Survey: Teens See Technical Careers As Lucrative, But Many Are Unsure Of Their Own Abilities

Middle and high school students see technical jobs as solid career choices, but many are insecure about their personal ability to compete academically in those fields, according to a new survey.

Researchers surveyed 327 parents and 713 youth enrolled in grades six through 12. Students were likely to perceive degrees in science, technology, mathematics and science as offering more job choices after college, as well as that those jobs earn better wages.

More than half of parents with a child interested in a technical career were concerned about that choice, many because they felt their child was not being prepared well enough. Researchers also found that girls aged 16 to 18 who were interested in a technical career were four times more likely than their male peers to believe their teachers were not preparing them well enough.

Researchers also found that a narrow majority of students surveyed admitted to spending more time playing games or browsing the Internet than studying.

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive for the American Society for Quality, a quality control trade group.

While there is significant demand for technical jobs in the work force—and the jobs earn more on average than ones in non-technical fields—there is a high attrition rate of college students who set out to earn technical degrees. Part of that is due to the difficulty of college-level work, but other students likely leave because the nature of the work changes from fairly hands-on in high school to theory-intensive in early college courses.

Students who believe they are underprepared for technical and scientific study may actually be right. Some research suggests that middle and high school teachers have a less firm grasp of their subject matter than they need to prepare students for the rigors of higher education.

The American Society for Quality is a professional association and certifier of quality control experts based in Milwaukee. Harris Interactive is a market research firm based in New York best known for the Harris Poll, a regular public opinion survey.

Jon Christian is a staff writer with Campus Progress. Follow him on Twitter @Jon_Christian.

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