Despite a rebounding economy and an increase in the number of available teaching positions, there is still a struggle to fill certain positions. Some of the most difficult positions to fill are traditional secondary Math and Science positions. As education has turned towards educating students for the 21st century, it has also become important to develop more education in STEM related topics such as Engineering and Computer Science. The Central Valley has begun to adopt career pathways programs that require some teachers to have industry experience and a specialized credential to provide more courses that provide hands on experience. This has created an even larger need to produce more teachers in the STEM field.

This mixed-methods study focused on STEM majors at California State University, Fresno in order to discover what they knew about the teaching profession and the programs available at California State University, Fresno. The study also sought to find whether or not providing more information about the teaching profession or programs available at California State University, Fresno would cause more STEM students to consider teaching as a viable option. The study provided students with a survey that provided qualitative responses to why students did would not consider teaching as a viable option. The study also provided quantitative information on whether or not students knew about specific information about teaching and available programs at California State University, Fresno and how attractive they found this information to consider a career in teaching.

The study found that a majority of students were not aware of programs available at California State University, Fresno and were also not aware of most information about the teaching profession. The study also found that students found most of the information provided about the teaching profession and available programs at California State University, Fresno to be very attractive to anyone considering a job in the teaching profession. After information was provided, there was an increase in the number of students that stated they would consider teaching as a viable option.