17. Why Are Fewer People Studying Science and Engineering?
Good morning John.
Guess what's behind this thing? New York City! And guess what's behind this thing? It's me. I'm at home again.
I was in New York because SciShow just got a big new sponsor, and we we doing press tours, talking to people, anyone who would listen to us about science education and stuff.
You may have noticed that we've never, ever done a branded video here on Vlogbrothers- this is not one of those. They don't know that I'm making this video.
Emerson, for the most part, makes stuff that you would never buy, unless you, like, own a power plant, or a Fortune 500 company, or something.
And so the advertisements we're doing together aren't about getting people to buy their products, because that's not the problem they have.
The problem they have is that they solve big engineering problems and big science problems and to do that they need scientists and engineers. And with not as many people graduating with so-called 'STEM degrees,' and more people going to work for big new companies that you've heard of like Google and and SpaceX and Tesla, they're a little worried. And I share their worry, though for separate reasons. I don't hire engineer people- for the most part, I hire humanities people. Like writers, and video editors, and artists, and stuff.
I'm concerned because scientists and engineers solve a lot of the big problems that we need to solve, like how do we get clean water to more people? And how do we continue to power this amazing lifestyle that I get to lead without destroying the world?
So yeah, when this came to SciShow, I was like, "Oh, this makes sense, actually. We will do that." That STEM toolkit is a very valuable one, and one that is being developed less often by people. And what I kept being asked by people on TV and radio was "Why? Why are fewer people doing this?" And I'm not an expert on that; I went through school one time. That's pretty much all my data. But as with most things, my guess is it's a lot of different reasons. And one reason is that I think it's really hard, and we just kind of sugarcoat it sometimes, but it is hard, and that's huge amount of information to stick into your brain.
But I think, more than that, we're also told that there's a certain type of person who becomes a scientist or an engineer, and they're just good at it. They're just good at math, and they're good at science, and just engineering geniuses! And that's a really dangerous myth, because everyone I know who went through a science or engineering degree, it was really hard for them. It was really hard for me.
Nobody is born being good at math. I think some people are born really liking that challenge. That's the thing that all of the scientists I know have in common. Like, there's no other common trait amongst them. They're mothers and rock climbers and punk rockers. Some are into politics, or sports, or spend their evenings on Tumblr.
The only thing they have in common is that passion for solving hard problems. And there are certainly non-science problems that need to be solved as well. That's why I hire lots of artists and animators and video editors and stuff.
I think often when we tell people to get into STEM careers, it's not because it's interesting or fascinating or cool, it's because that's the best way to get a good job, so do that. If you don't do this terribly difficult thing, then you will never get a good job. And I think that's a terrible thing to do to a child, who is like fifteen years old. They're in high school, and you're telling them, "Okay, just start panicking now. A decade before you will be done learning all of these things."
That's-that's terrifying! We can't we, instead, treat this like every other big problem and take it one step at a time, being driven by not the end goal, but by, you know, interests, and fascinations along the way. And I wanna say the most interesting toolkit you can have is one that includes both and technology, engineering and liberal arts. That's the education I had, and I'm so grateful for it.
Anyway, this really is a career path that's open to everyone. So that's why I was in New York; I was doing things with them. And seeing lots of my friends and hanging out with cool people, that was fun too.
The advertisement we made together, just encouraging people to be interested and fascinated by science, is running now. There's also a link below -- you can see it on YouTube. And if you're thinking to yourself, "Hank, you were in New York City and you did not tell me and I did not get to see you that is so uncool," I was very busy.
But also, I will be back! In April! With Harry and the Potters, Driftless Pony Club, Andrew Huang, Rob Scallon, playing music all, from like Chicago, all the way to New York, there's like eight stops. You can check out more information in the link in the description. Tour Because Awesome: East Coast!
John, I'll see you on Tuesday.
