– Arun Prakash M, Founder and CEO of GUVI Geek Networks

While initially perceived as a gimmick, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has successfully been integrated into the core of global industries. As international businesses increasingly rely on digital transformations, the requirement for skilled professionals is skyrocketing. Subsequently, the world emphasises the importance of STEM degrees and AI alike, as individuals pursue professional aspirations and companies vie to fill critical roles to ensure smooth technological deliveries. Aspects such as decision-making, language processing as well as pattern recognition are becoming increasingly important — something that highlights the importance of AI in the contemporary business domain, leaving conventional STEM degree holders to look for alternative ways to upskill themselves.

The growing emphasis by global businesses on AI, which is the catalyst of innovation and development, can be attributed to the pressing concern of enhancing operational efficiencies and gaining competitive advantage. The subsequent AI adoption has been striking, a fact that can also be validated through statistics. In the last couple of years, especially in the post-pandemic period, up to 52 percent of companies worldwide have increased AI-related activities, whereas 87 percent of businesses reveal AI has become a critical part of their operations since 2021. These figures showcase a gradual paradigm shift among corporations, who prefer new-age skilled professionals over individuals with conventional STEM degrees, indicating a clear shift. 

This is why lifelong learning through upskilling is considered the critical enabler for talents, especially those who hold conventional STEM degrees. The new-age skills-based tech jobs market has considerably transformed through AI and other digital technologies. However, the question remains, whether conventional STEM degrees are losing out their appeal and their efficacy. This remains a multifaceted and multidimensional question, one that can impact millions of upcoming talents, and the global scope of work. 

Conventional STEM degrees – Effective or not?

The substantial advancements in technology around the world is focused on creating digital solutions that lead to ease of life apart from delivering a host of other benefits. At the core, this comprehensive push is fundamentally powered by science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In the same context, STEM education remains the mother of all technological innovations since ancient times and will continue to have a long-term impact on humankind’s ability to evolve to the next generation.

However, the objective of STEM education and STEM degrees remain highly different — with the latter being well suited for a time long gone. STEM degrees in the last century, part of a worldwide curriculum, were aimed at educating the mass population in the marvels of these disciplines and powering their knowledge to drive human evolution. The 70’s and 80’s were a golden era for technological evolution, leading to the establishment of large corporations like Microsoft, Google, IBM and many more. Subsequently, their establishment changed the entire landscape through unprecedented innovation, leading the tech diaspora to adopt a different stance — employing professionals skilled in the latest technologies.

New-age technologies such as AI will no doubt continue their holistic transformative approach in the future. However, basic foundations created with conventional STEM education will be critical in this aspect. Budding talents with conventional STEM degrees must prioritise upskilling in new technologies to uniquely position themselves as the cream of the crop among thousands of peers, an aspect that will differentiate them to become successful.

Aligning with the job market

The emergence of new-age technologies has engineered a paradigm shift in the job market since their emergence. Technologies like AI promise a highly intelligent, efficient and hassle-free way of doing menial jobs, something that was not possible even a couple of years ago. As this paradigm shift continues, driven by the developments in the sector, businesses undergoing digital transformations and core corporations that cater to these new-age demands will look to integrate more skilled professionals to create an efficient workforce. This era-appropriate move can be easily aligned with, through meaningful upskilling that caters to market requirements, addresses the learning of trending technologies and subsequently, helps to bridge the glaring skill gap that corporations are looking to fill in. This can be done independently or through help from seasoned professionals or educational institutions /ed-tech platforms — with the end goal of taking talents to the same destination — success. 

Future outlook

To say that conventional STEM degrees have lost their charm or have outlived their relevance is not the appropriate way of looking at a complex issue. The overall education system in several geographies around the world has remained untouched for a long time. In India, the curriculum closely followed a colonial mindset for almost 70 years. While the development of new curriculums came to a standstill, the world kept moving forward and with the emergence of new-age technologies like AI, the scope of work in the contemporary skills-based job market has witnessed a steady growth — an aspect that can be aligned easily with upskilling. As tech developments take place, this paradigm shift will only receive steam, leading to a comprehensive shift, even in conventional STEM degrees, slowly yet steadily. 

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