Written by: Tyeal Howell

Nearly all of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. are within the STEM/STEAM industries. The gender gap in these industries is unreal. #NationalSTEMDay was created to celebrate, inspire and encourage the younger generation to explore their interests in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math fields. To join the celebration, we talked with 8 Women in STEM to get the best “real talk” advice they’ve ever received:

Stay humble.

Know that your career path and your goals may change over time, but stay true to yourself along the way. - Latinas in STEM

Your close crew matters.

“Who you hang out with determines what you dream about and what you collide with. And the collisions and the dreams lead to your changes. And the changes are what you become. Change the outcome by changing your circle.” -- Seth Godin - Claire Burke

Breathe.

Take a deep breath and move on! You will realize that you are a lot stronger than you think. - Leura Fine

Honestly, be authentic.

Answer honestly, support authentically, share resources and share other women's work. - Heather Lipner

Get thick skin.

The bigger the risk, the more likely the failure. You have to develop thick skin if you want to accomplish a lot in life. - Rachel Tipograph

Celebrate the small wins.

I've tried to actively start celebrating small milestones and successes, since I know that I'm really bad at recognizing how far we've come as a company. - Aarthi Ramamurthy

"A successful career is earned and requires sacrifice."

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A successful career is earned and requires sacrifice. It truly is done through dedication and a lot of hard work, nothing is handed to you. - Melissa Grillo