Right - but then why are STEM degrees so important? Then why is Obama encouraging young people to pursue them? Even he didn't choose someone with a STEM degre

Right - but then why are STEM degrees so important? Then why is Obama encouraging young people to pursue them? Even he didn't choose someone with a STEM degree to hold the highest technical office in his administration. I also have a different perspective from you on STEM degrees. It's true that tech has a "lower barrier to entry" if all you look at is official, legal, licensed barriers. But majoring in STEM fields is vastly more difficult than a major typical of a law school graduate, and elite STEM graduate programs have vastly higher attrition rates than elite law or medical schools (like, 50-100 times higher). The coursework is exceptionally rigorous and difficult. The difference is that you don't strictly have to do this to go into high tech - lots of people don't. And that's great. But then, again - why is Obama pushing STEM?