Abstract
In early 2020, colleges shifted abruptly from traditional in-person to remote distant instruction due to COVID-19 potentially exacerbating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students’ recruitment and retention. This preliminary study using survey methodology was conducted with STEM students at a small (700 students) private college to examine questions related to students’ perceptions of natural science careers, career decision-making factors, barriers influencing students’ career path, including effects of COVID-19 on career goals, mental health, and perceived quality of instruction. A Qualtrics® survey was sent to 180 STEM students, from which we received 53 responses (29.4% response rate). Consistent with other studies, family was one of the most important factors supporting their career path. Students had a relatively upbeat career outlook despite being in the middle of a global pandemic and were only moderately worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their future career. Despite these relatively positive outcomes, the abrupt switch to online instruction was viewed unfavorably by most respondents, who valued the hands-on learning experiences obtained with traditional in-person instruction. It is possible that respondents’ views of online instruction may improve over time as instructors become more adept at using new instructional tools. Future research should evaluate this aspect and whether students’ career goals change across time as the pandemic unfolds.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, China during late December, 2019 and by March, 2020 quickly spread to become a worldwide pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020)
The STEM students who participated in this study maintained a relatively upbeat career outlook despite being in the middle of a global pandemic and experiencing major disruptions to their lives on many levels
Natural inclination, science related classes, parents and college teachers were identified as very important factors in supporting respondents’ career path. This is in keeping with other research that found that peers and family were rated as most important support for careers by college students (Peña et al, 2016; Raque et al, 2013)
Summary
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, China during late December, 2019 and by March, 2020 quickly spread to become a worldwide pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020). Under the conditions at the time of this study conducted in May 2020 (i.e., pandemic, economic concerns, etc.), difficulties in mental health status such as depression, anxiety, and/or stress was a concern. A third of their sample indicated that they were experiencing moderate to severe anxiety with college students showing significantly higher anxiety and stress scores on the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) compared to those employed. Students in the U.S may be experiencing high anxiety and stress scores during the pandemic as some research has found (Rudenstine et al, 2020)
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