STEM beyond STEM: Why students should look outside the lab for opportunity
By Abdaldjalil Mahar and Imran Ahmed, November 15 2025—
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) play a fundamental role in the development of society. Students of the STEM discipline become essential contributors towards social, economic, and technological output. Yet, for many current and prospective STEM students, the path after graduation is far from certain.
While STEM fields are often portrayed as a gateway to stability, the reality is more complex. In recent years, an oversaturated job market, limited research and development opportunities, particularly in Canada compared to the United States, and the rapid expansion of certain disciplines like computer science and software engineering, have made internships and entry-level roles in STEM increasingly more competitive.
While these external factors lie beyond a student’s control, one way forward may be to broaden their career horizons. Rather than viewing success within the confines of traditional STEM industries, students can explore how their technical, analytical, and problem-solving skills translate across diverse fields, from finance and consulting, to policy, education, and entrepreneurship.
Breaking into a crowded field
Many fresh STEM graduates find themselves competing with more experienced candidates for entry-level positions. According to a 2023 report from Glassdoor, a large job and recruiting website, many entry-level jobs require at least two years of experience.
Many students spend a lot of time and effort applying to internships without much avail. A 2023 survey from RippleMatch, a college recruiting startup, found that nearly half of Gen Z internship seekers are submitting more than 50 applications in their quest for a placement. The survey found that 60 per cent did not feel confident that they would find a good role that year.
Faced with growing competition, students should look beyond traditional STEM industries altogether and seek roles where their technical and analytical skills can be applied in new ways.
Statistics Canada’s 2024 National Graduates Survey reflects this career pivot. While 86 per cent of 2020 college graduates reported being employed, nearly half said their job wasn’t directly related to their program of study. Among STEM graduates, roughly one in five work outside their fields, indicating that, for many students, broadening their horizons has become a practical path forward in an ever-changing job market.
For many STEM students, branching out begins with curiosity and a willingness to apply what they know to what they don’t. One example is Oscar Sharaz Spencer, a University of Calgary software engineering student, whose journey shows how technical training can translate into new opportunities.
Applying the STEM mindset
Born and raised in Calgary, Spencer grew up in a French household and spent a decade studying classical piano under the Royal Conservatory of Music. But by high school, music alone no longer satisfied his curiosity.
“The whole time, though, I was itching for more direct change-making, and I wasn’t getting that purely through music,” he recalled. “I decided to take a leap, let go of music, and start learning how to build computer programs.”
He began teaching himself C++ and Python using old high school textbooks, spending a significant portion of his days for nearly a year.
“Eventually, I reached a point where I felt ready to start creating impact through companies and institutions,” he said.
After applying to about 100 companies, he received his first and only offer at a startup called Mastrius, followed by an internship at Arcuve, all before finishing high school.
Later on, his curiosity and networking led him to a new opportunity with the University of Waterloo’s quantitative finance team, where he worked with advisors from Citadel and Bloomberg.
“It sparked my interest in economics and how systems work on a broader scale”, he said.
Rather than viewing this as a complete shift away from engineering, Spencer saw it as an expansion of what his STEM education could offer. His work in quantitative finance was a continuation of the same analytical principles he had learned, just applied in a different context.
That experience eventually led him to BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm. He was taught investment and portfolio management directly by their strategists and market leaders. “I built strong relationships with people at the firm and used that knowledge to partner with Stanford graduates who were building a VC-backed company.”
While his story stands out, the underlying message is common amongst many students: STEM opens doors in any field where critical thinking and structured problem-solving are needed. Spencer’s path simply highlights what can happen when students apply those same skills in unconventional spaces.
The value of adaptability
As stated earlier, Spencer has combined his engineering mindset with finance in his role as an early on-site collaborator with a venture capital-backed private market startup in New York City developed by a group of Stanford graduates looking for large-scale impact.
“My number one goal with finance is to create impact through investments,” he explained. “I believe investments are an influential lever you can use to create change. Instead of teaching one person how to become an engineer, why not build a school of engineering?”
For him, engineering, and STEM more broadly, is less a profession than a mindset.
“Engineering is one of the most rigorous and analytical programs,” he said. “It teaches you to leave no gaps when solving problems, it forces you to understand every detail on both a micro and macro scale, and to continuously improve. That mindset has helped me apply the same thoroughness and analytical rigor to investments.”
Spencer believes that STEM students hold an advantage in their ability to adapt across disciplines.
“As a STEM student, your opportunities are much broader than you might think,” he said. “STEM gives you the ability to learn anything and the work ethic and intelligence to adapt to any field. I’ve seen people go from engineering to medicine, law, or finance, and they all do well because of those core STEM principles.”
Thinking beyond the degree
His advice mirrors a growing sentiment amongst students and educators alike. The value of a STEM education isn’t confined to where it begins and its traditional setting. Rather, the value is found in how those skills are used.
Nonetheless, the path forward will be difficult for most students. The job market remains highly competitive for graduates across all disciplines, and STEM students are not exempt from that reality. But as traditional opportunities become harder to secure, thinking outside the box, whether through interdisciplinary work, networking, or applying technical skills in differing settings, may no longer just be an option, but a necessity.
For those entering or currently studying in STEM, Spencer’s experience serves as a reminder: the degree you earn doesn’t solely determine one’s professional trajectory. What ultimately defines success is the mindset one cultivates: the ability to adapt, think critically, and apply technical knowledge beyond traditional boundaries.