Not All the Same: A Look at Early Career Engineers Employed in Different Sub-Occupations
Samantha Brunhaver, Shannon Gilmartin, Michelle F. Grau, Sheri Sheppard, Helen L. Chen
Abstract
In recent years, the preparation of engineering students for professional practice has featured prominently in the engineering education literature. Organizations such as ABET and the National Academy of Engineering have even published lists of skills and characteristics required by graduates to succeed What many studies fail to address, however, are the varying experiences of early career engineering graduates employed in different engineering suboccupations. While many engineering graduates go on to become engineering practitioners, others pursue careers in engineering consulting, management, research, and teaching, among other options. This paper aims to better understand differences across engineering suboccupations by comparing them on various personal, experiential, and affective outcomes.