Top 3 STEM Careers & Ways to Prepare Your Child in Westchester County, NY

We’ve collected data from various sources to compile our own ‘Top 3 Hot STEM Careers’ list and how our programs in Westchester County, NY can give your child a head start.

The Digital Arts Experience of White Plains, NY strives to make STEM curriculum accessible to all youth in Westchester & Connecticut with cutting edge technology. The DAE provides a completely unique, personalized experience for every student who enrolls in our after-school, school break or summer programs. But first, here are a few quick facts about STEM Careers via The U.S. Department of Labor Blog:

• The average wage for all STEM occupations is $85,570
• 7 out of the 10 largest STEM occupations are related to computers
• There were over 8.3 million STEM jobs as of May 2014, representing about 6.2 percent of total U.S. employment
• Several of the U.S. industries with the highest mean wages are STEM-related

Here’s our Top 3 List of STEM Careers to look out for:

1) Engineering

Entry Level Salary: $60,000+

Average Salary: $95,000+

Petroleum, Nuclear, Chemical, Electronics and Communications, Computer Science, Aerospace & Electrical and Material Science engineering are among the highest paying STEM careers for college graduates. Engineering by definition is the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures.

At The DAE, our classes closely related to engineering are:

• 3D Printing & CAD Design (Ages 8+)

The goal of the class is to turn your digital CAD designs into physical objects. Using CAD software, students blueprint designs and must carefully and accurately measure to scale in order to produce a functional 3D model. This course explores the design and building aspect of engineering for creating physical structures.

• Arcade Game Design (electrical engineering) (Ages 9+)

This multidisciplinary program not only covers electrical engineering with an introduction to electronics, but also covers the computer programming language ‘Processing’. Students bridge digital and physical engineering by coding original video games and wiring their own controllers to be used in conjunction with the game. Finally, students tap into CAD design as well where they sketch out and design their own 3D cases for their controllers and 3D Print them.

2) Computer Programming

Entry Level Salary: $50,000+

Average Salary: $74,280+

A computer programmer is, in essence, a programmer, computer programmer, developer, dev, coder, or software engineer who writes computer software. At The Digital Arts Experience, we recognize the importance of learning a computer programming language at a young age. In this rapidly advancing technological world that we live in, having the ability to program a computer is going to be a basic essential literacy.

The computer programming languages that we teach are HTML/CSS, Java, Javascript, Processing, Python, Ruby & Scratch. Here’s a closer look at our 4 hottest computer programming classes:

• Java Programming (Ages 13+)

An intro course that is a great start for older students to begin programming using Java. Students will begin to look at Java programming and create their own games using the program, Greenfoot. These games can be either an original idea or a re-imagining of a classic. Components of Algebra, intergers, whole numbers and PEMDAS are applied.

• Python Programming (Ages 9+)

Python is the perfect language to begin programming with actual code. It is written entirely in English and does not require abstract language or terminology, so it is easy to learn & understand. Students will start with writing simple programs and work towards programming text based games that will exercise their programming skills and develop fluency with Python. Math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as well as using whole numbers and negative exponents

• Scratch Programming (Ages 7+)

Scratch is a tile-based visual platform that helps teach basic syntax and logic concepts that drive computer programming by users stacking command blocks together. It can be used to create virtually anything: from interactive stories and animations to video games. Students create their very own games, animations, cards and stories. Basic programming and math concepts such as event handlers, loops, conditions, operators and variables are taught.

• iOS App Development (Ages 13+)

An intro course designed to teach students the basics of iOS app development. Students in this course will learn both the basic language structure of Objective-C and the ins and outs of Apple’s free development tool Xcode, which is designed specifically to make programming iOS apps as simple as possible. By the end of the course, students will have completed several basic apps and will have the tools to continue designing apps in the future if they should desire.

3) Web Developer

Entry Level Salary: $51,000+

Average Salary: $66,000+

With a projected 20% increase over the next 10 years, web development jobs are quickly increasing by the thousands. From back end development to front facing web design, user experience, and more. Web Developer tasks include:

• Write code to generate web pages, access databases and business logic servers.
• Work with with designers and content producers.
• Test and document software for web sites.
• Write, modify, and debug software for web sites.

At The DAE, our classes closely related to engineering are:

• Web Design with HTML5/CSS3 (Ages 13+)

Web Development combines elements from both the creative and technical world. In this class, students will learn how to build a website from the ground up using HTML & CSS, and explore the design aspects of putting together a stunning and modern looking site. Students will complete the class with their very own, customized sites.

• Javascript App Development (Ages 13+)

Javascript is the life-blood of Web Development. It’s how we bring life to ordinary websites by making them interactive and engaging. In this course, you will learn how to write Javascript code, manipulate web pages, and build complex web applications. Along the way, students will be introduced to jQuery, a powerful JS library, and build at least 2 working web applications. By the end of the course, students will have gained the skills necessary to create their own web applications, as well as, implement their own custom Javascript into existing projects.

These numbers are in no way meant to be absolute. They’ve been collected from various websites and outlets which have all been properly credited and this Top 3 list is simply conclusions we’ve made based on that data.

All in all, it is evident that STEM Education is becoming more and more integral towards the future of careers. With proper early education in these fields, kids will surely have a head start and an advantage among their peers.

The DAE is currently enrolling for Summer STEM Camp beginning July 5th and running all throughout the entire summer. Sign up for 1 or 2 weeks for a full or half day! Learn more at: http://www.thedae.com/summer-stem-camps.