Osborne Research & Evaluation Workforce Continuum: Preliminary Request for Comments Findings The Understanding the Engineering Education-Workforce Continuum request for comments was developed and administered in order to help determine topics that will be discussed at the upcoming NAE Workshop on Pathways for Engineering Talent. A request for comments form was used to gather quantitative and qualitative information regarding perceptions of importance of a number of engineering education- and career-related issues. A link to the web-based request for comments was distributed to a number of stakeholders to ensure that a range of invested groups could offer their insights. Results represent the perceptions of those who responded to the request for comments and are not generalizable. Preliminary results are presented in this report. First, two tables illustrating the overall demographics of the sample are presented by Career Level (Table 1) and Stakeholder Group (Table 2) to provide context for the responses. Second, overall responses for each quantitative question are provided in Table 3. Tables 4-6 present responses for three questions that resulted in substantial differences related to the level of importance of the topics by Stakeholder Group. Finally, an overview of the qualitative data is provided in Table 7. Participants The request for comments was completed by 876 participants. The majority of respondents reported being mid- to late-career, although all career levels were represented (Table 1). Table 1 Career Level N % Pre-Career (Student) 99 11.3% Early Career 89 10.2% Mid-Career 350 40.0% Late Career 298 34.0% Retired 38 4.3% 874 99.8% Additionally, the participants represented nine specific Stakeholder Groups as well as additional groups that were captured in the Other classification. Faculty and Engineers Working in Industry comprised the two largest groups of participants (Table 2). Table 2 Stakeholder Group Represented N % Faculty 315 36.0% Engineer working in Industry 149 17.0% Student 109 12.5% Employer/Manager of Engineers 104 11.9% Administration 84 9.6% Leader within Professional Society 56 6.4% State or Federal Government Representative 20 2.3% Academic/Career Counselor 10 1.1% Foundation or Federal Funding Representative 5 0.6% Other 22 2.5% 874 99.9%* *s throughout the data tables may not add up to 100% due to rounding. 4600 W. GUADALUPE ST., SUITE B412, AUSTIN, TX 78751 P H O N E 202-716-6225
Responses to Quantitative Questions Preliminary results associated with responses are presented in this section. Responses were coded into three levels: Very /,, and Importance/, to indicate relative levels of importance placed on each question by the respondents. Overall importance placed on each question For each question, results are reported to demonstrate the levels of importance that the participants placed on each question. Yellow highlighting is used for easy identification of the five questions that received the highest level of agreement that the issue was Very / to learn more about. The five questions eliciting the fewest Very / responses are highlighted in blue. Table 3 Very or Importance or How important is it to define or outline N % N % N % the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are associated with engineering? (N=876) 829 94.6% 39 4.5% 8 0.9% the role of engineering talent to US technological innovation and economic growth? (N=871) 804 92.3% 52 6.0% 15 1.7% what an engineer is/does? (N=876) 793 90.5% 69 7.9% 14 1.6% How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful in engineering occupations? (N=873) 836 95.8% 28 3.2% 9 1.0% the need for degreed engineers? (N=875) 783 89.5% 70 8.0% 22 2.5% the recruiting and hiring practices for engineering talent? (N=871) 721 82.8% 126 14.5% 24 2.8% what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful and/or transfer to careers outside of engineering occupations? (N=725) 725 82.8% 129 14.7% 19 2.2% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about N % N % N % the ability of those working as engineers to adapt to changing employment and employer needs? (N=874) 789 90.3% 75 8.6% 10 1.1% US institutional capacity for producing engineering graduates? (N=874) 661 75.6% 171 19.6% 42 4.8% differences in the career trajectories of engineering talent from underrepresented groups? (N=868) 597 68.8% 198 22.8% 73 8.4% 2
Very or Importance or Related to the motivations and decisionmaking of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about the economic factors associated with engineering students' and recent graduates' career decision-making? (N=873) 743 85.1% 100 11.5% 30 3.4% the non-economic factors associated with engineering students' and recent graduates' career decision-making? (N=869) 689 79.3% 154 17.7% 26 3.0% students' and recent graduates' unwillingness and/or willingness to leave engineering? (N=872) 581 66.6% 228 26.1% 63 7.2% differences in the decision-making factors associated with gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering students and recent graduates? (N=872) 575 65.9% 175 20.1% 122 14.0% In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about the economic factors associated with engineering talent career decision-making? (N=871) 719 82.5% 128 14.7% 24 2.8% the non-economic factors associated with engineering talent career decision-making? (N=866) 683 78.9% 155 17.9% 28 3.2% engineering talent's unwillingness and/or willingness to leave engineering? (N=865) 576 66.6% 238 27.5% 51 5.9% differences in the decision-making factors associated with the gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering talent? (N=862) 560 65.0% 187 21.7% 115 13.3% Overwhelmingly, respondents indicated that the topics included in the request for comments were Very / to learn more about. For 13 of the 18 questions, respondents indicated with 76-96% agreement that the areas of concern were Very / to learn more about. Five questions received 65-69% agreement that the topics were Very / to learn more about. Also of note, it appears that all of the questions focusing on decision-making were over-represented among the responses that yielded the lowest percent of Very / support. Questions with more than 90% or less than 70% agreement that the topic was Very / to learn more about were analyzed separately by Career Level and Stakeholder Group to determine if and to what extent differences in perceptions of importance varied by groups. Career Level analyses did not yield substantial differences between groups nor did those by Stakeholder Group (data are available for review in Appendix A). For three questions, however, differences by Stakeholder Group emerged. These data are presented in the following section. Variation in Responses for Select Questions by Stakeholder Group Three questions elicited differences in relative levels of agreement when viewed by Stakeholder Group. The following questions are presented in this section to demonstrate the groups who place 3
more and less value on learning more about the topics. Yellow is used to highlight the highest agreement of relative importance and blue is used to draw attention to the groups who reported the lowest levels of agreement that the topic was Very / to learn more about. Question: Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about differences in the decision-making factors associated with gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering students and recent graduates? Table 4 Stakeholder Group Very or Faculty 228 73.5% 58 18.7% 24 7.7% 301 99.9% Student 77 70.6% 22 20.2% 10 9.2% 109 100.0% Engineer working in Industry 76 51.4% 57 38.5% 15 10.1% 148 100.0% Employer/Manager of Engineers 61 59.2% 24 23.3% 18 17.5% 103 100.0% Leader within Professional Society 44 78.6% 10 17.9% 2 3.6% 56 100.1% State or Federal Government Representative 15 75.0% 4 20.0% 1 5.0% 20 100.0% Academic/Career Counselor 8 80.0% 20 20.0% 0 0.0% 28 100.0% Foundation or Federal Funding Representative 4 80.0% 1 20.0% 0 0.0% 5 100.0% Other 13 59.1% 8 36.4% 1 4.5% 22 100.0% 596 216 72 884 Only 51% of Engineers Working in Industry and 59% of Employer/Managers of Engineers reported that they felt it was important to learn more about the gender and race/ethnicity factors that are associated with motivations and decision-making of engineering students. Yet, 80% of Academic/Career Counselors (note, however, the low N), agreed that it should be a high priority. 4
Question: In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about differences in the decision-making factors associated with the gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering talent? Table 5 Stakeholder Group Very or Faculty 223 71.7% 58 18.6% 30 9.6% 311 99.9% Engineer working in Industry 70 47.6% 42 28.6% 35 23.8% 147 100.0% Student 69 63.9% 23 21.3% 16 14.8% 108 100.0% Administration 69 85.2% 12 14.8% 0 0.0% 81 100.0% Employer/Manager of Engineers 47 46.5% 27 26.7% 27 26.7% 101 99.9% Leader within Professional Society 41 74.5% 11 20.0% 3 5.5% 55 100.0% State or Federal Government Representative 15 75.0% 3 15.0% 2 10.0% 20 100.0% Academic/Career Counselor 9 90.0% 1 10.0% 0 0.0% 10 100.0% Foundation or Federal Funding Representative 4 80.0% 1 20.0% 0 0.0% 5 100.0% Other 13 59.1% 8 36.4% 1 4.5% 22 100.0% 560 186 114 860 Similar to the data in Table 4, a similar pattern emerged when asked about the importance of learning more about the effects that gender and race/ethnicity may have on occupational mobility throughout an engineering career. Again, a high percent of Academic/Career Counselors felt this was Very / while Engineers Working in Industry and Employers/Managers of Engineers had the lowest level of agreement that it was highly important. Though less pronounced than the disparity in agreement demonstrated in the previous two tables, there appears to be some disagreement about the importance of outlining skills associated with engineering education and how useful it might be to careers outside of engineering (Table 6). Only 70-79% of Engineers Working in Industry, Students, Administrators, and State or Federal Government Representatives find this topic to be Very / to learn more about while Leaders within Professional Societies and Academic/Career Counselors share over 90% agreement. When asked about the relative level of importance regarding learning more about outlining skills, knowledge, and abilities associated with engineering education and how useful it is within engineering occupations, however, there was no substantial difference in agreement among Stakeholder Groups (see Appendix A, Table 21) 5
Question: How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful and/or transfer to careers outside of engineering occupations? Table 6 Stakeholder Group Very or Faculty 272 86.3% 36 11.4% 7 2.2% 315 99.9% Engineer working in Industry 115 77.7% 31 20.9% 2 1.4% 148 100.0% Student 83 79.8% 18 17.3% 3 2.9% 104 100.0% Administration 82 75.9% 23 21.3% 3 2.8% 108 100.0% Employer/Manager of Engineers 73 88.0% 10 12.0% 0 0.0% 83 100.0% Leader within Professional Society 53 94.6% 3 5.4% 0 0.0% 56 100.0% State or Federal Government Representative 14 70.0% 5 25.0% 1 5.0% 20 100.0% Academic/Career Counselor 9 90.0% 1 10.0% 0 0.0% 10 100.0% Foundation or Federal Funding Representative 4 80.0% 1 20.0% 0 0.0% 5 100.0% Other 19 86.4% 2 9.1% 1 4.5% 22 100.0% 705 128 16 871 Open-Ended Questions Three questions were asked that allowed respondents to articulate their perspectives more specifically. The first open-ended question was: Thinking now about the items you indicated were important or very important to understand/learn more about, which issue do you consider to be the MOST important to better understand/learn more about? If you were to learn more about this topic, how do you think you could use the information? Five hundred sixty-six participants provided a response to this question. Each topic from the quantitative questions was identified and coded to determine which areas were of primary concern according to the respondents. Four topics were identified by more than 20 participants as Most to learn more about. They are highlighted in the table below. 6
Table 7 Lynette Osborne, Ph.d. Question topic identified as MOST IMPORTANT to learn more about Count How is it to define or outline the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are associated with engineering? 63 In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about the non-economic factors associated with engineering talent career decisionmaking? 31 In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about differences in the decision-making factors associated with the gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering talent? 22 Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about differences in the decision-making factors associated with gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering students and recent graduates? 20 Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about the non-economic factors associated with engineering students' and recent graduates' career decision-making? 19 How is it to define or outline the role of engineering talent to US technological innovation and economic growth? 17 In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about the ability of those working as engineers to adapt to changing employment and employer needs? 17 How is it to define or outline what an engineer is/does? 16 In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about the economic factors associated with engineering talent career decision-making? 14 In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about engineering talent's unwillingness and/or willingness to leave engineering? 13 In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about the need for degreed engineers? 11 In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about differences in the career trajectories of engineering talent from underrepresented groups? 11 Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about students' and recent graduates' unwillingness and/or willingness to leave engineering? 11 In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about the recruiting and hiring practices for engineering talent? 10 Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about the economic factors associated with engineering students' and recent graduates' career decision-making? 10 How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful in engineering occupations? 6 How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful and/or transfer to careers outside of engineering occupation? 6 In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about US institutional capacity for producing engineering graduates? 5 Defining or outlining the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are associated with engineering, was the topic that yielded the most support from participants (N=63). The second most important topic identified by the group was related to learning more about the non-economic factors associated with engineering talent career decision-making (N=31). The other two topics that emerged as important for future exploration are both related to how gender and race/ethnicity of affects decision-making of degreed engineers (N=20) and occupational movement of engineering talent (N=22). Of note, some the areas ranked as Most by a majority of respondents in the qualitative question were ranked somewhat low when asked about their relative levels of importance in the quantitative questions (see Table 3). This may be an important area to explore in more detail at the workshop. Data from the other two open-ended questions were also coded and analyzed as well. These two questions were: Is there anything not addressed on the request for comments that you think is 7
critical to learn more about regarding the relationship between engineering education and engineering talent? N=411) and Is there anything regarding this relationship that you think has received sufficient attention and need not be the focus of additional efforts? (N=198). While a number of participants completed these questions, themes did not emerge from these data. This may be due to the unique perspectives and experiences of each participant. Additional analysis will be needed to further explore these questions. Conclusion and Recommendations Overall, the preliminary analysis of the questions indicates that the majority of participants feel the topics raised are important to learn more about. Few topics were identified as or Of Little Importance/, and in no case were these responses higher than those for Very /. Analysis of the qualitative data indicate that defining and/or outlining the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are associated with engineering is of critical importance to learn more about. These results should be considered when developing topics for the upcoming workshop and breakout session group assignments. While overall there was a general consensus that the majority of the topics were Very / to learn more about, it might be worth exploring the topics found to be less important by specific Stakeholder Groups. These data were provided to inform the in-progress decisions regarding topics for the upcoming Workshop. Additional analysis of the data is forthcoming and will be included in the final report with an analysis of the upcoming Workshop. 8
Appendix A Additional Data Tables 9
Each of the questions from the overall ratings that received 90-100% responses as Very / were analyzed by Career Level and Stakeholder Group to determine if and to what extent differences may exist between groups. In addition, the two questions that received the lowest share of the responses as Very / are also delineated by Career Level and Stakeholder Group to show the extent to which different groups may have different priorities related to the issues. Question: How is it to define or outline the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are associated with engineering? Table 8 Career Level Very or * Pre-Career (Student) 85 85.9% 11 11.1% 3 3.0% 99 100% Early Career 87 97.8% 1 1.1% 1 1.1% 89 100% Mid-Career 333 95.1% 16 4.6% 1 0.3% 350 100% Late Career 286 96.0% 9 3.0% 3 1.0% 298 100% Retired 36 94.7% 2 5.3% 0 0.0% 38 100% 827 39 7 874 Table 9 Stakeholder Group Very or Faculty 301 95.6% 12 3.8% 2 0.6% 315 100% Engineer working in Industry 144 96.6% 4 2.7% 1 0.7% 149 100% Employer/Manager of Engineers 99 95.2% 5 4.8% 0 0.0% 104 100% Student 95 87.2% 11 10.1% 3 2.8% 109 100% Administration 81 96.4% 2 2.4% 1 1.2% 84 100% Leader within Professional Society 53 94.6% 3 5.4% 0 0.0% 56 100% State or Federal Government Representative 18 90.0% 2 10.0% 0 0.0% 20 100% Academic/Career Counselor 10 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 10 100% Foundation or Federal Funding Representative 5 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 5 100% Other 21 95.5% 0 0.0% 1 4.5% 22 100% 827 39 8 874 10
Question: How is it to define or outline what an engineer is/does? Table 10 Career Level Very or Pre-Career (Student) 86 86.9% 10 10.1% 3 3.0% 99 100% Early Career 81 91.0% 7 7.9% 1 1.1% 89 100% Mid-Career 317 90.6% 30 8.6% 3 0.9% 350 100% Late Career 272 91.3% 20 6.7% 6 2.0% 298 100% Retired 35 92.1% 2 5.3% 1 2.6% 38 100% 791 69 14 874 Table 11 Stakeholder Group Very or Faculty 290 92.1% 22 7.0% 3 1.0% 315 100% Engineer working in Industry 133 89.3% 13 8.7% 3 2.0% 149 100% Employer/Manager of Engineers 94 90.4% 8 7.7% 2 1.9% 104 100% Student 94 86.2% 12 11.0% 3 2.8% 109 100% Administration 80 95.2% 3 3.6% 1 1.2% 84 100% Leader within Professional Society 50 89.3% 5 8.9% 1 1.8% 56 100% State or Federal Government Representative 17 85.0% 3 15.0% 0 0.0% 20 100% Academic/Career Counselor 10 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 10 100% Foundation or Federal Funding Representative 5 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 5 100% Other 18 81.8% 3 13.6% 1 4.5% 22 100% 791 69 14 874 11
Question: How is it to define or outline the role of engineering talent to US technological innovation and economic growth? Table 12 Career Level Very or Pre-Career (Student) 88 89.9% 10 10.2% 0 0.0% 98 100% Early Career 76 86.4% 9 10.2% 3 3.4% 88 100% Mid-Career 329 94.3% 16 4.6% 4 1.1% 349 100% Late Career 271 91.6% 17 5.7% 8 2.7% 296 100% Retired 38 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 38 100% 802 52 15 869 Table 13 Stakeholder Group Very or Faculty 294 93.9% 11 3.5% 8 2.6% 313 100% Engineer working in Industry 132 88.6% 13 8.7% 4 2.7% 149 100% Employer/Manager of Engineers 95 91.3% 7 6.7% 2 1.9% 104 100% Student 94 87.9% 13 12.1% 0 0.0% 107 100% Administration 83 98.8% 1 1.2% 0 0.0% 84 100% Leader within Professional Society 52 92.9% 3 5.4% 1 1.8% 56 100% State or Federal Government Representative 18 90.0% 2 10.0% 0 0.0% 20 100% Academic/Career Counselor 10 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 10 100% Foundation or Federal Funding Representative 4 80.0% 1 20.0% 0 0.0% 5 100% Other 20 95.2% 1 4.8% 0 0.0% 21 100% 802 52 15 869 12
Question: How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful in engineering occupations? Table 14 Career Level Very or Pre-Career (Student) 89 90.8% 5 5.1% 4 4.1% 98 100% Early Career 86 96.6% 3 3.4% 0 0.0% 89 100% Mid-Career 338 96.8% 8 2.3% 3 0.9% 349 100% Late Career 285 96.0% 10 3.4% 2 0.7% 297 100% Retired 36 94.7% 2 5.3% 0 0.0% 38 100% 834 28 9 871 Table 15 Stakeholder Group Very or Faculty 304 96.5% 9 2.9% 2 0.6% 315 100% Engineer working in Industry 145 98.0% 2 1.4% 1 0.7% 148 100% Employer/Manager of Engineers 99 95.2% 5 4.8% 0 0.0% 104 100% Student 97 89.8% 7 6.5% 4 3.7% 108 100% Administration 79 95.2% 2 2.4% 2 2.4% 83 100% Leader within Professional Society 53 94.6% 3 5.4% 0 0.0% 56 100% State or Federal Government Representative 20 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 20 100% Academic/Career Counselor 10 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 10 100% Foundation or Federal Funding Representative 5 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 5 100% Other 22 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 22 100% 834 28 9 871 13
Question: In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about the ability of those working as engineers to adapt to changing employment and employer needs? Table 16 Career Level Very or Pre-Career (Student) 87 87.9% 10 10.1% 2 2.0% 99 100% Early Career 79 89.8% 6 6.8% 3 3.4% 88 100% Mid-Career 313 89.4% 34 9.7% 3 0.9% 350 100% Late Career 275 92.6% 20 6.7% 2 0.7% 297 100% Retired 33 86.8% 5 13.2% 0 0.0% 38 100% 787 75 10 872 Table 17 Stakeholder Group Very or Faculty 290 92.7% 21 6.7% 2 0.6% 313 100% Engineer working in Industry 129 86.6% 17 11.4% 3 2.0% 149 100% Student 96 88.1% 11 10.1% 2 1.8% 109 100% Employer/Manager of Engineers 92 88.5% 11 10.6% 1 1.0% 104 100% Administration 78 92.9% 5 6.0% 1 1.2% 84 100% Leader within Professional Society 50 89.3% 5 8.9% 1 1.8% 56 100% State or Federal Government Representative 18 90.0% 2 10.0% 0 0.0% 20 100% Academic/Career Counselor 10 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 10 100% Foundation or Federal Funding Representative 5 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 5 100% Other 19 86.4% 3 13.6% 0 0.0% 22 100% 787 75 10 872 14
For each of the two largest groups of participants Faculty and Engineers Working in Industry, I have presented their selections for Very / in descending order of importance to illustrate the topics for which these groups converge and diverge on areas of perceived importance. The highest areas of concern for both groups are the same, but then a divergence in opinions emerges. Ranking of Very / issues for Faculty and Engineering Working in Industry Table 18 FACULTY ONLY (N=313) Very or ENGINEERS IN INDUSTRY ONLY (N=149) Very or N % N % How important is it to define How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful in engineering occupations? 304 96.5% what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful in engineering occupations? 145 97.3% How is it to define or outline the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are associated with engineering? 301 95.6% How important is it to define or outline the role of engineering talent to US technological innovation and economic growth? 294 93.3% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about the ability of those working as engineers to adapt to changing employment and employer needs? 290 92.7% How is it to define or outline what an engineer is/does? 290 92.1% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about the need for degreed engineers? 285 90.5% How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful and/or transfer to careers outside of engineering occupation? 272 86.3% How is it to define or outline the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are associated with engineering? 144 96.6% How is it to define or outline what an engineer is/does? 133 89.3% How is it to define or outline the role of engineering talent to US technological innovation and economic growth? 132 88.6% In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about the economic factors associated with engineering talent career decision-making? 129 87.2% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about the need for degreed engineers? 129 86.6% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about the ability of those working as engineers to adapt to changing employment and employer needs? 129 86.6% 15
Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about the economic factors associated with engineering students' and recent graduates' career decisionmaking? 262 83.2% Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about the economic factors associated with engineering students' and recent graduates' career decision-making? 125 84.5% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about the recruiting and hiring practices for engineering talent? 254 81.2% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about the recruiting and hiring practices for engineering talent? 122 81.9% Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about the non-economic factors associated with engineering students' and recent graduates' career decision-making? 251 79.7% How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful and/or transfer to careers outside of engineering occupation? 115 77.7% In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about the economic factors associated with engineering talent career decision-making? 248 79.5% In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about the non-economic factors associated with engineering talent career decision-making? 243 78.6% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about US institutional capacity for producing engineering graduates? 241 76.5% In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about the noneconomic factors associated with engineering talent career decision-making? 113 76.9% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about US institutional capacity for producing engineering graduates? 110 73.8% Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about the noneconomic factors associated with engineering students' and recent graduates' career decision-making? 106 72.6% 16
Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about differences in the decision-making factors associated with gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering students and recent graduates? 238 75.60% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about differences in the career trajectories of engineering talent from underrepresented groups? 228 73.50% In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about differences in the decision-making factors associated with the gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering talent? 223 71.7% In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about engineering talent's unwillingness and/or willingness to leave engineering? 221 71.1% Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about students' and recent graduates' unwillingness and/or willingness to leave engineering? 220 69.8% In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about engineering talent's unwillingness and/or willingness to leave engineering? 92 62.60% Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about students' and recent graduates' unwillingness and/or willingness to leave engineering? 89 60.10% In terms of the supply of engineers and recruiting engineers, how important is it to learn about differences in the career trajectories of engineering talent from underrepresented groups? 76 51.4% In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about differences in the decision-making factors associated with the gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering talent? 70 47.6% Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about differences in the decision-making factors associated with gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering students and recent graduates? 66 44.6% 17
Question: Related to the motivations and decision-making of current students and recent graduates, how important is it to learn about differences in the decision-making factors associated with gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering students and recent graduates? Table 19 Career Level Very or Pre-Career (Student) 69 69.7% 20 20.3% 10 10.1% 99 100.1% Early Career 69 77.5% 14 15.7% 6 6.7% 89 99.9% Mid-Career 236 68.2% 79 22.8% 31 9.0% 346 100.0% Late Career 195 66.3% 75 25.5% 24 8.2% 294 100.0% Retired 26 68.4% 10 26.3% 2 5.3% 38 100.0% 595 198 73 866 Question: In terms of occupational movement of engineering talent from first job to retirement, how important is it to learn about differences in the decision-making factors associated with the gender, race/ethnicity of the engineering talent? Table 20 Career Level Very or Pre-Career (Student) 62 63.9% 21 21.6% 14 14.4% 97 99.9% Early Career 59 67.8% 12 13.8% 16 18.4% 87 100.0% Mid-Career 231 66.6% 74 21.3% 42 12.1% 347 100.0% Late Career 182 62.5% 71 24.4% 38 13.1% 291 100.0% Retired 25 65.8% 8 21.1% 5 13.2% 38 100.1% 559 186 115 860 Question: How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful in engineering occupations? Table 21 Very or Career Level N % N % N % Pre-Career (Student) 89 90.8% 5 5.1% 4 4.1% 98 Early Career 86 96.6% 3 3.4% 0 0.0% 89 Mid-Career 338 96.8% 8 2.3% 3 0.9% 349 Late Career 285 96.0% 10 3.4% 2 0.7% 297 Retired 36 94.7% 2 5.3% 0 0.0% 38 834 28 9 871 18
Question: How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful in engineering occupations? Table 22 Very or Job Type N % N % N % Faculty 304 96.5% 9 2.9% 2 0.6% 315 Engineer working in Industry 145 98.0% 2 1.4% 1 0.7% 148 Employer/Manager of Engineers 99 95.2% 5 4.8% 0 0.0% 104 Student 97 89.8% 7 6.5% 4 3.7% 108 Administration 79 95.2% 2 2.4% 2 2.4% 83 Leader within Professional Society 53 94.6% 3 5.4% 0 0.0% 56 State or Federal Government Representative 20 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 20 Academic/Career Counselor 10 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 10 Foundation or Federal Funding Representative 5 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 5 Other 22 100.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 22 Question: How important is it to define what knowledge, skills, and abilities gained during an engineering education are useful and/or transfer to careers outside of engineering occupations? Table 23 Very or Career Level N % N % N % Pre-Career (Student) 76 77.6% 19 19.4% 3 3.1% 98 Early Career 77 86.5% 9 10.1% 3 3.4% 89 Mid-Career 291 83.4% 54 15.5% 4 1.1% 349 Late Career 248 83.5% 42 14.1% 7 2.4% 297 Retired 31 81.6% 5 13.2% 2 5.3% 38 723 129 19 871 19