new graduates (as well as experienced professionals) can live, work, shop, and play. Downtown Raleigh has seen a huge explosion of technology companies relocating there, where we have several mixed-use condos/shops that attract many young professionals.

As a result, we are seeing more new graduates who want to stay in the area, rather than relocate to Charlotte or another larger city.

  • How can government, employers, and educators increase the number of women and minorities in STEM fields?

Again, I think it starts with education.

There are lots of studies out there that illustrate the sharp decline of females and minorities when it comes to interest/performance in STEM topics. Much of this is thought to be cultural and a bias built into our schools.

I think we also need to see more employers really commit to their diversity hiring initiatives. Almost every employer I speak with indicates that they want to increase their diversity hiring; however, the follow up is not always there. I think in order to attract diverse candidates, your organization needs to reflect this commitment from the top down. We need more females and under-represented employees in positions of influence at our corporations.

Today’s students are incredibly savvy, and they want to know that their employer values diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation beyond just their mission statements.

  • How do STEM graduates perform in the labor market relative to graduates from other fields?

Though UNC-CH is primarily considered a liberal arts institution, our STEM majors have continued to increase in recent years. Case in point – biology is our largest undergraduate major, and computer science expects their numbers to double in the next 2-3 years.

In terms of outcomes, our overall success rates for undergraduates have been very strong across the board in recent years. Our preliminary First Destination Report for the May 2015 class indicates an overall success rate of 92.2% (meaning that 92.2% were either working in their field or continuing their education).

Put another way, our unemployment rate was 7.8%, which is very strong when compared to the national average for new college graduates. When looking specifically at STEM majors, the numbers look just as strong, and in some cases stronger, than the overall outcomes.

For computer science majors, the overall success rate was 92.9%. For biology, the overall success rate was 95.6% (with just about half continuing their education). Similarly, math majors had success rates just under 95%.

  • According to recent census figures, the majority of STEM grads do not ultimately work in a STEM occupation. Why is that the case?

I have not seen the report, but I don’t think the census data separates out new college graduates from experienced professionals.

So, my guess is that many STEM majors do begin their careers in their respective fields, but then end up migrating to other areas.

(Note: Reprinted with permission of WalletHub.)