2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Unpacking Professional Perceptions: How Engineering Practitioners Define "What Engineers Do"

Presented at Continuing, Professional, and Online Education Division (CPOED) Technical Session 3

Understanding how engineering professionals conceptualize their own work is fundamental to developing frameworks that inform engineering education, its practice, and professional development. The "engineering mindset" has emerged as a critical construct for understanding the values, attitudes, and thinking patterns that characterize engineering practice, yet limited research has explored how practitioners themselves articulate what engineers fundamentally do. This work-in-progress study investigates how engineering professionals describe what engineers do through qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses collected as part of a larger study on engineering mindset.

We launched an IRB-approved online Qualtrics survey targeting practicing engineering professionals across diverse disciplines and experience levels. To date, we have collected 50 responses, with ongoing data collection toward our target of 200 participants. The survey includes the open-ended prompt: "In your own words, explain what does an engineer do?" along with other questions exploring characteristics and sub-constructs of the engineering mindset. Responses will be analyzed using systematic thematic analysis, using iterative coding and categorization to identify emergent patterns in how professionals conceptualize engineering work. The analysis will examine dominant themes, variations, and conceptual dimensions that characterize and distinguish engineering practice.

Preliminary review of early responses indicates multiple dimensions in how professionals define engineering work, including a strong emphasis on problem-solving. We anticipate the findings will reveal both convergence around core engineering activities and divergence in the prominence of social, technical, and creative dimensions, potentially reflecting tensions between technical expertise and broader professional competencies documented in recent research on early-career engineer experiences. Next steps include completing data collection, conducting full thematic analysis with inter-rater reliability checks among research team members, and examining variations across disciplines and experience levels. We will triangulate these results with responses to the other survey questions about engineering mindset characteristics. This analysis will provide empirical evidence for developing a comprehensive engineering mindset framework grounded in practitioners' own perceptions, with implications for engineering curricula design, professional identity formation, and alignment between educational preparation and workplace expectations.

Authors

Dr. Gibin Raju http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2559-6931 Texas A&M University [biography]

Gibin Raju is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Engineering Education in the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M University. He earned his Ph.D. in Engineering Education from the University of Cincinnati and is a recipient of the ASEE Educational Research and Methods (ERM) Division Apprentice Faculty Grant. His research focuses on transformative learning, creativity, critical thinking skills, spatial skills, and engineering design, with particular attention to cognitive stress, cognitive load, and STEM accessibility. By integrating these strategies into a holistic framework, Dr. Raju enhances workforce development, strengthens engineering pathways, and broadens participation in STEM fields. His work equips educators with tools to personalize instruction and foster professional identity, ultimately preparing future engineers to thrive in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Dr. Jahnavi Dirisina Minnesota State University, Mankato [biography]

Dr. Jahnavi Dirisina is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrated Engineering at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Her research interests are in the field of Cognitive Human Factors with applications in Engineering Education.
Dr. Saira Anwar http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-6947-3226 Texas A&M University [biography]

Saira Anwar is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering, Texas A and M University, College Station. She received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education from the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University, USA. The Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and industry sponsors fund her research. Her research potential and the implication of her work are recognized through national and international awards, including the 2023 NSTA/NARST Research Worth Reading award for her publication in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 2023 New Faculty Fellow award by IEEE ASEE Frontiers in Education Conference, 2022 Apprentice Faculty Grant award by the ERM Division, ASEE, and 2020 outstanding researcher award by the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University. Dr. Anwar has over 20 years of teaching experience at various national and international universities, including the Texas A and M University - USA, University of Florida - USA, and Forman Christian College University - Pakistan. She also received outstanding teacher awards in 2013 and 2006. Also, she received the "President of Pakistan Merit and Talent Scholarship" for her undergraduate studies.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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