Scientific American collaborated with Adam Maltese, a science education researcher at Indiana University, on a study aimed at better understanding the experiences of science, math and engineering students and professionals. Based on data from a randomized sample of universities and online volunteers who completed a survey, men and women who pursue STEM degrees tend to become interested in science in elementary school. When asked which people and experiences helped to spark their interest, women were more likely than men to select a teacher, a class at school, solving math problems and spending time outdoors, whereas men were more influenced by tinkering, building and reading. As men and women enter college, passion for the field far outweighs all other influences as the main reason for their persistence.

1 Comments

1. 1. Azure1 09:01 AM 8/13/12

   After having extreme interest in the humanities and languages from elementary right through my second year in college, I suddenly became interested in science as it gave a whole new perspective on things. To some extent I regret not having an interest in high school as I would have avoided doing the dreaded basic science pre-requisites in order to get a BSc. I was never interested in maths or physics and having to do them now is certainly not a walk in the park. However, despite the difficulty level compared to any humanities class I have done, I finally feel accomplished after getting a good grade.
   
   I often did very well in a humanities class because I was "naturally good" at it, but I never really enjoyed my good grades because it came quite easy.

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