| The nation looks to its colleges and universities to produce increases in the number of science and engineering graduates needed to remain competitive in today's global economy. However, efforts to enlarge the nationally available pool of engineering professionals will only be as successful as graduates progress and take leadership positions within their chosen fields.; Research studies on possible selves and career self-efficacy indicate that career expectations, including those of children and students, significantly influence career outcomes and attainment. Thus, the dynamic of students' hopes, fears and goals will give specific form, meaning, and direction to resulting behaviors with significant impact on their eventual career outcomes, and on the nationally available pool of engineering professionals.; In this research study, I examined a data base of over 300 engineering seniors at nine institutions, applying logistic regressions to analyze information about their career expectations. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, I generated hypotheses about their career expectations, the factors influencing these expectations, and the potential impact of their career expectations on the availability of engineering professionals able to contribute to America's competitive technological position in the 21st century.; The study concludes that 52.1% of graduating engineering seniors students can be considered to have well-developed career progress expectations. The study further concludes that industry experience, involvement in student organizations, and the school attended influence their career expectations. The findings suggest that support of extra-academic activities and involvement for engineering students will have a positive impact on their career progress expectations and thus their ability to continue into satisfying, successful careers. |
