2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

As STEM education continues to emphasize applied and experiential learning while workforce demand for technically skilled employees accelerates, Student Veterans and Service Members (SVSMs) face a critical choice between two academic pathways: 2-year programs in engineering technology and 4-year programs in engineering. Traditionally, engineering has been positioned as the more theoretical discipline, while engineering technology has emphasized applied skills. Yet, these distinctions have blurred: contemporary engineers increasingly describe themselves as “technologists” and rely heavily on applied computational tools such as machine learning. For SVSMs seeking to translate military technical expertise into civilian credentials, this ambiguity creates a set of underexplored decision pressures. What signals do they trust in evaluating program legitimacy? How do institutional, financial, and cultural factors interact with their prior training? And what pain points arise when navigating pathways that are nominally distinct but increasingly overlapping? This project explores these gaps by examining the decision-making processes that shape SVSMs’ selection of engineering versus engineering technology degree tracks, with attention to how these choices affect both individual career trajectories and broader workforce alignment.

The purpose of this study is to explore considerations for student veterans in choosing a two-year engineering program versus a traditional four-year engineering program. Two-year technical degrees are typically offered at junior or technical colleges, while four-year engineering programs are offered at many traditional universities and colleges. This paper will focus on the results of anonymous survey responses comprised of Likert-scaled answers and some qualitative responses to gain insight on the veterans’ backgrounds, priorities, and means to higher education. Responses will help identify decision points and pressures that may affect student veterans’ degree and career choices in engineering and engineering technology, including access to career counseling resources. The student population in this paper refers to student veterans and reservists. Faculty, staff, and students who have a direct connection to the College of Engineering will be surveyed. Mixed model statistical models will be built to better understand any correlations between prior service status and degree pathway considerations.