Survey finds parents are key to encouraging kids to pursue careers in engineering

You’ve probably already noticed that good help is hard to find. This trend will continue, according to a survey requested by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and conducted by Harris Interactive. A total of 1277 kids ages 8-17 were surveyed Nov. 20-Dec. 1, 2008, and 2196 adults 18 or older, 584 of whom were parents of children ages 17 or younger, were surveyed Dec. 15-17, 2008. And what are the kids saying? Either they don’t know much about engineering (44%), they prefer a more exciting career (30%), or they’re not confident in their math or science skills (21%). On this last point, note that the largest percentage of kids ranked math (22%) and science (17%) as their favorite subjects.

The reasons are clear after reviewing results from the adult survey. Just 20% of parents have encouraged or will encourage their child to consider an engineering career, despite the fact that most parents (97%) believe that a knowledge of math and science will help their children have a successful career.

Addressing the gender gap, the survey found only 10% of girls’ parents are likely to encourage them to become an engineer, although doctor (33%), lawyer (25%), and teacher (31%) all ranked fairly high. Boys were more likely to say their parents would encourage them to pursue a career in engineering (31%), and 24% of boys vs. 5% of girls said it was a career they were interested in.

All of this supports the National Science Foundation’s assertion that there will be a shortage of 70,000 engineers by 2010. To address this impending shortfall and raise awareness, ASQ is developing a webinar for middle/high school students and their parents that will be available on its website during National Engineers Week (Feb. 15-21). It’s designed to offer specific information on what engineers do and what’s needed to become one. Two engineers—Cheryl Birdsong-Dyer with Sprint/Nextel and Chuck Kanapicki with American Bridge—will give their perspective and talk about their work on interesting projects. Got kids at home in this age range? Invite them and their friends to participate. American manufacturing may depend on it.—[email protected]