In an economy that values STEM skills, is it possible to study philosophy and still get a job when you graduate?
To hear policymakers and higher-education wonks tell it, there’s a now chasm separating what high-tech industries need in order to stay competitive and the skills current students can offer once they’re old enough to work for them. It’s called the STEM gap, shorthand for all the science, technology, engineering, and medical knowledge that not enough of the next generation of American workers are picking up. And not only is it widening, it’s opening fissures in non-STEM fields as well, as technology transforms industries that didn’t used to need data scientists or programmers but now do.