Salt Lake City was ranked seventh in the nation for being the best metropolitan area for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) professions, according to a WalletHub study. The report ranks 100 of the largest metro areas in the nation on their suitability for STEM professionals and includes over a dozen metrics which range from per-capita job openings for STEM graduates to annual median wage growth for STEM jobs.
“So, there are some trends here when we’re looking at regionally," said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst at WalletHub. "There are also some bubbles and hot pockets around the country in terms of where STEM is rapidly growing. We’ve certainly seen new cities in the top 10, even just over the past couple years - cities like Boston, Pittsburg, Minneapolis, Madison - so a lot of mid-sized cities are making their way up into the top 10.”
To promote STEM-friendly areas, Gonzalez says professional opportunities and quality of life are among some of the characteristics looked at while creating this ranking. Gonzalez tells us more about how Salt Lake City stood out.
“So, Salt Lake did well in various areas," she said. "First of all, when we’re looking at the disparity of women and men in science, tech, engineering and mathematics, we’re seeing that it has one of the lowest in the country - third lowest actually. So that was something that certainly propelled it in the right direction. In terms of the overall job market it has the sixth highest job openings for STEM grads right now. It’s first in the country in terms of its unemployment rate, specifically for residents in the working age 25-64 with a bachelor’s degree or higher, so certainly a good pool of people to pull from."
Gonzalez says STEM jobs are expanding in breadth and scope as technology becomes more intertwined with our day-to-day routines. Seattle came in first on the list with Boston coming in second and Pittsburgh in third.
To see the original report check out: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-metro-areas-for-stem-professionals/9200/
