Students' lab confidence linked to STEM career plans

Labster has published research linking students' confidence in lab skills with their likelihood of staying on a STEM career path. The study found that students who feel confident in their lab skills are 24% more likely to say they intend to continue pursuing a STEM career.

The findings are based on a survey of 411 students enrolled in online or hybrid STEM degree or certificate programmes at four-year universities and graduate schools in the US and Canada, excluding computer science and IT courses. The sample included students across all four years of study in subjects such as biology, health science, engineering, mathematics, nursing and chemistry.

The research focuses on retention in online and hybrid STEM education, where flexibility attracts students but practical lab requirements can create strain. Among respondents, 82% chose an online or hybrid programme for flexibility, while 73% enrolled because the format allowed them to keep working.

Many still face in-person lab requirements. The survey found that 68% must attend labs on campus, and more than half of that group said scheduling is a meaningful challenge. Work conflicts affected 32%, while 14% reported caregiving conflicts.

Those pressures appear to fuel doubts about whether students can complete their studies. Among fully online students, 40% said they had questioned whether continuing their programme was realistic because of work, caregiving and other responsibilities.

Students considering leaving cited several recurring pressures. The survey found that 54% struggled to balance coursework with other responsibilities, 31% had concerns about career readiness and 15% pointed to insufficient hands-on or interactive learning opportunities.

Across the wider group of online and hybrid STEM students, 41% said a lack of hands-on learning had made them question whether to finish their programme. Another 35% said their programme did not provide enough practical learning, with the figure higher among fully online students than those in hybrid formats.

Confidence gap

Beyond scheduling and workload, the study points to a confidence problem in laboratory learning. One-third of respondents said they hold back from fully engaging in labs unless they can practise without risk to themselves or equipment, while another third said fear of making mistakes limits their participation.

Preparation also shaped how students approached in-person sessions. Nearly two-thirds said they feel less confident entering physical labs when they have not had enough time to prepare in advance.

The study suggests confidence is not simply a by-product of learning, but a factor linked to persistence. Among students confident in their lab skills, 95% said they are likely to continue pursuing a career in STEM.

Christina Fleming, Chief Revenue Officer at Labster, said the findings show why practical experience matters for student retention. "Flexibility matters, but hands-on experimentation matters as well. Students need the time and space to make mistakes, build readiness for the physical lab - whether in school or on the job - and feel confident that they've truly mastered the material. This research shows what happens when that's missing: students don't just feel underprepared, they start to question whether finishing the program is worth it," Fleming said.

Virtual labs

The survey also examined the role of virtual labs as an alternative or supplement to in-person practical teaching. For prospective students, access to virtual labs could influence programme choice: 84% of respondents said that knowing a programme offered flexible, interactive virtual labs would have made it more appealing when they were evaluating institutions.

A further 81% said access to virtual labs would have had a positive effect on their enrolment decision. Once students were using them, 92% said virtual labs gave them a safe space to practise before real-world application, while 88% said the ability to repeat exercises improved their confidence.

Students with access to virtual labs also reported higher engagement than those without access. Users of Labster's platform were 60% more likely than average to say they felt very confident in their lab skills, and 56% more likely to say they felt very confident applying those skills in a future job.

The findings indicate that students judge programme quality partly by the practical experience they receive. Almost four in five respondents said meaningful hands-on learning shapes their view of the quality of a STEM programme, and 65% said the way labs are delivered affects how manageable the whole programme feels.

That makes lab design a retention issue as much as an academic one. Online and hybrid programmes may widen access for students balancing employment and care responsibilities, but the research suggests weak practical preparation can undermine that advantage if students feel unready or reluctant to participate.

Fleming said confidence deserves more attention in the debate around STEM persistence. "Confidence is the least talked about outcome with the most impact. When students have the space to make mistakes and prove mastery before it counts, that's what carries them through to a STEM career. The research clearly points to this. We found that students who feel confident in their lab skills are more likely to say they're very likely to continue in STEM, and that's precisely what we want to hear," Fleming said.