10
Top-Paying Careers
Occupation
Average Entry-Level Experienced
Wage Wage Wage
“Although diversity doesn’t guarantee invention and innovation, the
engineering manager $50.25 $33.59 $58.58
more diverse our Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
petroleum engineer $46.95 $27.25 $56.80
workforce is, the more diverse our ‘idea pool’ becomes,” Hansen says.
natural sciences manager $44.65 $30.25 $51.85 “I’d encourage everyone to explore how to excel in math and science.
physicist $40.95 $26.74 $48.06
It’s never too late to choose your own road to success.”
materials scientist $40.14 $24.11 $48.15
Communication and Creativity
marine engineer and naval architect $37.93 $25.41 $44.19
Because teamwork is critical in technical fields, communication
biomedical engineer $34.00 $20.56 $40.72
skills can be as important as math and science. “I always look for
civil engineer $33.18 $22.71 $38.42 good team players,” says Startin. “Roads are not built quickly or by
biochemist and biophysicist $32.42 $23.10 $37.08
one person working alone.”
nuclear Technician $31.33 $26.64 $33.68
“Learning how to read, write, and speak English well is essential,”
says Moehlenbruck. Creativity, too, is a plus. To make a difference
This is a chart of hourly wages for 10 of the top-paying careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering &
Mathematics cluster in Texas. Note how entry-level wages are often much lower than pay for the average
in science and technology, you have to be able to create or design
worker and experienced workers in each profession. Source: Texas Workforce Commission.
new and different approaches to problems.
Michael Dell, chairman of Dell
“The ability to focus is absolutely crucial,” agrees Jeff Inc., based in Round Rock, became
Moehlenbruck, a director of research and development for Austin- a billionaire by understanding the
based Zimmer Orthobiologics, a worldwide leader in development of big picture and tackling challenges
hip replacements. “With so much information coming from so many creatively. “It’s through curiosity and
sources,” he adds, “it’s really critical that you be a hard worker and looking at opportunities in new ways
stay on top of the information.” that we’ve always mapped our path at
Dell,” he has said in media interviews.
it’s never Too Late “There’s always an opportunity to
To succeed in this cluster, you have to have a talent for math and make a difference.”
science, but Hansen says some students, particularly women and “I look for creativity when
minorities, tend to give up on science careers too early. “Many of these I’m hiring,” says Startin. “A good
students,” he says, “who would be excellent scientists or engineers, scientist, mathematician, or
preselect themselves out of these futures because they haven’t engineer is always looking for
done well in precollege science and math classes.” So if a better solution to, well,
you haven’t excelled in math and science so far, don’t everything.”
assume you can never be successful.
Q
is science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
the right cluster for you? Take this quiz to find out.
U
Answer “yes” or “no” to the following questions.
I
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Do you like to tinker are you interested in Do you like Do you like working Do you like visiting
Z
with cars or small insects, snakes, frogs, team sports? with computers? museums?
appliances? or other animals?
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Do you get good Do you read Do you enjoy working are you good at Does it bother
grades in math? scientific or technical on crossword building things you when people
magazines? puzzles? from scratch? aren’t accurate
and precise?
If you answered “yes” to five or more of the above questions, Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
may be the right cluster for you. To get a more specific and scientific measurement of your attitudes and abilities,
ask your guidance counselor or teacher about taking a career assessment test or interest inventory.
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