This Empirical Research Full Paper presents survey results and analyses on the types of organizations that a sizable sample of Canadian undergraduate engineering students reported wanting to work in, as well as the nature of the work activities that they wished to pursue.
Engineering students, broadly speaking, have varied vocational motivations and career aspirations. A clear picture of how these motivations and aspirations may be similar between institutions but may differ by engineering program (i.e. major), can potentially assist in enhancing retention in and diversification of the profession. In the United States, a team at Stanford pursued this general line of research starting in the mid-2000s. In Canada, an initial effort took place in 2015 using student surveys at one engineering school in Western Canada, and a more comprehensive second effort involving six engineering schools across Canada was initiated in 2023, resulting in some promising findings from preliminary analyses.
The purpose of this paper is to report on the Canadian 2023 data set, concentrating on the relationship between engineering majors and career preferences, as well as self-identity as an engineer-in-training, and motivations for pursuing studies in engineering. We have three core research questions: 1) do preferences for employment in different types of organizations and in doing different types of work vary by major, 2) do motivations for going into engineering studies and self-identity as an engineer-in-training vary by major, and 3) do career motivations and preferences vary between topical clusters of engineering majors? We have hypothesized that the answer to each of these questions is “yes” and that the results of this study will help to illustrate how they differ. This work is based in constructivism, on the assumption that students build a conception of their career path and an understanding of where and why they are on it. Preferences change with time and experience, as shown in our preliminary findings.
This study’s survey questions addressed demographics, motivations for choosing engineering, engineering identity, self-assessed personality characteristics, career aspirations, and influencing factors. Approximately 2500 students started the survey (response rate ≈10%; ranging 4–16% across institutions) and most questions had about 2000 usable responses. Responses are characterized using descriptive statistics and response pattern comparisons, with significance testing and analyses of variance.
For this paper, to ensure adequate category sizes and to produce findings of broader relevance, the types of majors in the participating engineering schools were grouped into nine categories which include: 1) Biological/Biochemical/Biomedical, 2) Mechanical/ Manufacturing/Materials, 3) Chemical / Engineering Chemistry, 4) Applied Math / Engineering Science / Engineering Physics, 5) Architectural/Civil/Geological/Mining, 6) Electrical/ Computer/Software, 7) Environmental/ Sustainability, 8) Integrated/Systems/Management, and 9) Mechatronics/Robotics.
Studies of this general nature have been conducted in the US and France with respect to specific disciplines, but we are not aware of any broader studies in the literature that have looked at such characteristics across several engineering majors, especially in Canada. Our previous work identified differences in employment preferences by gender, year of study, and institution. The anticipated contributions of this work include a revelation of similarities and differences between majors, and the provision of a more empirically-informed basis for retaining students in our profession longer. As well, a survey tool is available that can allow other institutions to conduct similar studies in Canada and elsewhere.
The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025