What Spending a Summer at STEM Camp Can Do for a Child’s Future
Preparing for the future is no easy task, largely because it is unknown. While we can never know exactly what the future holds, there are enough clues and trends to help us start painting a picture of what it could look like. For example, it’s clear technology is driving today’s world, and will continue to impact the years ahead—to an even larger extent, at that. We also know that in 10 years, there will be more technology jobs than there will be qualified people to fill them.
In fact, some of the biggest growth tech job roles include network, information security, and computer systems administrators; along with data scientists, software engineers, and web developers.
What do all of these careers have in common?
Multiple signs point to the fact that if you want a good-paying job in the future (and even today), STEM skills are a common requirement. That’s good knowledge, right?
But now, what do you do with it?
Skill Set, Ready, Go!
Half the battle is knowing; but actually doing something with that knowledge is the hard part.
Technology is changing almost every industry on the planet. Machine learning, robotics, and AI are turning manufacturing upside down, while tech is continuing to disrupt the financial sector and even professional sports. While such a wide-reaching net may make things even more overwhelming, it’s in fact a good thing. No matter your student’s interest, they should be able to match it with an in-demand STEM occupation. It makes for a great starting point, actually.
The problem is, the place where most students equate with learning—school—might leave a lot to be desired when it comes to STEM. Thus, families have to look outside of regular school hours, to things like after-school and summer programs, to start their journeys.
Finding a Valuable STEM Learning Opportunity
The best STEM summer camps help kids and teens improve foundational STEM skills through a learn-by-doing approach, in a fun, yet engaging environment. At iD Tech, for instance, students get a chance to make new friends with similar interests and build self-confidence as they work to complete projects of their very own.
It’s not uncommon for kids to enter camp with an affinity for playing video games, using mobile apps, or spending time on social media, then dive deeper into what powers such technologies.
Of course, every kid isn’t a gamer or techie—and that’s OK.
For those parents—and their kids—it’s important to understand that they too, should be looking to develop their STEM skill sets. Code is the language of the future, and speaking that language could soon be as vital as reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Plus, as mentioned, STEM can be found pretty much anywhere. Have a kid or teen who is into sports? Analytics and data drive major decisions for many NBA and MLB teams. Got an avid tinkerer in the house? Turn that obsession with LEGO’s and problem solving into the determination to build a robot or become a machine learning engineer. Speaking of machine learning, you’d be hard-pressed to find a sector not soon impacted by AI. Artificial intelligence is another fast-growing area of technology, as is information security.
Again, the prerequisites? STEM.
Preparing for the Future
It’s a competitive world, and we as parents want to give our children every opportunity to succeed in it. Even if your child has never been exposed to STEM, the opportunity to jump in is still very much here, now, and available.
No matter their long-term destination, students will eventually cross paths with tech. A STEM summer camp like iD Tech can help prepare your child for tomorrow’s world, and even inspire them on a personal level; summer camp in itself can be a transformative experience–why not use it to lay the foundation for your child’s future?
iD Tech is the world’s #1 summer tech camp for kids and teens ages 7 – 18, with day and overnight summer programs held at Stony Brook University, NYIT, Adelphi, NYU, Columbia, Stanford, and 150+ prestigious campus locations.
From iD Tech Camps to Alexa Café, along with iD Coding & Engineering Academy and iD Game Design & Development Academy, iD Tech programs provide the ideal learning destination for aspiring coders, game developers, robotics engineers, designers, and more.
Exclusive to Momee Friends readers, receive $75 off when you register with code MOMEE18 through 5/31/18. Courses sell out quickly, so get started today at www.idtech.com or call (888) 709-8324 for personalized course recommendations. Make unlimited updates to your registration up to 3 weeks before your session.