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December 2025
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December 2025
First published in 2025 by NDIA’s affiliate, the Emerging Technologies Institute. 2101 Wilson Blvd, Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22201, United States of America. (703) 522-1820. © 2025 by the National Defense Industrial Association. All rights reserved. This report is made possible by general support to NDIA and the Emerging Technologies Institute. No direct sponsorship contributed to this report. This report is produced by NDIA, a non-partisan, non-profit, educational association that has been designated by the IRS as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization and was founded to educate its constituencies on all aspects of national security. Its research is nonpartisan. DISCLAIMER: The ideas and findings in this report should not be construed to be official positions of either NDIA or any of the organizations listed as contributors or the membership of NDIA. It is published in the interest of an information exchange between government and industry, pursuant to its mission to bring industry and government together to engage in discussions of important topics. For more information please visit our website: EmergingTechnologiesInstitute.org MEDIA QUERIES: Rachel Sutherland, NDIA Director of Public Affairs & Communications at rsutherland@NDIA.org
NDIA ETI Executive Director
Dr. Arun Seraphin
Chairman:
The Honorable William “Mac” Thornberry
Committee
General John Hyten, USAF (Ret)
Co-Founder at Meritech Capital Partners
Theresa S. Mayer
Mapping Government Officials in Emerging Technologies Roles
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Table of Contents
Overview ................................................................................................4 Introduction ............................................................................................5 Key Findings ...........................................................................................6
Transitioning into STEM from Non-STEM Backgrounds
Consolidated Insights from Interviews on Key Findings .........................................9
Enhancing Talent Management in Government STEM Roles
Recommendations ...................................................................................10
Expanding the pool of potential STEM employees
5. Conclusion .........................................................................................12 6. Appendix: Methodology ..........................................................................13
Limitations
7. Glossary ............................................................................................16 4