What's the Big Deal?

What does “STEM” mean?

Let’s start with a basic question: Exactly what does STEM mean? It's a term many are familiar with, but don’t necessarily understand. STEM is a common abbreviation for four closely connected areas of study: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The fields are often associated due to the similarities that they share both in theory and practice.

There's been a significant push in recent years to fill STEM jobs in the United States. Despite a focus on filling STEM-related jobs, American businesses can't fill their STEM jobs at an appropriate pace. According to the National Association of Manufacturing and Deloitte, 2 million manufacturing jobs are expected to go unfilled until 2025 due to a skill gap (Deloitte Review pdf source). Despite talent crunches in some industries, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that occupations in the STEM field are expected to?grow by 10.5%?through 2030, compared with 7.5% for non-STEM occupations.

Why is the role you chose an important one in STEM fields?

STEM is important because it teaches?critical thinking skills and instills a passion for innovation. Beyond the benefit of learning science, technology, engineering, and math, STEM assists in the problem-solving and exploratory learning that fuel?success across a variety of tasks and disciplines.

You might be wondering then, if STEM is so important, so necessary, then why do we have to keep talking about it? You might be saying, “This is the 25th blog post you’ve written that features “STEM” in the title…we get it, STEM is important, so let’s move on.“

And therein lies the rub. The collective “we” haven’t yet “gotten it.”

If we had, then there wouldn’t?2.4 million STEM jobs projected to go unfilled this year. There wouldn’t be a severe underrepresentation of women in STEM fields. There wouldn’t be just as much of an underrepresentation of minorities. (Here are a few?STEM education stats?that tell quite the story.)

There wouldn’t be the need to constantly put STEM in the spotlight or on proving grounds, or in this 26th STEM-related blog post if these massive gaps didn’t exist.

But they do. And have for years. So here we are.

A lack of STEM education is to blame, but let me explain.

What makes this position interesting and unique?

When you apply for a job, there’s a good chance that many of your?skills?and personality traits overlap with other candidates. However, there are also experiences and abilities that you uniquely possess. If a potential employer asks “What makes you unique?” you can use this opportunity to highlight relevant qualities that make you the best fit for the position.

In this article, we offer tips and examples to help you determine how to answer what makes you unique.

What makes this role similar to others?

Employers often include this question to identify what skills or qualities make you a better fit for the role than other candidates they might be interviewing. In other words, if dozens of other professionals with nearly identical skill sets have also applied for the role, why should they hire you instead?

A second reason employers ask this question is to understand what you value about yourself. The things you emphasize in your answer may also be?critical strengths?you’re continually working to improve upon. The employer is looking for exceptional strengths or soft skills you might not have included in your resume or application but will help you do well on the job.

What specific programming languages and tools could one expect to work with in this position?

There are hundreds of programming languages out there, from the well-known to the ultra-obscure, and gaining fluency with one or more is a must if you want to make yourself a hot ticket for employers and score awesome coding jobs.

Sure, there are plenty of colleges and universities offering coding courses and degrees, along with tech bootcamps for those who want to learn outside of traditional university settings. But deciding where to specialize can be a daunting choice for beginning coders—as well as more experienced ones who want to stay on top of the latest trends in the IT world.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be.?CyberCoders, one of the country’s leading IT recruiting firms, compiled data to determine the five most sought-after coding language skills for job seekers.

1. Java

Java is one of the most popular programming languages in use, so it’s no surprise it came in as the No. 1 skill tech companies were looking for. According to?Oracle, 3 billion mobile phones run Java, along with 125 million TV devices and 89% of desktop computers in the U.S. Java is everywhere and the demand for strong developers is high.

A Java developer makes a median?salary?of $85,000. There are many job postings for?Java developers?and?Java engineers, but if you want to be a software developer or engineer of any kind, knowing this coding language is typically a core requirement.

2. SQL

Pronounced “sequel,” SQL stands for Structured Query Language, and it is a special-purpose programming language used for getting information from and updating databases. Since nearly all businesses run a database system of some kind, SQL is a good skill to have on your resume. It’s also one of the easier tech skills to learn, with numerous tutorials and free resources online (we like this one that lets you?learn the language while blowing up spaceships).

If you become an expert, you could be a candidate for jobs like?SQL Database Manager,?SQL Developer?and?SQL Analyst—but a lot of general data analyst jobs will also require you to know SQL, as it’s widely used across database applications and web frameworks.

3. Javascript

Javascript is a scripting language, often used to make web pages interactive. It’s text-based, written in an HTML document and run through a web browser.

There are plenty of jobs out there for?JavaScript developers. Anyone looking for a job as a?front end web developer?(the person who does the coding for the part of the website you actually see, as opposed to the database or servers) will also need to know Javascript, in addition to HTML, CSS and other scripting languages.

4. C++

C++ is a general purpose programming language that can be used to create small programs or large applications. In 2013, C++ was CyberCoders’ most in-demand programming language skill, and though it’s dropped to No. 4 on the annual list,?don’t count it out just yet.

As an extension of C, one of the oldest coding languages, C++ provides a foundation for many newer, more popular ones. There are plenty of?C++ developer?job postings, and it’s basically assumed that a candidate for nearly all software engineer or developer jobs will have some experience with the language. Side note: All major Adobe applications are developed in C++.

5. Python

Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language with an emphasis on code readability. It’s one of the easier programming languages to learn, with its use of common words and expressions, more white space and fewer curly brackets. It is used by NASA and Reddit, and its web framework, Django, powers the Instagram and Pinterest web apps.

There are many job postings looking for?Python/Django developers. Companies seeking Full stack developers (developers comfortable working with both back-end and front-end technologies and numerous programming languages) often list Python as a required language for candidates to have in their arsenal.?

Get your career up to code

There are plenty of tech jobs waiting for you, and the more you can get in front of hiring managers and impress them with your mastery of programming languages, the better your odds are of getting the call.?Need some help??Join Monster for free today.?As a member, you can upload up to five versions of your resume—each tailored to the types of coding jobs that interest you.?Recruiters search Monster every day looking to fill top jobs with qualified candidates, just like you. Additionally, you can get job alerts sent directly to your inbox to cut down on time spent looking through ads. Monster knows how to speak the age-old?language of career success.

What is an example of a problem or a challenge someone in this role could solve or be asked to work on?

If a hiring manager asks for an example of a challenge during an interview, make sure to provide them with a straightforward and honest answer that demonstrates your strengths in handling challenges at work to achieve a positive outcome. The STAR method, which stands for situation, task, action, and result, is a good strategy to use when answering this question as it ensures you provide a thoughtful and thorough answer.

With the STAR method, you start by providing clear background information to the interviewer, and then you describe the task and the challenge you faced. Then you end your answer by talking about the actions you took to come up with positive results. Here are the steps to take when answering this popular interview question