Show Menu

Disclaimer

The intent of this section was to better understand what decisions, activities and courses helped to shape the interests of ASME respondents when pursuing an engineering major.

Eighty-four (84%) percent of the engineers surveyed identified engineering as their original program of study.

 Physics, math, computer science, biology, chemistry and architecture majors were also identified. Respondents selected one engineering field over another for many reasons, including:

• Fascination with engineering objects-cars, buildings, planes, computers, etc. (60%),

• Comparison of different engineering fields to yield a decision (37%),

• Believed that there were more jobs and/or salary opportunities in a particular field (25%), and

• Influence of peers or other outside considerations (9%).

Some respondents provided specific insights as to why they selected a specific field of study.

• had an intuitive understanding of mechanical interactions and could visualize how things moved,
• liked to design cars, liked robots when I was little, was always interested in how things worked,
• mechanical was more general as a career choice with broad-based options,
• interested in the energy field, interested in environmental and alternative energy fields, wanted a degree that would help me succeed in biomedical engineering

View Comments:

I chose mechanical because it was more general that other options (such as aerospace) and thus had better long term job security/flexibility. And it was closest to my interest in physics.

ME seemed to be more broad-based and include elements of all other engineering disciplines, so it seemed the best foundation for further learning.

I could visualize the internal workings of mechanical systems better than electrical. Civil engineering is dull. Buildings just sit there.

I was determined to build a career in one particular industry, the amusement and theme park industry, and mechanical engineering was the dominant profession in ride design.

I wanted to go into Aeronautical Engineering, however, I felt Mechanical Engineering was more broad based and would offer more flexibility in industry after graduation.

I always liked design and had a strong aptitude in mathematics. I always liked taking things apart to understand how they were built and had a strong affinity to the built environment.

In terms of learning activities respondents favored - small group collaboration, independent research, projects with undefined outcomes and in-class discussions were noted below.

Design courses, projects and labs were favorites given they included hands-on activities and (at times), group collaborations.

View Comments:

The thing I liked most about engineering is the broad opportunities to work at various levels of involvement from collaboration to independent work with little definition regarding proposed outcome.

SAE Mini-baja (R) competitions. Co-op experience where I could see application of Engineering principles and concepts outside of academia.

Twenty-six percent (26%) of the respondents indicated they considered changing their major at some point during their engineering program of study. 

Most individuals said it happened during their sophomore year, a second group reported it happened during their freshman year and a smaller group identified their junior year. There was a greater percentage of women respondents who considered changing their engineering major. The following are some reasons given by most respondents. 

• Struggled in some classes with lower grades, course work was too demanding, did not know if I had the discipline to maintain grades, discouraged with my performance in major
• difficulty in a specific course (physics, calculus, fluids, circuits, differential equations, trig), had bad grades and did not see the big picture, academic word load was overwhelming

• lost motivation, not sure engineering was my true calling, started developing an interest in other disciplines

View Comments:

Thought I might have been too narrow minded in my thinking to pursue engineering since I had decided at such an early age.

I was frustrated with taking classes that I could not see where or how they fit into the body of knowledge necessary to be the type of engineer I wanted to be. i.e. I didn't care how much force would have to be exerted on an electron in a certain strength magnetic field to make it move a certain number of inches and hold it there. I wanted to be a mechanical engineer.

So much of the early course work was too general for my liking. I would have liked to have gotten more hands-on exposure to real engineering. Internships were difficult to find at that time. Now they have mechatronics and robot competitions which would have piqued my interest even higher.

Some respondents did change from one engineering field to another, but most respondents stayed the course. 

Social and family reinforcement and pressure were determining factors. Members of the faculty and administration (i.e. dean of the college) were significant help to some individuals. Other respondents based their decision on dollars (regarding potential salaries) and pride in terms of beating the challenge.

View Comments:

I was doing very poorly in class. There were two major reasons for this. One, my study habits in high school were not suited to studying in college. Two, I ran into several "weed-out" classes that required more science and technical background for success than I had been exposed to in my pre-college education.

Lack of study habits lead to poor grades and academic probation. The courses were all fundamentals with no engineering type of application or association, so I was very discouraged.

There were no women in the program at that time and the woman professor was not a strong role model. I was tired and discouraged, it was going to take me 5 years to get my degree and I considered giving up and going to something I could get done faster.

Most classmates were focused on engineering to the exclusion of all other subjects and had very narrow interests. Engineers (as a stereotype) can be quite dull and I didn't want to be thought of that way.

Engineering students had no social aspect to their college experience. The workload was high, tasks were difficult, and all my friends outside engineering seemed to be having a lot more fun than I was.

In the end, most respondents continued with their major and provided the following reasons.

• Did not want to give up, did not want to go back, could not fail, was determined and focused on earning a degree
• It is what I always wanted to do, loved being able to create, design things, found interest in a particular field, was challenged by courses, nothing else interested me like engineering
• Was encouraged from parents, wife, husband and there were lots of prayer
• It was too late to change, end was in sight, could not afford additional coursework re: another degree and prospect of increased income helped
• There was a broader job market, companies wanted mechanical engineering degrees, internship helped determine course, co-op gave me a chance to see real engineering work

View Comments:

I did not want to fail at being an engineer before I got started, and there were people that were doing worse than me.

I decided that I could 'always go back' for a teaching certificate, but that to go back for an engineering degree would be more difficult.

I knew being an engineer would provide a level of satisfaction that no other job could provide. The idea of doing something tangible that improves the life of people has deep meaning and personal reward. The other options were lawyer (too many shades of gray with respect to the truth) doctor (too much blood, although I am more and more interested in how the body works from a mechanical/chemical perspective) or a business man (I felt like I could convince people to buy something they did not need and I would have a hard time living with myself if that is how I made a living).

Considered the volatility of the job market for AE and decided that ME was broader and the job market was better overall from that perspective.

My first co-op job my sophomore year gave me a change to see what real engineering work was like and gave me a reason to hang in there.

ASME members who participated in the survey were active in terms of extra-curricular activities while in college.

Other activities that included multiple respondents were religious education, research projects, playing in local bands, ROTC, family activities (to include raising children), intramural sports, and involvement in college radio or school newspaper.  Of the almost 70% engineers who were employed (part-time or full-time), 56% participated in student chapters of a professional organization.

View Comments:

I regret not participating more in extra-curricular activities while in college. I didn't mostly under the assumption that I couldn't handle anything more than my coursework.

Undergrad at USMA (West Point) - significant time spent on military activities as a result. Full time work and church board member while attending grad school on side.

I worked out at the gym several times per week. I was also involved in ASME and some other engineering societies.

Held 3 part-time jobs to support a family of 5 with three children also in College.

Respondents identified electives (outside of engineering) that helped with their profession. Business courses were at the top of the list, followed by humanities, speech, language arts and psychology. Other popular courses/activities included technical writing, computer programming, foreign languages and life sciences.  Thirty-seven percent (37%) of women respondents identified language arts as an important consideration while 46% of men respondents favored business.

View Comments:

Political Science/Int'l Studies - gave me a very solid understanding of the international aspects of engineering.

Ethics - it provides a reminder on appropriate behavior (sometimes contrary to what other individuals do) and gives methods to fall back on when in question of a situation.  

Language has helped me tremendously (have worked in four different languages). However, no language classes were taken during university studies.  

Being in a Fraternity has given me a level of confidence in myself and the skill to easily communicate with others that I do not think exists in the classroom.

Seventy-three (73%) of the engineers surveyed said they had the necessary skills and/or experience to enter the engineering workplace when they graduated from college.  

Of the 27% who did not (feel they had the necessary skills/experience), the following are skills/experiences they felt would have been useful.

• project management skills, better critical thinking skills, presentation/speech skills and soft skills classes to include knowing how to sell ideas, read co-workers and measure customer satisfaction
• practical aspects of economics and related decisions, need for a general business knowledge
• internship, co-op would have been helpful, get our hands dirty re: applications and a better understanding of the workplace
• less theoretical and more real world problems, more hands on skills, practical knowledge and use of industry tools
• Less deriving of equations, less theory, more practical subjects useful in the workplace to include design work and building things
• more training in computers, analytical skills, software experience in programs such as visual basic and CAD
• leadership, teaming, technical writing and communication skills, legal classes, and how to network (lead and follow)

View Comments:

I highly recommend a Co Op experience to learn about the office environment and answer some critical questions about career path.

A better idea of what an engineer's job really is. There didn't seem to be any relationship between the class work I had done and what I ended up doing as an 'engineer'.

I really could have had a better college career counselor within the engineering department. Schools should encourage work-study programs. Students should be getting their hands "dirty" to have a better appreciation for what they are learning. This also helps a student to better focus on key area of interest that he/she may develop during the process.

Engineering college is still too detached from actual engineering work. The best experiences in all of my college years that actually helped me face the engineering world were an internship and a coop.

More practical work. It appeared that people with two year degrees were more up to speed then I was in mechanical design.

"real world" problems were not covered in most classes

Academics in the USA is too theoretically based. In the real work environment an engineer needs to be able to efficiently solve practical problems. There is not time to derive differential equations like one does in college.

Only because of my co-op experience. Academia did not prepare me sufficiently to be a top candidate for my career. I helped change that at my school. We revamped Engineering labs, established corporate partnerships with the Engineering Dept, and held tenured professors accountable.

I was lacking in writing skills and networking skills. Engineering is very much communications, and very little of this was taught in college. Also, networking, building and keeping relationships. This was not stressed. But everything is selling.

My technical education was very good/comprehensive. However, one class in engineering economics was not enough to give me the tools to work with other departments within the company. While I was required to spend extra hours meeting university requirements in humanities and other "core" curriculum, we were not given much of an opportunity to develop many "business" skills.

Return to Top