Key takeaways
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Student interest in STEM grows as career possibilities become more visible, making consistent exposure especially important before and during middle school.
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In an AI-driven world, STEM readiness depends not only on technical knowledge, but on durable skills like problem-solving, adaptability, creativity, and communication.
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Career-connected learning is most effective when it’s embedded into everyday instruction, giving students meaningful ways to connect what they learn with the world of work.
Our 2026-2027 Education Insights Report states that 56% of educators surveyed put “STEM, computer science, or IT among the top three career paths for today’s students.” This certainly makes sense, given that technology and the science, math, and engineering behind it play a huge role in shaping our personal and professional lives. What’s more, workplace projections identify the greatest job growth and strongest wage expectations for STEM and technology-related fields in the next 10 years.
Does this translate into high student interest? Research tells us that although many students do express interest in STEM careers, fewer would rate this as their first choice. Depending on the grade level of students, the percentage varies. For example, high school students are over six times more likely to say they want to go into technology or software development than elementary students.
This suggests that more consistent exposure to STEM career possibilities would help students understand what STEM work requires, gain confidence in their ability to develop key skills, and imagine themselves in those careers.
What Do Students Think About Their Career Possibilities?
Elementary and middle school students are already thinking about future careers, often starting with professions like veterinarian, professional athlete, or teacher. Students may choose them based on personal experiences or influences like family members and various media. By high school, STEM-related careers such as developer or engineer become much more prominent choices.
Another grade-level difference noted in the Educator Insights 2026-2027 Report is that only 64% of students in middle school report feeling “informed about the careers that interest me,” while 94% of high school students agree with that statement. This jump in awareness may be the result of students needing more information, context, and/or support about career possibilities and requirements to believe they understand their options. Other findings in the report present strong evidence that middle school is a key time for educators to start incorporating career-connected learning in earnest.
What Does STEM Career Readiness Involve Today?
Rapid developments in fields such as AI, cybersecurity, Big Data, and networking mean that employers are especially looking for people with core and durable skills, such as:
- Analytical thinking
- Resilience
- Flexibility
- Creativity
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Innovation
Looking for input on the report data, we asked some industry professionals to review it and share their thoughts. Callie Bendickson, leader of Corporate Social Responsibility at Itron, told us:
Education is a catalyst for innovation—and the future workforce will depend on it. Across the energy and technology sectors, students entering the job market over the next decade will confront increasingly complex, interconnected challenges. To navigate this landscape, they need a deep understanding of how systems work together and how smarter resource use drives resilience and sustainability.
The report noted that teachers and students both say that developing future-ready skills is one of the most effective ways that schools are currently approaching career readiness. Educators are rethinking how to define student success accordingly. For example, rather than simply asking students to demonstrate content knowledge on assessments, they look for students to solve unfamiliar problems, adapt to changing expectations, and use technology responsibly.
While most educators (93%) and students (82%) told us that knowing how to work with AI tools will be important for careers, it’s important to recognize that AI makes future-ready, human skills even more valuable. Tools like AI will change, and students will need “the judgment to use them well, the adaptability to keep learning, and the communication skills to work with others in changing environments.”
How Can You Support STEM Career Readiness in the Classroom?
What’s great about the emphasis on building future-ready skills is that students can do so through meaningful classroom learning that educators may already be doing:
- Explaining ideas clearly
- Solving complex problems
- Adapting to new information
- Thinking creatively
- Applying knowledge in real-world contexts
However, 95% of educators surveyed in the 2026-2027 Education Insights Report reported needing more resources to support career readiness instruction. Part of the problem may be that teachers say career readiness isn’t embedded in regular curriculum and instructional standards. Given the many demands on teachers’ time, asking them to put a lot of effort into adapting or creating career-related materials and experiences is too much.
A solution may be finding resources that already integrate career connections and real-world learning. The report mentions that 41% of curriculum directors identified the most influential reason to adopt a career-readiness solution as the ability to embed it into daily teaching and learning using core curriculum. Ideal resources would “be designed as part of instruction, aligned to curriculum, supported by ready-to-use resources, grounded in real-world examples, and flexible enough to fit different grade levels and subjects.” Since research suggests that career-connected learning is most effective when it’s a seamless part of academic instruction rather than merely an additional activity, you’ll want to keep this in mind when evaluating resources.
Explore career readiness further in the full 2026-2027 Education Insights Report. Get yours today!
