I grew up in a very affluent area and have noticed a lot of my peers with a parent in STEM tend to also pursue a STEM degree for whatever reason. Meanwhile, the peers at my (public NC) university tend to be all over the place with their degrees and socioeconomic standing.

Growing up I was told if I wanted to maintain my standard of living, I'd have to pick a "reasonable" degree. Both my grandfather and father grew up dirt poor yet were/are successful with their respected mechanical engineering degrees (aligns with linked studies from others) at the same tech company.

Part of the reason why I'm pursuing an IT degree is for the job security and financial stability since it's my main career driver while coinciding with the tech culture I grew up with. The culture my dad let us dip our toes into growing up also rubbed off on my brother (who spent a lot of time as a child tinkering with things ) since he now has a degree in industrial engineering and builds car parts for work.