LAYTON — Wayne Young first heard about ARW Engineers, he said, at a Utah State University career night three years ago.
At the event, Young talked with the president of the Ogden-based structural consulting firm and decided it was the job he wanted. He later scored a professional engineering internship with the company.
Young's role was reversed Monday at the Northern Utah STEM Career and College Exposition, as he was the one introducing ARW Engineers to students.
Young, 28, of North Ogden, said the event was likely more helpful for students than the one he attended because high schoolers have more time to network and decide their best career fit than he did as a college student.
"Personally, I don't think it is too soon to start exposing students to career exploration," said Neil Hancey, career and technical education curriculum supervisor for Davis School District. "To start with, they can get a little taste of everything, and in subsequent years they can start their own targets and their goals."
The conference, involving 800 students from the Weber, Davis, Ogden and Morgan school districts, brought more than 60 educational and business institutions to the Davis Conference Center to introduce students to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) applications happening outside classroom walls.
The purpose of the expo is to prepare students for "today and tomorrow," Hancey said, "by teaching them problem-solving skills that transfer to any job. Problem-solving is often more important than technical training, he said, because STEM employees' job duties often change as technology is enhanced.
Monday's event differed from other STEM conferences because it encouraged students to get a degree based on their intended job, instead of getting a job based on their degree, according to Matt Patterson, Weber School District science curriculum specialist.
"Then (students) can have a better conversation with those postsecondary institutions and say, 'I just talked to Adobe,' or 'I just talked to Tesoro,' or 'I just talked to U.S. Synthetics, and this is the job they are going to provide that I want, so do you offer this degree or certificate that can get me there?'" Patterson said.
Students were invited to ask hard questions, he said, such as: How much does this job pay? Do you enjoy your job? What perks or opportunities does your company offer?
Jacob Kohler, 16, a junior at Davis High School, said he knows what field he wants to go into, but at the workshops he started questioning what specific job he wants.
"I have always thought about going into computer programming and engineering, but I didn't realize that communication technologies, biomedical stuff and even Utah TRAX use computer programming," Kohler said. "It's crazy."
Along with workshops, students viewed additional STEM businesses and educational institutions at booths.
Autoliv, an automotive safety technology company, allowed students to hold, touch and see the insides of select products; Clark Planetarium set up an electricity generator that enabled students to shock their friends; and Operating Engineers Apprenticeship brought in a construction machine and let students operate it.
Of all the interactive activities, Layton High sophomore Brook Hutchinson said performing CPR on a dummy from Davis Hospital and Medical Center was her favorite. Hutchinson also said she enjoyed having her blood drawn to determine her blood type at one booth.
"I just love everything medical-related," Hutchinson said. "I am not totally sure what I want to do, but after today, I think I may want to be a surgeon."
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