As students begin to look at different career choices, they should be aware of the twelve areas of national need. The federal government has identified certain fields that are crucial to national innovation, competitiveness and well-being in which not enough students complete degrees.
Twelve areas of national need (from National Center for Education Statistics):
1. Agriculture and conservation sciences
2. Biological and life sciences
3. Computer and information sciences
4. Education (elementary, early childhood, special education, mathematics, science,
foreign languages, bilingual education)
5. Engineering and engineering-related technologies
6. Foreign languages and literature (general foreign languages and literatures,
linguistics, foreign language interpretation and translation)
7. Health professions and related sciences
8. Mathematics
9. Nursing
10. Physical sciences
11. Protective services and criminal justice
12. Social work.
In 2002, only 31.5% of the 1,242,310 bachelor's degrees awarded in 2002 (the most recent year I could find statistics) were in these areas. Notice most areas are in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math- often referred to as STEM.
