Looking Back to Look Forward: A Retrospective Analysis of the Career Trajectories of Rurally Educated STEM Professionals

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and workforce participation are growing increasingly important for economic and social development, yet STEM disengagement and participation challenges persist. Existing research has predominantly focused on the aspirations of young people, leaving the retrospective perspectives of STEM professionals relatively underexplored, particularly in non-metropolitan contexts. This study examines how 79 STEM professionals, educated in non-metropolitan settings, rated and described influential factors in their STEM career journeys. A predominantly female sample working in health fields was obtained through convenience and snowball sampling approaches. Using a convergent mixed-method design, participants quantitatively rated 10 STEM career influence factors and qualitatively reflected on their educational and professional pathways. Repeated-measures analyses indicated personal interest/ability was rated as the most influential factor, followed by secondary/high school education and teachers. Qualitative cluster analysis identified a bifurcated pattern in which proximal personal, social, and school-based influences contributed to STEM trajectory establishment, while broader economic and cultural influences were associated with STEM trajectory resilience and maintenance. Participants also described circumstantial impediments, alternate pathways, and real-world experiences that challenged linear pipeline assumptions about STEM careers. The findings suggest that rural STEM participation involves both the establishment and maintenance of career trajectories shaped by related, but distinct, influences.