A STEM Degree Does NOT Guarantee a Higher SalaryHeres Why

A STEM Degree Does NOT Guarantee a Higher SalaryHeres WhyA STEM Degree Does NOT Guarantee a Higher Salary- Heres Why Today, its not just common sense that degrees within the STEM field (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) earn you a higher degree - theres loads of data to back it up. Recent Glassdoor research revealed that the majority of the top 10 highest-paying college majors are in STEM fields, while other studies have found that STEM majors starting salaries are about $15,500 higher on average than their non-STEM peers, have higher employment rates, and earn about $300,000 mora than non-STEM majors over their entire careers.Given this, it might seem like a STEM degree is a golden ticket to a higher salary, nearly guaranteed to earn you more than your non-STEM counterparts - right? Not so fast.While the Glassdoor study found that many of these highly technical, specialized degrees did have a higher payoff overall, there were also many degr ees in which salaries varied significantly, even within the same major - especially for women . For example, within Mathematics, Glassdoors study found an 18 percent pay gap, with men earning a median base pay of $60,000 in the first five years after college and women with $49,182. Similarly, men who studied Biology had a median base pay of $46,000 in the first five years after college, while women brought in about $40,000.This is largely a matter of occupational sorting, the tendency of men and women to sort themselves into different positions. For female Mathematics majors, the three fruchtwein common jobs after college (ignoring grad-school jobs like teaching and research assistants) are data analyst , analyst , and business analyst . For men, the three most common jobs are (ignoring grad-school jobs) analyst , data analyst , and data scientist , the study reads. The larger share of male math majors working as highly-paid data scientists is the primary factor driving this male-female pay gap after college.Similarly, among women who major in Biology, the most common three jobs after college are lab technician , pharmacy technician , and sales associate . By contrast, the three most common jobs for male Biology majors are lab technician , data analyst , and manager. The fact that men are more likely to work as higher-paying data analysts or managers, while women are more likely to work in lower-paying roles as pharmacy technicians and sales associates creates a gender pay gap, even for students with the same college major, the study continues. What we dont yet quite know for certain, though, is why this happens. Some studies suggest that marriage and motherhood factor into compensation , while others hypothesize that personal passion plays a large role , and still others notenzeichen that when women begin to take over a certain career path, pay as a whole drops .As you can see, when it comes to guaranteeing that you earn top dollar, muc h of the impetus largely falls on you. Here are a few actions you can takeWhile receiving a STEM degree is a great first step towards ensuring that you receive a good salary, that alone is not enough - but coupled with some knowledge and proactivity, youll be set up for success.