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The following two sections address ASME members' final thoughts regarding the Why Engineering Survey.

This first section addresses additional questions that respondents felt could be asked to help young students better understand the experiences of engineering professionals.  The were many suggestions to include the following broken down by category.

Pre-College:

• What early building experiences most contributed to who you are today?

Post Secondary:

• What workplace experience did you have before graduating form college, what value were coop and internship? 

• How many engineering (theory) classes are directly applicable to your job?

• What early course assignments would have been helpful during your engineering curricula?

• How difficult is earning a degree in Engineering compared to actually working as an Engineer?

Work Related:

• In what way did you feel least prepared to enter the workforce?

• How much of each of the following do you use in your everyday work week: creativity ___%, technical ___%, management ___%, communication ___% - and what value do you place on each?

• Has study of a foreign language helped?

• How much of your present position relates to knowledge by theory vs knowledge by experience?

• What has been the least expected challenge that you have faced since joining the engineering workforce?

Professional Development:

• What has ASME done for your career and what additionally could they do?

• Importance of, need for professional regulation?

• Are you licensed as a PE, do you recommend it, what are the benefits? 

General:

• What government support has contributed the most to American engineering?

• Did you go into engineering for: the money, the love of it or other?

• How do you cope with stress?

• What are key concerns in the modern engineering world?

View Comments:

Did you do a thorough investigation of the engineering discipline you were considering?

Can you be an engineer without having planned on doing so from early childhood?

What interests do you have outside of engineering? What hobbies do you currently have? Would you encourage your kids to become engineers?

Questions related to the long term viability of engineering jobs. Make sure they understand that engineers are in the business of putting themselves out of work. We figure out ways to do more with less, meaning fewer and fewer people. We are being displaced by technology and outsourcing to low wage countries. Make sure they consider supply and demand for the different engineering fields. In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a glut of Aerospace Engineers. Now there is a glut in Information Technology.

One thing I did not know about the engineering field is the amount of moving one may have to do to learn and grow in the field. With ever changing technology and economy one must be willing to readily relocate to where things are happening. This is something engineers need to consider.

Ask for specific information on what each respondent does for a living, including examples of day-to-day activities. This will give real-world examples of how widely varied engineering careers can become.

More questions about the specifics of initial engineering assignments would have been helpful. A major weakness in typical engineering programs is that, through immersion in the fundamentals, the student often loses sight of the realities of the actual profession.

Where does an engineer fall within the corporate structure? Is engineering self-limiting? What are the key concerns in modern engineering world?

Do you realize that someone in a third world country is willing to work 3 times harder than you for 10% of your income. If this is true how can you overcome this world condition?

The second section includes any final comments ASME respondents had regarding the purpose of the survey, ease of use and any other considerations.  Their overwhelming response was very favorable to favorable regarding the survey and its ease of use.

• Very well done, Survey was quite comprehensive, I was impressed

• simple enough - not burdensome, easy to use - helped me clarify my points, well designed, very useful well written survey

• This is a fairly complete survey (and a good one that allows comments!), didn't take too long and had plenty of space for comments 

• Interesting survey, well done, looking forward to seeing the results, be sure to send the email when the results are available. thank you for doing this, Great idea. Please spread the results to all.

• survey will be used in part to help recruit more young people to the profession, appears to be a good survey which I hope helps with future educational tools and materials, hope this information is put to good use, 

• I think perpetuating engineering and other technical fields is very important to our country and the world as a whole, I would hope that this survey is made available to all pre-college and college educators.

• Survey was quite thorough, seemed pretty thorough, Very good survey, well put together,  good questions with reasonable depth, good job

View Comments:

Students need to understand that business often involves a management track and a technical track and sometimes opportunities exist to crossover between the two. This requires an understanding of both engineering and business. The importance of good communication, good concise, precise writing, and good verbal skills should also be emphasized. Also that engineering involves the hard skills (math and science) and well as softer skills (leadership, management, social skills).

I have heard that high school students are so busy with "other things" that they don't pay much attention to career--"recruitment" should start BEFORE high school. The more specific (although entertaining) the experiences that are related to the students, the more likely to that they will be remembered and considered.

It is extremely important that the high school educators and students be educated about future opportunities in engineering. Our world is changing so rapidly & job opportunities are changing as well. Engineering opportunities that parents & teachers may believe are there for their children may not be the wave of the future.

Engineering is an integral part of developing, applying, and expanding new technologies. There are some great opportunities on the horizon, with changes in nanotechnology, hydrogen infrastructure, and the potential change from a fossil fuel economy to new forms of energy and transportation (i.e.- new nuclear plant designs, fuel cell technology, etc.).

I would hope that this survey is made available to all pre-college and college educators. Starting young is key to getting people interested. Showing them potential careers and how it incorporates technology is also key.

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