STEM careers need solid writers and good communicators

KENNESAW, Ga. - STEM college majors are often highly sought after in the business world. Today's technology-driven world demands it. But don't set aside those humanities majors. Those graduates also fit into the science and computer worlds. Writers and communicators are hot right now too.

When you create and send a resume, your first thought is to add your hard skills like computer programming knowledge, engineering and business backgrounds, or maybe expertise in certain heavy equipment. But, you still need to fill in the gaps with soft skills. 

Soft skills are writing and communication, team building and leadership, problem-solving and critical thinking, and analysis and listening. But if these skills trump your hard skills - let's say you're a history or English major - well then, there is room for you in the coveted STEM jobs like the world of artificial intelligence.

Let's talk about AI. One of the biggest artificial intelligence tools out there today is ChatGPT. It arrived at the end of 2022, and it's already a workforce game changer. Great writers are needed for AI's prompt engineering. Those are the words that go into the search box to help you get the best search results. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jeanne Law, professor of English at Kennesaw State University. She's also the director of their Writing Center. She is a big supporter of using artificial intelligence and says the humanities majors can play a big role in this software's future.

"It's so important to think about prompt engineering as an innovative new field for English majors and for writing majors, because who better to use prompt engineering strategy or technique with those words than English majors," Law said. 

How? Well, AI grabs its answers to your queries like "How can I streamline the production at my landscaping business ...." filling that in with specifics like the number of employees, the equipment you own, and your budget. The computer searches the internet in seconds for information that's already out there, compiles it, and then gives it to you. But the information is only as good as what people put online.

"In the end, this is a machine. It's math. It's not magic," Law reminded us. "We are the creative humans. We are the brains that are going to say, ‘Well, is this a picture of a cat or is this not?’"

Businesses can use your major in history or writing to help them use this technology in the best, most accurate way possible. Amazing coders or engineers may not be the best communicators. That, Law says, is a big complaint from many industry CEOs. They say they don't have enough great communicators.

"I'm going to keep in mind all those things I learned as an English major. I need to write for a purpose, for a specific audience, for a specific context."

So here's the takeaway: English majors can write for the software created by the engineers to ensure the development and accuracy of the artificial intelligence world. Remember, accuracy is a big part of what will make AI work. Artificial intelligence is only as accurate as the information put into it. AI grabs what it sees. And if you put accurate info out there, accurate data comes back.