Isles rank near bottom for jobs in STEM fields
Employment in science, technology, engineering and math in Honolulu is ranked 95th among the top 100 metropolitan statistical areas in a new study.
Personal finance site WalletHub analyzed 16 factors including percentage of all workers in STEM-related positions; employment growth in the field; quality of engineering schools; and housing affordability.
Honolulu ranked dead last in the affordability of housing as well as cost-of-living-adjusted annual median wages for STEM workers, and below 50th in all other measures except STEM employment growth, a category in which it placed 39th.
In per-capita job openings for STEM graduates, Honolulu ranked 54th. The market was 56th for annual median wage growth for workers in the field. Honolulu is 58th for the percentage of all workers in STEM-related positions; 61st in the quality of engineering universities; 68th in mathematics performance by fourth- and eighth-graders; and 79th in the number of projected STEM jobs needed in the year 2020.
The STEM fields are expected to grow 1.7 times faster than other professions, according to the WalletHub study.
18 responses to “Isles rank near bottom for jobs in STEM fields”
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As the report indicates, the are relatively few STEM jobs in Honolulu. Hmmm…and our elected leaders want to severely cut funding to UHM and the UH Cancer Research Center. So much for addressing the “brain drain” and diversifying our economy. As long as we continue our addiction to hospitality and military spending, other areas of our economy will languish. This reminds me of the old saying about a leaking roof: “No can fix now…stay raining. No need fix now…no stay raining.”
The report says that we are 54th in per capital stem jobs, that’s middle of the road. Additionally, these jobs do not happen in a vacuum, you need engineers to help build military facilities, or new hotels. Why would other areas of the economy languish if our two largest sectors profit? Other industries, such as tech might not grow, but they don’t languish because of the strength of other industries. I’m curious to hear your suggestions about which other industry you think we can support here.
This should be of no surprize for anyone…Hawaii is the most unfriendly to businesses–taxes, unions, cost of supplies; and we have a public school at the bottom of the barrel–we are not producing enough talented workers to fill those positions
Sorry, what is your statistical proof that we don’t produce sufficient numbers of these types of professionals? This study does not speak to any level of school below college, and it basically shows UH as middle of the road. Additionally, don’t you think there are tons of Hawaii born studying on the mainland in these fields?
Sorry, I guess it does speak about 4-8 grade math. But, sorry, for the most part, those students don’t end up in stem fields anyway.
Yep. Hawaii’s politicians think that no matter how they are treating the tourist, that they will keep on coming here, rain or shine?
Why would any STEM businesses want to open here? Hawaii is a place for the rich to live in luxury condos and beach front homes, and the poor to live in micro units and scrub the rich people’s toilets (or not work at all, because they came to Hawaii to freeload). That’s Hawaii’s future. No business owner in their right mind would come here.
Have to agree with your gloomy assessment. All our governor can say is that he wants to increase AC in the classrooms. He is unable to articulate any kind of vision for Pre-k-grade 12 education or higher education. He is a zero but that is no surprise. The Monopoly Party has never stood for high standards, early education or a professional, skilled work force. The economy they imagine is a low-skilled tourist economy with the construction of a hideous, outdated overbudget rail and luxury condos for Koreans and Chinese investors. They have betrayed the citizens here.
What are you talking about, if we’re talking about the Japanese-Americans, we are all about education. Ige is an electrical engineer with an MBA, how is that not about ed?
Oh yeah, and since you always like to compare HI to ND (like the airport thing), according to Bloomberg, HI ranks 19th college degrees awarded, ND like 31st.
http://www.bloomberg.com/visual-data/best-and-worst//most-educated-states
ND doesn’t count the number of bison that have graduated.
allie’s resume will note her education in the worst state of the union.
Except all of us that are here. And why wouldn’t an engineering firm open here? Who do you think helps to build the luxury condos and beach front homes?
Most small business in Hawaii is like buying a regular job. not enough to be rich, but enough to postpone starvation.
Who needs education in Hawaii? The dumber you are, the more help is available from the government. Just ask me, the novice.
Must be the bad food at the airport that is driving them away. First impressions set the tone 😉
The first thing that came to mind was: Who goes to the airport to dine on gourmet food when in a few extra hours, you can be dining on seafood, steak, pasta, etc.
Of course Hawaii ranks near the bottom for STEM jobs. Most, if not all, major companies that hire STEM educated people are on the mainland. A company that manufactures anything will stay on the mainland because it’s a lot cheaper to get materials and ship out products.