ERIC Number: ED229251
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1983
Pages: 17
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The New Engineer: Black and White, Male and Female.
LeBold, William K.; And Others
This report examines and compares early career decisions, initial and 1981 employment, professional activities, and post-graduate education of new, non-traditional engineering graduates (women, Hispanics, Blacks) with their traditional peers. About one-half of the 6,000 surveys mailed to a sample of these engineering graduates (N=1720 men and 1080 women) were returned. Relatively few differences between male/female and minority/majority graduates were found in their initial/current employment, professional activities/achievement, and factors influencing career decisions. Technical responsibilities increased with experiences with no significant sex/ethnic differences. Men reported significantly higher supervisory responsibilities and salaries 10 years after graduating than women. The majority of all groups had pursued or were pursuing some post-bachelor's education, with women/Black-Americans leaning more toward graduate work in management than men/majority graduates. Work-related factors tended to be the most important factors influencing engineers' career decisions; female/minority graduates were more apt to cite a wider variety of factors than male/minority graduates. Men were more apt than women to cite relevant work experiences and hobbies as factors influencing their career decision. Engineers had relatively high self-perceptions. Men were more likely to assess their athletic, mechanical, and visualization abilities higher than women, but women rated their artistic, mathematical, and interpersonal-relations abilities higher than men. (Author/JN)
Descriptors: Blacks, Career Choice, Employment Level, Engineering Education, Engineers, Females, Graduate Surveys, Higher Education, Hispanic Americans, Job Performance, Minority Groups, Nontraditional Students, Performance Factors, Racial Differences, Salaries, Self Concept, Sex Differences, Work Attitudes
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation, Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A