DC on List of Best Cities for STEM Careers

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By Deb Belt

A study of the best places to live to earn a top salary in a STEM career put DC at #3 nationwide on the list.

The country has a continuing shortage of workers skilled in science, technology, engineering or math. SmartAsset’s study says that raising the pay for those jobs – which already pay better than programmers or software engineers – can boost the number of STEM workers.

According to the website, there are at least 13 different STEM positions that pay an average $98,000 per year in the DC area. Average pay in the region for STEM jobs is $100,787.

Ranking first in pay is nearby Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick with second in pay San Francisco, and then after Washington, D.C, comes Oakland and San Jose in California.

Nationally, the average pay for a STEM job is $82,832, SmartAsset says.

Here’s how the website describes the DC STEM climate:

1. DC

Top three STEM jobs for pay: nuclear engineer ($150,440 per year), mathematician ($133,260), aerospace engineer ($132,270).

Notable STEM employers: U.S Army Corps of Engineers, NASA, U.S. Naval Observatory, Northrop Grumman.

The U.S. government may be the single largest employer of mathematicians and scientists in the world. Many of these jobs are located in the nation’s capital, which is home to headquarters of (among other offices) the U.S Army Corps of Engineers and NASA. Add to that the plethora of defense contractors with offices in the D.C. metro area, (which includes Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia), and you have one of the best job markets for STEM workers in the world.

PHOTO of U.S. Capitol courtesy of Architect of the Capitol