Who Chooses STEM? Career Preferences and Psychological Characteristics of Students

The article is devoted to the study of preferences in choosing STEM fields (S – science, T – technology, E – engineering, M – mathematics) and psychological characteristics of students who prefer these areas as a future profession. It should be noted that despite the ever-increasing demand of modern technological society for STEM specialists in the last decade, there has been a decrease in the interest of young people in these professions all over the world. In order to overcome this negative trend, it is necessary to understand the causes of this phenomenon, including the study of the psychological characteristics of students choosing STEM professions. The results showed that in terms of both cognitive and non-cognitive characteristics, students choosing STEM professions differ significantly from students choosing other professions. The study also showed that young men more often (70.5%) prefer professions related to STEM fields than girls (49.2%). Low representation and interest of girls in STEM fields, as well as low awareness of young people about these fields pose important practical tasks for organizing career guidance work in the education system. The authors examined a number of practical measures to change the current situation.