A retrospective study of elementary school experiences, influences, skills, and traits of talented engineers

Abstract

By 2012, an estimated 1.6 million engineers will be needed to support the U.S. job market. Based on the current pipeline, there is clearly a shortage of American engineers. This shortage is due to 2 factors: a substantial number of baby boomer engineers are retiring, and there are not enough U.S. students studying engineering today. The engineering field and characteristics of engineers are not well understood by children, teachers, guidance counselors, and parents. In order to identify students who may be a good fit for a future in engineering, the characteristics of today's talented engineer, one who acquires specific knowledge and a professional engineering license, need to be investigated. For this project, one research question was considered: What are the common childhood skills, traits, influences, and school experiences of talented engineers? This retrospective study piloted an instrument designed to identify the influences, skills, and traits that drew talented engineers to engineering. Participants were solicited via a link to an online survey included in an email sent to 7,000 engineering students, faculty, and practicing and retired engineers; over 1,000 responded. The demographics of the participants and the frequency of their responses were tabulated. The primary influencers identified were family, teachers and counselors, and friends, although several respondents stated that they made the decision to pursue engineering themselves without someone else's influence. The results of this survey identified the skills and traits of individuals who chose engineering study: skills in math, science, thinking, problem solving, and analytic reasoning, and traits of being focused, persistent, ambitious, task-oriented, independent, and interested in many things. In addition to curriculum modifications to increase student awareness of engineering, parents, teachers, and counselors need a familiarity of degrees and careers in engineering in order to knowledgeably discuss this field with their children and students. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2009.