While a string of recent reports have emphasized the critical need for more and better trained STEM professionals, too many of those in a position to answer the call over the short term — students ages 16 to 25 — do not see themselves in science and engineering careers.

Why such reluctance?  Respondents to the Lemelson-MIT Invention Index cited factors ranging from lack of knowledge about the relevant fields, to perceptions that they are ill-prepared for the demands of STEM professions.  On a positive note, innovation fared well in the survey: 80% of respondents said they would be interested in courses that helped them “become more inventive and creative.”
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