Survey: STEM interest dwindles as kids get older, gender gap persists

Kids' interest in science, technology, engineering and math — or STEM — subjects decreases as they get older, according to a Randstad survey.

The global human resources firm asked 1,000 students aged 11 to 17 about their perspectives on STEM topics.

Here are five things to know.

1. Kids aged 11 to 14 are 18 percent more likely than those aged 15 to 17 to consider math one of their favorite subjects.

2. Twenty-two percent of girls named technology as one of their favorite school subjects, compared to 46 percent of boys.

3. Forty-nine percent of respondents did not know what kinds of math jobs existed and 76 percent indicated they did not know "a lot" about what engineers do.

4. Girls are 34 percent more likely than boys to say STEM jobs are hard to understand.

5. More than half (52 percent) of respondents said they don't know anyone with a STEM job.

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