STEM students often find themselves pigeonholed into traditional career paths such as software development, data analysis, or research and development. The world of STEM is vast and varied, with many offbeat career options that may not immediately come to mind.
From music machine learning engineers to storm trackers, these careers may not be as well-known, but they offer a unique blend of creativity and technical skill that can be incredibly rewarding.
As per Statista’s latest updates, about 429,298 STEM degrees were awarded at the graduate level, and 142,775 STEM degrees were awarded at the Master’s level. Such a large graduate base must get a variety of career options to make the right choice.
In this article, we will explore some of the most exciting and unexpected career options available to STEM students. If you’re a student just starting, read on to discover the many exciting opportunities available in the world of STEM.
1. Cryptozoologist
A cryptozoologist is a type of scientist or researcher who studies and investigates animals or creatures that are not yet recognized by mainstream science, such as the Loch Ness Monster or Sasquatch.
This often involves collecting and analyzing evidence, interviewing witnesses, and conducting field research. Cryptozoologists may also study legends and folklore to learn more about the possible existence of these creatures.
2. Patent Attorney
A patent attorney is a legal professional who specializes in obtaining and enforcing patents. This includes drafting, filing, and prosecuting patent applications with a relevant government agency, such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office or USPTO, and providing legal advice on patent-related issues.
Patent attorneys also assist clients in protecting their intellectual property through the use of patents, trademarks, and copyrights. They may also help to evaluate and negotiate licensing agreements and litigate patent infringement cases in court.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, is a federal law that regulates the use and disclosure of protected health information. If the businesses you represent handle Protected Health Information, you should get trained on HIPAA resources and other important policies.
3. Ethical Hacker
An ethical hacker, also known as a white hat hacker, is a professional who identifies and assesses the security of a computer system, network, or web application. They find and report vulnerabilities in a system before they can be exploited by malicious actors.
As many as 31% of companies surveyed by KPMG suffered fraud committed by insiders. As a result, companies are focussing more on compliance, cyber security, and fraud prevention. Companies have reportedly lost 1.5% of profits due to cyber attacks, the same report by KPMG states.
As an ethical hacker, you will use various tools and techniques, such as penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and social engineering, to identify and exploit the weaknesses in a target system. They then provide recommendations to the system owner on how to fix the vulnerabilities and improve the overall security of the system.
4. Storm Tracker
A storm tracker is a meteorologist or weather researcher who specializes in tracking and forecasting severe weather events, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms. Storm trackers use a variety of tools and technologies to monitor and predict the movement and intensity of storms, including weather radar, satellite imagery, and computer models.
According to Disaster Philanthropy, in 2022, there were 14 named tropical storms, and they included two devastating hurricanes, Fiona and Ian. There were a total of 8 hurricanes among these 14. We all know the vast destruction these hurricanes can cause. Hence being a storm tracker can give your life lots of purpose and meaning. You will be functioning just like a superhero, saving America from storms.
You will collect data by deploying weather balloons, aircraft, and other instruments. Storm trackers may work in a variety of settings, including television and radio weather forecasting, government weather services, and research institutions. Their job is to monitor, predict, and report the location and potential impact of severe weather events to protect people and property.
5. Music Machine Learning Engineer
A music machine-learning engineer uses machine-learning techniques to analyze, generate, and manipulate music. They might use a variety of techniques, such as deep learning, natural language processing, and data mining, to analyze music data, extract features, and understand patterns in the music.
In this role, you can also generate new music, such as by training a model on a dataset of existing songs and having it compose new songs. You can also work on cutting-edge music-related technology, such as music recommendation systems, music recognition systems, and other music-related applications.
Students and employees from STEM backgrounds are always working with huge amounts of data, using technology to find solutions using advanced data mining programs. In this scenario, they must be cognizant of the applicable data privacy policy to prevent any mishaps.
As you can see, the fields of STEM are highly diverse. Don’t be afraid to explore out of the box careers!