What will you be when you grow up?
A question often asked by adults from family and friends to young children.
We may hear frequent answers such as doctor, teacher and artist, which are noble professions that children aspire to, but the truth is that there are hundreds of job opportunities that will be available to young children in the future, some of which have not yet been invented.
Many jobs that exist today did not exist a decade ago, such as a mobile app developer or artificial intelligence software engineer.
So how do we know what jobs will be available to our children in 2030 or 2040.
According to the Scientists In School website, although there is no magic ball that shows us the future, studies show that the jobs that will be in demand in the coming decades are those focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). STEM, but how do we prepare them for it?
STEM education in early childhood
To help prepare our children for the challenges they may face, we can start exposing children to a STEM program early in life.
Children who learn these concepts early are better prepared to meet the growing demand for STEM-based careers.
Involving primary school students in these activities is also a great help in their education and give them a great boost towards the future.
According to Liysf's blog, there are a number of ways to take a STEM-based curriculum, such as choosing math and science courses in schools or participating in workshops and summer programs.
Summer programs have proven to be very effective in preparing young students for a STEM-based future, and STEM summer camps provide students with hands-on experience in research that is new and unique in their field of interest.
You can help develop a love of science in children by showing them career options (pixels)
Visit science museums
Outings and camps to science museums and parks can be organized for young students to motivate them to think about a STEM career. Encouraging students to participate in science camps nurtures their curiosity and teaches them to innovate and create new things.
Discover jobs for yourself
You can also help develop a love of science in children by showing them the career options available to them. When children are asked where they see themselves in 15 years, they probably won't say a chemical engineer, a planetary scientist, or an ornithologist, unless they know themselves someone in those fields. .
Empowering children
All children need to feel empowered, regardless of age, economic status, race or gender. Every child needs to see themselves in these roles so that they can envision their full potential.
All children need to feel empowered, regardless of age, economic status, race or gender (pixels)
Steam vs. Traditional Education
Everything is changing quickly, but with newer skills such as creativity, analytical thinking, leadership, active learning, etc., replacing old skills such as manual dexterity, stamina, memory, verbal and spatial abilities, we will be able to keep pace.
While traditional education does not guarantee the development of skills of this kind, the STEM approach allows students to learn quickly and develop a deep understanding by applying knowledge, principles, and values to more than one STEM discipline simultaneously.
Traditional education does not guarantee the development of creativity, analytical thinking, leadership and active learning skills (Shutterstock)
What skills are needed in the future?
To be ready for the future, we must understand how job expectations are changing, and work on the skills that future employers will be looking for.
Which includes, for example, skills such as:
Creativity, originality and initiative
are skills that have gained great importance in recent times, and will remain so in the future.
Employers constantly test potential candidates for their ability to observe and solve a problem from an "outside the box" perspective.
Analytical thinking and innovation,
are two other essential skills that lead to the success or failure of any job application, whether now or in the future.
The ability to solve complex problems,
and a necessary skill for potential future jobs, the STEM curriculum teaches problem-solving in many ways.
Emotional intelligence and curiosity
are important skills that future employers will be looking for.
We must be driven by the need to know things and empathize with colleagues, in order to communicate effectively and overcome challenges.
The ability to actively learn
and make important decisions, making important decisions not just based on our emotions, but by employing scientific data that supports the best solution.
Flexibility towards new demands
and the ability to adapt to new situations, which is vital to any job now, and it will be no different in the future.
Trust, leadership and social influence
are important factors for any successful career path.
And STEM teaches us to face challenges with confidence by working on the unknown, while allowing us to lead the team with appropriate thinking.
Technology design, programming,
and system analysis and evaluation are other important skills to consider while applying for future STEM jobs.