Parental and peer influence on STEM career persistence: From higher education to first job

Abstract

This article investigates social influences that drive gender-specific differences in the degree of persistence individuals exhibit in regard to pursuing science, mathematics, engineering and technology (STEM), both as a field of study and as an occupation. It covers individuals’ careers from entry into higher education to entry into the labor market. Following a life course perspective, I ask the following questions: (1) How stable are preferences regarding STEM subjects and occupations throughout young adulthood? (2) Are significant social ties, such as relations with friends and family members, factors that affect individuals’ persistence in pursuing a STEM career throughout higher education and at entry into the labor market? Based on longitudinal data from the student cohort of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), Starting Cohort 5 (SC5), I find that mothers who have a STEM occupation encourage their daughters to choose a STEM career when the latter enter higher education, but they do not encourage them to choose STEM studies or to choose a STEM occupation when they enter the labor market. Conversely, social factors contribute stronger to the persistence of men: fathers who have a STEM occupation promote sons choosing to pursue a STEM field, and to persist in such a field. Also, I find that support from friends and parents is especially important for men’s persistence in pursuing STEM subjects during higher education.