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The intent of this section was to better understand what interests, courses, activities and decisions helped to shape the ASME respondents' decisions to pursue engineering careers during their early years.

Questioning how things work, building things, taking things apart and exploring new ideas were the most popular selections during respondents' early years.

Over half enjoyed sports and athletic activities, 39% participated in arts and crafts and 36% enjoyed inventing. Other favorites included participating in music activities, reading/writing and working on cars.  

Fifty-four (54%) percent of the respondents first realized they were interested in engineering during high school or while in college (ages 15 to 22). Thirty-four percent (34%) recognized its appeal during grade school or junior high (ages 8 to 14).  A higher percentage of women respondents became interested in engineering when they reached college age, whereas a higher percentage of men became interested in engineering prior to high school age.  Three-quarters of the respondents indicated that, during their pre-college years, their interests related to engineering had been influenced by other people. Parents led the count with 46%, teachers/professors, family and other relatives accounted for 29%. Women respondents were particularly influenced by teachers and/or professors, whereas a number of men respondents were influenced by their uncles.

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The kids that picked on me for being smart motivated me to eventually show them why I was lucky to be smart.

After a class assignment to explore professions, I spent a day with a ME at my Dad's employer.

Great Grandfathers worked with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison

Uncle that could "afford to eat well" when we were struggling - He was an Engineer with a Paper Co.

Uncle Bill: Bill Weiblen was the 2001-2002 President of ASME

Respondents identified science (82%) and mathematics (66%) as overwhelming favorite areas of study in elementary and middle school. 

Reading, history, and art ranked as distant, but important seconds. Other interests that were reported by multiple engineers included music and gym. During elementary school years, a higher percentage of women respondents enjoyed reading, whereas a higher percentage of men enjoyed history.  Physical science and math were the favorite secondary school courses. Technology, social studies and music were also of interest. Other courses cited by multiple participants include drafting and wood/metal shop, English literature and language arts, and history. In terms of preferences, women respondents preferred mathematics and foreign languages, whereas men respondents preferred technology and social studies.

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I enjoyed science, but it was almost never taught and I usually knew more about the topic than my teachers.

The gifted and talented class. It was so much fun and stimulating. I did not understand why all kids couldn't go through this type of educational speed drills.

Forty-five percent (45%) of survey respondents did not participate in science fairs or other educational competitions. 

Of the 55% who did, most participated in local science fairs and band competitions. Other activities identified by multiple ASME members included math competitions and speech/debate competitions.  Sixty-one percent (61%) of the respondents indicated there were no pre-college education activities that encouraged them to become engineers. Thirty-nine percent (39%) did identify activities that gave them encouragement to include:

• summer enrichment programs at museums, university mentorship programs, specialized program for girls in engineering, honors program at a university, field trips, partner in education program, technology student association,

• science fairs and contests such as Invention Convention, Odyssey of the Mind, JETS, First Robotics, Science Olympiad, and

• physics and chemistry labs, math and AP courses.

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My high school chemistry and physics teacher had been an engineer previously and instilled a love for finding practical solutions through the application of science.

I enjoyed chemistry, physics, and math classes in high school and decided once in college that engineering would be the best way to use this interest in my career.

Physics classes involved lots of hands-on education that is conducive to satisfying engineering curiosity.

Minority student outreach programs from UC Berkeley brought a number of us 'special' kids to Lawrence Hall of Science to work on computer programming, biology, physics and also writing skills.

RC modeling probably had the largest influence, although I suspect you don't consider that as "pre-college education". Without doubt, it had a larger influence than any education I can think of.

I have always enjoyed mechanical drawing and designing useful around the house things. I used to visit my grandfather on weekends and he would build RC model airplanes with me. In addition to this, if I had a concept for something I needed he would help me design it and build it in his wood shop.

Forty three percent (43%) of the respondents indicated that during this time period, they did not receive encouragement to pursue engineering as a profession. 

Of the 57% who did, the encouragement came primarily from parents, teachers and from some guidance counselors. Thirteen percent (13%) of the surveyed engineers indicated they were discouraged from pursuing engineering as a profession during their pre-college years. There was a significantly larger percentage of women respondents. Some of their reasons included:

• teachers suggested other professions, thought such a career was beyond the reach of the student,

• was discouraged by teachers and male peers, parents that thought getting married and staying home was best profession, and

• counselors suggested other professions, they were uninformed regarding what skills were appropriate for engineering.

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Teachers and Guidance counselors told me I didn't have the math skills to pursue engineering. But I just didn't get serious about school until college.

High school counselor steered me away from science and math because they were difficult. My dad, a Chemical Engineer, got me back on track

I was having trouble in high school chemistry and was told that may be science wasn't for me. Funny thing in college Chemistry was my easiest subject.

Math was difficult for me until I learned how to unlock the mental block. Once I understood a general system to solve the math, I was in great shape. Unfortunately my teachers only showed how to solve a specific problem instead of developing a system and building capability to solve all problems.

My mother had the belief that females where suppose to stay home until they got married not become an engineer.

My father (a machinist by trade) felt that many (most?) engineers were basically stupid, because of the things they drew on paper that he had to make on a machine. He felt they didn't know what they were doing.

Relatives would often comment that you don't want to be come an engineer and deal with all of the hassles that engineers tolerate. It was often followed with you should become a bean counter, lawyer, or other business type person

I was told it was a difficult profession for a woman to get recognized in.

Almost half of the surveyed engineers indicated they would have changed their secondary school experience given the profession they selected.

The following graph depicts key areas where they would have focused their efforts.

Throughout the survey, respondents made a continuing reference to the importance of students understanding what engineering is and what engineers do for a living.  The percentage of women respondents was significantly greater (as compared to men), in that they wished they had done more research about engineering. The percentage of men respondents was greater concerning they wished they had studied harder and taken additional courses.

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If I had really understood what engineering meant I would have learned more about advanced science and math programs and how to enter the program.

The language arts aspect of engineering is highly underrated. Yes, science and math are critical, but if you cannot communicate your findings or points, it does no good.

MACHINE SHOP !!! My high school guidance counselor discouraged me from taking shop. That was the biggest mistake. As a Mechanical Engineer, I need to intuitively understand how things fit together and work. The best way to do that is by taking things apart and putting them back together.

I would have taken more courses directly related to engineering, if the opportunity to do so existed when I was in high school. I recently learned that my old high school now offers an introduction to engineering course. At the time I was in high school this could have been very valuable to me in choosing the course of my career.

Eighty-four (84%) percent of the engineers who responded did not interact with a scientist or engineer as part of any classroom activity.   

Of the 16% who did, the following are some of their experiences.

• a teacher with subject matter expertise made the class interesting and fun, helped develop good logical thinking and problem solving skills

• the engineer gave a favorable view of the profession, shared real world problems and their experiences, helped (me) to think like an engineer, think through problems and want to better understand the world.

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My physics teacher was a physicist that worked on the atomic bomb during WWII. He did not know what he was working on at the time, but after the bomb was dropped, they all realized what little parts of their research culminated in the bomb. It was very interesting discussing the emotional and scientific results of his work.

My physics teacher was a degreed mechanical engineer, it was a positive experience.

A group of engineers from a local refinery came and spoke to a group of us when we were seniors. Hearing about what they did in their jobs sounded very interesting.

Many projects and/or experiments were done with assistance from a professional from industry. These were enjoyable and often lead to greater understanding of studies and actual professional practice.

After a 10th grade class assignment to research careers, I spent a day with a Mechanical Engineer. This really helped me to understand engineering (a little) and motivated me to pursue it.

Exposure to architects, engineers and contractors had a very strong influence in my selection of engineering (as a) possible profession.

Looking back, most respondents gave insights into what types of encouragement would have been helpful to support their interests in engineering. 

Their recommendations were prioritized based on the number of similar responses.

• need more contact with engineers in the classroom, need to learn about their careers and impact to their lives, spend a day with (shadow) one, exposure to what they do, better understand their earnings, lifestyles and workforce experiences

• better understanding of what engineering is and taking the time to research different fields, need to better understand different engineering education programs

• more hands on science and learning how things work, need for practical projects such as robotics and electronics

• more exposure to exciting and better math and science programs to include college preparatory programs and a pre-college engineering course, more physics and design classes

• greater availability of science fairs and contests with more than just certificate awards, more design contests, more encouragement from teachers to participate

• having someone analyze my skills and recommend possible careers, career counselors need to be knowledgeable and positive about engineering and supportive of girls in engineering

• more engineers as teachers, persons who know something about engineering, and

• mentorship involving senior engineers, internships and work study involving engineering fields

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It would have been nice to have an engineer come to the school and present what type of work they did. In high school I was very unsure of what an engineer actually did.

Because engineering is so diverse, it would be helpful to have had more contact with the engineering community. We did have career guidance, however not much was discussed about the subject. I already knew however that I wanted to be an engineer. I just didn't know exactly what was involved in the day-to-day job.

It would have been helpful to talk to different people from different engineering disciplines to get an idea what is involved in the different areas of engineering. Learning the different directions that you can take in the mechanical engineering discipline would have also been helpful to allow me to think about what direction I may have wanted to take when going to college.

We need to get more engineers into teaching and not education majors who have little true love for the practical applications of science.

Talking to a working engineer about what they found most challenging in college & how the real world differs from the college environment.

I would like to have one-on-one discussions with engineers or scientists to understand the positives and negatives associated with this career field and what affect it had on their family / personal lives.

Most kids don't have any idea what engineering is. At least we didn't when I was in high school. Any sort of informational activity like having real engineers give a talk on what they do or having students tour engineering companies or the engineering departments in other companies would be helpful.

I was worried about making the "one and only, right" decision as to what degree to pursue. Had a counselor explained how useful, practical, and applicable a degree in engineering is, it would have been helpful.

Our guidance counselor could have given me more information on what different types of engineers there are and what jobs each does differently. I could have benefited by speaking with engineers to learn more about what their jobs are like and what all is involved in being an engineer.

I should have been encouraged not to be an engineer. I wish I had understood how under compensated and unappreciated engineers are.

Don't always accept that something works just because. If something makes you wonder why it works, find out why and how it works so you can better understand it. Don't be afraid to fail! I learned many things about the physical world by trial and error first. Textbooks are nice for learning but real world experience is the key to understanding.

More participation in design contests could have led to a more efficient path toward engineering. There were none early on, so it took me a while to figure out what I enjoyed working on. Mechanical engineering is a 24/7, 365 design contest against yourself and your companies competitors. I enjoy that competition.

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