Nobody says STEM but government liberal weenies.
Actual working people say science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workers.
Right, and piling them all together in an average is misleading. A BA in a hard science is not a ticket to a great job. Generally, the good jobs are at the Ph.D. level. The same is true for math.
In engineering, however, a BA from a good school is by and large a ticket to a great job. I personally know of recent engineering graduates from the New Mexico School of Mining and Technology, the Colorado School of Mines, and Texas A&M walking into $100+K/year jobs in fields such as mechanical engineering, logistics, and chemical engineering. The petroleum engineering jobs have a $100+k base (I know of one student whose base is $131k)AND a per diem when working at rigs (up to $900/day) plus expenses.
Of course, engineering programs are hard work. It’s much easier to be an ed major or a “studies” major.