Since the Industrial Revolutions the STEM fields have ceased to be for wealthy geniuses who could be paid by rich patrons. The radical shifts that have occurred economically led to an explosion in demand for innovators and developers. Now, STEM jobs are consistently making the highest salaries in our economy, and with the growth of jobs in this field, it is a seeming safe harbor in the economic uncertainties that are arising in the new economy.
STEM Careers
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Our everyday lives are built by people in the STEM field. From the engineers who designed and manufactured our cars, cellphones, and electrical grids, to the Machine Learning engineers and microchip manufacturers who are seeking to make our present a science fiction future. STEM is a wide field where individuals of a variety of interests and talents can find meaningful employment.
Specifically, the medical, AI, genetics, robotics fields are expected to continue growing in demand and importance.
High Demand STEM Jobs
The highest paid jobs in the U.S. are all STEM, specifically, they consist of jobs in the medical field.
| Cardiologists | $351,827 per year |
| Anesthesiologists | $326,296 per year |
| Orthodontist | $264,850 per year |
| Psychiatrist | $224,577 per year |
| Surgeon | $216,248 per year |
| Periodontist | $214,896 per year |
| Petroleum engineer | $212,100 per year |
| Physician | $202,387 per year |
| Dentist | $196,417 per year |
| Internal Medicine Physician | $194,938 per year |
| Obstetrician | $191,931 per year |
There is a particularly high demand for medical professionals in under serviced areas like Puerto Rico, where we have seen a decrease in medical specialists and an increase in preventable death. Yet STEM is much more than medicine, computer science, engineering and biology also come with high demands and payments.
| Software Engineers | $130,160 per year |
| Cyber Security | $120,360 per year |
| Electrical Engineering | $109,010 per year |
| Mechanical Engineer | $99,510 per year |
| Civil Engineering | $95,890 per year |
| Biotechnology | $93,064 per year |
| Environmental Scientists | $78,980 per year |
It is also important to note that these results come when the individual is in their prime in their career and not immediately.
Future Tech Jobs
STEM jobs are expected to increase 10% by 2034, and STEM graduates earn about 47% more than non-STEM counterparts.
Healthcare support is expected to increase nearly 16% by 2033. Specifically, “The healthcare and social assistance sector is expected to add the most jobs—2.3 million, or over one-third of all new jobs—and grow the second fastest of any sector from 2023 to 2033.” The medical field will always be a major sector of the economy where more professionals will be needed.
It is currently predicted that there will be a 17.9% increase in computer science jobs. Stillmore, the AI field is so massive that growth and development in this field cannot be doubted. However, some have been skeptical to quantify the amount of growth in this field regarding the quality of AI, and the quantity of jobs it will create or release. Nevertheless, those with mathematical knowledge and an interest in this field should not be dissuaded as there is no doubt that this field will need individuals with their skills, often with handsome salaries.
On the other hand, “software engineering job listings have plummeted to 65% of their February 2020 levels, with a staggering 3.5x fewer vacancies compared to the mid-2022 peak.” Due to the rise of AI tools, and corporations desire to outsource work to foreign nations, the computer science job market has continued to decline. As these factors are seemingly speeding away from resolution, coding jobs are less secure and prominent than they were even 10 years ago. Nevertheless, software development jobs will not be replaced anytime soon. Additionally, it is logical to include that cybersecurity jobs will increase as the importance of AI and the digitalization of the economy increase.
Additionally, there is projected to be a 6.8% increase in engineering and architectural jobs, and some of the fastest growing jobs are in the energy sector, with growth in solar and wind energy production. Stillmore, innovation and growth that will occur in the 21st century, we should expect to see growth in the biology and neurological fields at some point. We have seen a rampant growth in the field of genetics already in our lifetime, and the growth of AI will likely aid our quest to understand ourselves. Scientists have additionally already begun to attempt to grow human organs from other animals’ DNA. Given the massive implications this would have on the medical community, should this reach greater heights employees will be needed. Stillmore, some are trying to blur the line between man and machine with products that allow the brain to directly interact with the internet. Thus, geneticists, neurologists, and various chemists and biologists will be needed to expand and maintain this soon to be major field. It is also important that these individuals have a proper ethical and anthropological foundation, so as to not place themselves in the place of God.
Best STEM Degrees
As noted above, the medical and engineering fields are excellent options for anyone looking to enter into a STEM field. Additionally, they constitute a “closed system.” No one can become a medical or engineering expert outside of a college institution. One cannot watch YouTube videos or merely learn from AI how to do these things. Rather, by their nature, they must be physically done under the guidance of experts. This is similarly true with biological and chemical fields. Thus, one wishing to enter into these rewarding and lucrative STEM fields must go to university in order to obtain medical and engineering degrees.
Additionally, as seen above Computer Science jobs remain valuable, however, we are seeing a trend where there are increasingly more Computer Science degree holders than there are Computer Science jobs. Due to outsourcing and the rise of AI this is unlikely to change and Computer Science cohorts at universities are expected to shrink. Additionally, many companies which hire Computer Scientists are now shifting focus away from having a four-year degree, and towards seeing the skills that potential employees have. Unliked the medical and engineering fields, much of the Computer Science curriculum can be learned online for free. Many individuals are finding success and employment in coding despite not every having a Computer Science degree. Thus, the four-year degree in Computer Science is not as lucrative as it used to be and there are no signs that they will return to their previous prominent status.
Further, the STEM world is not closed off to those who will not benefit from a traditional four-year college degree. Many individuals have made excellent careers as electricians after attending trade school or some equivalent. Electricians have a median salary of around $60,000 and consistently rising. Electricians who work in urban areas make more due to the higher demand, some reaching as high as $100,000. Additionally, those who own electrical companies can make hundreds of thousands annually.
Thus, the STEM world is so diverse, that there are high paying jobs for anyone, those who want to spend years mastering a field in university and in practice, and those who wish to quickly learn with their hands without a four year degree.
1 Seattle Search Group, Top 100 Highest Paying Jobs in the U.S. for 2025: Career Insights and Trends, https://seattlesearchgroup.com/top-100-highest-paying-jobs-usa-2025/
2 Seattle Search Group; See also SIA Editorial Staff, STEM degrees are still top-paying fields of study, September 24, 2024, https://www.staffingindustry.com/editorial/engineering-staffing-report/stem-degrees-are-still-top-paying-fields-of-study?
3 Jeniffer Wiscovitch Padilla, Smoke and Mirrors: Puerto Rico’s Medical Residency Numbers Don’t Add Up, December 26, 2024, https://periodismoinvestigativo.com/2024/12/medical-residencies-increase-health-puerto-rico/
4 Data from this chart is drawn from Top STEM Degrees for ROI: Engineering and Beyond, Value Colleges, https://www.valuecolleges.com/degrees/top-engineering-stem-degrees/
5 Top STEM Degrees for ROI
6 Monthly Labor Review, Industry and occupational employment projections overview and highlights, 2023–33, November 2024, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2024/article/industry-and-occupational-employment-projections-overview-and-highlights-2023-33.htm?, chart 3
7 Ibid
8 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, Fastest Growing Occupations. https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/fastest-growing-occupations.htm
9 Black Tech Jobs, The Rise and Fall of Software Engineering Job Postings: Trends, Causes, and Impacts on Job Seekers in 2025, March 27, 2025, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rise-fall-software-engineering-job-postings-trends-causes-pkztc/
10 Monthly Labor Review, chart 3
11 Monthly Labor Review,
12 https://www.genome.gov/human-genome-project
13 Mass General Brigham Communications, In a First, Genetically Edited Pig Kidney Is Transplanted Into Human, Mar 21, 2024, https://hms.harvard.edu/news/first-genetically-edited-pig-kidney-transplanted-human
14 Brooke Becher, What Is Neuralink? What We Know So Far. August 4, 2025, https://builtin.com/hardware/what-is-neuralink
15 Rose Horowitch, The Computer-Science Bubble Is Bursting Artificial intelligence is ideally suited to replacing the very type of person who built it, The Atlantic, June 21, 2025, https://www.theatlantic.com/economy/archive/2025/06/computer-science-bubble-ai/683242/
16 CodeMax Consulting LLC, The Rise of “Skill-First” Hiring: Why Degrees Are Becoming Irrelevant in Tech, July 1, 2025, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rise-skills-first-hiring-why-degrees-becoming-irrelevant-g1oec/
17 How Much Does an Electrician Make? https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/electrician/salary?
18 Electrician Salaries by State: What Do Electricians Really Make?. January 4, 2025, https://electriciancalc.com/blog/electrician-salaries-by-state?
