Use of the “Future Life Map” exercise to improve awareness of career options and opportunities in underrepresented minority undergraduate students pursuing STEM careers

Objectives: There has long existed significant underrepresentation of minority students in STEM training and careers. Ongoing efforts to improve opportunities and participation for underrepresented minority students have focused on multiple areas, from increased funding to early exposure to research in STEM. We developed the novel Future Life Map career planning exercise with the goal of contributing to this multi-faceted approach. The exercise emphasizes on the consideration of multiple potential career destinations and routes to those destination. The exercise was designed with the goal of improving participant awareness of options and career planning self-efficacy to improve success and retention of underrepresented minority student participation and retention in STEM. Methods: We implemented the Future Life Map exercise with 2 separate groups of under-represented minority undergraduate students pursuing careers in STEM. Participants then completed an anonymous survey to evaluate the exercise and describe the value they derived from completing the Future Life Map. Results: The exercise presentation and its supporting documents were highly rated by participants with >81% of respondents rating it as “very informative” (4 or 5 on a 5-point Likert Scale). Participants reported that they were very likely to recommend the exercise to others (25 of 27 participants) and were likely to repeat the activity for their own future decision making (22 participants). Themes that emerged from participant reporting of the value of the exercise were: increased awareness of career and training options, improved understanding of the research required to make informed career/life decisions, and new awareness of specific information about career options under consideration. Conclusion: The Future Life Map exercise was successful in improving participant awareness of career options, career planning ability, and helped participants to feel more empowered. This is likely of particular benefit for improving participation and retention of under-represented minority students pursuing careers in STEM.