2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 272: Examining the Catalysts and Barriers that Early-Career Engineers Experience to Their Adaptability at Work

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

This work-in-progress paper explores the lived experiences of early-career engineers as they navigate work situations that require them to adapt. The paper is part of a broader National Science Foundation-funded research study focused on increasing the adaptability of engineering students and early-career professionals. While adaptability is a top engineering competency, few studies have sought to understand early-career engineers’ experiences with adaptability, with related literature suggesting that they may have suboptimal adaptability as a result. Our study analyses the adaptability-related supports and barriers that early-career engineers experience on the job. Semi-structured critical incident interviews were conducted with thirty early-career engineers and analyzed. Preliminary analysis revealed three kinds of factors that early-career engineers reported influencing their work adaptability: personal factors, such as whether the engineer felt confident in and agency over their ability to adapt; interpersonal factors, such as whether the engineer received sufficient mentorship from their managers and coworkers; and organizational factors, such as whether the engineer had access to adaptability-related training and development opportunities. Codebooks for both supports and barriers are presented in this paper, with findings to be explored in more detail (e.g., how adaptability-related experiences varied by social identity and/or work environment) in a later publication. Findings from this study are expected to address a gap in the literature regarding the role of industry and academia in shaping early-career engineers’ adaptability and provide guidance to organizations and universities about how to best facilitate engineers’ adaptability development. Future work will evaluate specific strategies and interventions to address this issue.

Authors

Dr. Samantha Ruth Brunhaver http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8607-5959 Arizona State University, Polytechnic Campus [biography]

Samantha Brunhaver, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor within The Polytechnic School of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Her primary areas of research include engineering career pathways and decision-making, undergraduate student persistence, professional engineering practice, and faculty mentorship. Brunhaver is a mixed-methods researcher, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and serves on the editorial board for Engineering Studies and the Journal of Engineering Education. She joined the ASU faculty in 2014 and teaches courses in the undergraduate engineering program as well as the Engineering Education Systems and Design Ph.D. program.

Brunhaver graduated with her B.S. in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award focused on fostering greater workplace adaptability among engineering undergraduates and early-career professionals. Other awards Dr. Brunhaver has won for her research include the 2021 ASEE PIC IV Best Paper Award, the 2021 ASEE WIED Division Best Paper Award, the 2017 ASEE ERM Best Paper Award, and a 2014 ASEE ERM Apprentice Faculty Grant. She was also a selected participant to the National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium in 2016. Prior to joining ASU, she worked as an engineer at A.W. Chesterton, Boston Scientific, and Procter & Gamble. She is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, and Tau Beta Pi.
Cecilia La Place http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1913-6966 Arizona State University, Polytechnic Campus [biography]

Cecilia La Place is a third-year Ph.D. student at Arizona State University (ASU) studying Engineering Education Systems & Design. She has received her M.S./B.S. in Software Engineering through an accelerated program at ASU. She researches hackathon
Joshua Owusu Ansah Arizona State University
Ms. Rachel Figard http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1524-5778 Arizona State University [biography]

Rachel Figard is a Ph.D. candidate in Engineering Education and Systems Design at Arizona State University. She received her M.S. in User Experience from Arizona State University and B.S. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University.
Rashmi Wimansa Neelawathura Arizona State University, Polytechnic Campus [biography]

I am a second-year Ph.D. student in the Engineering Education Systems and Design program at Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree in automation engineering. My research interests are early career engineers' adaptability, engineering student persistence in online learning, AI to enhance engineering efficiency, use-inspired design, and human systems engineering. I am passionate about how early-career engineers learn and utilize AI in their practice, with a focus on bridging the AI skill gap in the profession. By understanding how professionals learn and apply AI skills, I aim to develop strategies that can improve engineering education and better prepare future engineers to meet the demands of an ever-changing industry.

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