Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

We argue that U.S. postsecondary education and the U.S. science and technology enterprise have failed to leverage military servicemembers’ technical training and on-the-job experience and leadership skills for post service educational and professional pursuits in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields (STEM).  In order to assess this paradox, we conduct an analysis focusing on STEM employment and earnings of servicemembers as compared to general civilians using U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010-2014 American Community Survey (ACS). We use this analysis to identify the difference representation between servicemembers and civilians in STEM education and careers.  We find that military servicemembers are more likely to pursue STEM education and careers despite the differential wage costs compared to civilian counterparts with similar education/careers.  After comparing the civilian and servicemember populations nationally, we use our own primary dataset to assess the individual servicemembers preferences and motivations towards STEM education and careers to identify structural mechanisms that may be leveraged within and after the military to address the decline in the general STEM workforce.  Findings suggest that servicemembers with Military Occupation Specialties (MOS) related to STEM felt better prepared for STEM education and careers and had a strong desire to feed into the STEM pipeline after service.