This blog is taken from a post created by Jean Weller on March 7, 2011, in the Thinkfinity in Virginia group.  The suggestions include appropriate resources for young children through young adults.  Thinkfinity offers a variety of activities for students to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

How can we encourage students to consider careers in STEM-related fields?  One way is to let them know the variety of jobs out there!  I would bet most students see STEM careers as boring, geeky or too demanding.  So maybe it’s time to share with them some of the more fun and intriguing STEM careers!

The Online Career Center: http://learnlink.org/, recommended by EconEdLinks, has interactives for all ages, and most of them involve science, technology, engineering or math!

For younger students:

EconEdLink’s lesson called “To Be or Not To Be” links to some career choices that young people are generally interested in: http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lid=393&type=educator. It also links to a very good recommended web resource: http://www.bls.gov/k12/.

Science NetLinks’ lesson,” Images of Science” (http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.php?DocID=118) is a great way to get younger kids to re-think their view of what scientists do.

Math can be fun, like when you are a Cryptologist! See Wonderopolis’ Resource, “How Do You Unlock a Secret Code?” (http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-do-you-unlock-a-secret-code/)

For middle students:

Monterey Bay Aquarium Careers: This recommended resource from Xpeditions shows how wide the variety is in careers having to do with Marine Science: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/lc/kids_place/kidseq_careers.aspx

“Paleoanthropology, A Complex Career Choice” is a great lesson to catch the attention of those kids who still want to dig in dirt:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/17/g68/alemseged1.html

Discover Engineering: A fun recommended web resource from Science NetLinks:

http://www.discoverengineering.org/

The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers: a very cool video-based web resource recommended by Science NetLinks: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/secretlife/

Science NetLinks: “The Jean Craighead George” interactive (http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/Esheet.php?DocID=236) can help kids learn more about biologists, naturalists and others who study the natural world.

A podcast from Smithsonian’s History Explorer explains why “Deanne Bell believes Engineering is for Girls.” http://invention.smithsonian.org/video/vid-popup.aspx?clip=1&id=483

Science NetLinks’ lesson, “What Do Scientists Do?” http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.php?DocID=289, gives a broader view of the career than most middle school students have.

For older students:

Older students are getting serious about what they want to do. Don’t forget the Career Planner Interactive they can use: http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=378&title=

Careers in Sports and Exercise Science: a recommended site from Science NetLinks:

http://tinyurl.com/sciencecareers-sports

Help reinforce the idea that scientists don’t work in isolated labs by checking out the Science NetLinks’ “Lasers Saving Sight” lesson plan complete with podcasts: http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.php?Grade=9-12&BenchmarkID=1&DocID=123

What can I do with mathematics? Have the students “do” math by using the lesson outlined in “Circle Packing”: http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?id=U175