Engineering Technology Education in the United States (2017) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Findings and Recommendations
5 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 155-168
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From page 155... ...
education" evolved following World War II as engineering education became more theoretical and science focused. Chapter 3 describes the characteristics of a multi-tiered ET education system that produces engineering technicians with one or more certificates of specialization (each typically earned in a year's time or less)
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From page 156... ...
This can be explained by a combination of factors, including the field's challenges with branding and marketing itself; curricula and worker skills that overlap in some significant ways with those of engineering; and gaps in research and data collection that make it difficult to determine how differences between the two fields affect employment opportunities and benefit employers. Certainly, the large number of degree titles (nearly 50, by our count)
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From page 157... ...
The committee observes that policy discussions about the US technical workforce often omit mention of ET, focusing instead on the need for those with training in engineering and science. The committee could find little evidence at either the federal or the state level that those responsible for determining education spending or policy include ET in their planning.
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From page 158... ...
For certain populations, particularly adults already in the workforce and returning military veterans, ET programs can provide opportunity for a range of well-paying jobs requiring technical skills. Compared with some other academic areas, ET education may provide more flexibility (combining work and study)
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From page 159... ...
To encourage collaboration and avoid duplication, plans for any major new outreach should be communicated with appropriate leadership within the engineering education community, such as the Engineering Deans Council and Engineering Technology Council of the American Society for Engineering Education. SUPPLY AND DEMAND Examining supply and demand issues in ET is complicated both by the definitional confusion surrounding the field and by certain gaps in data collection by the federal government (see "Data Collection and Analysis," below)
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From page 160... ...
But, typically, an aging workforce is an indication of business expectations of weak future demand. EDUCATIONAL AND EMPLOYMENT PATHWAYS Based on the committee's review of federal data, almost 1,500 programs at more than 700 institutions around the United States provide some form of ET education.1 We found 915 programs at 470 institutions -- mostly community colleges and technical institutes -- that awarded at least one 2-year degree.
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From page 161... ...
, although in both fields women remain significantly underrepresented. Women accounted for only 10 percent and 12 percent, respectively, of those earning ET certificates and 2-year ET degrees.
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From page 162... ...
ET programs draw students from a number of segments of the population, indicating the field has potentially broad appeal. Our survey of educators showed that transfer options are most available to those in AAS degree programs, but weaknesses in the study's data collection hamper our ability to gauge the popularity of specific student pathway choices.
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is the perceived connection between particular types of work and one's income-earning potential. Engineering technicians and technologists have received roughly the same compensation, about $50,000 annually (average, in 2015 dollars)
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In contrast to the situation in ET, there is a 77 percent salary differential between engineers and engineering technologists according to ACS. FINDING 4b: Though average salary data hide potential low- and high-salaried outliers, the overall gap in earnings between technicians and technologists is quite small compared with the differential between engineering technologists and engineers.
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From page 165... ...
, currently includes field and subfield titles within the ET designation that do not contain the term "engineering technology." It is difficult for the committee to believe that every institutional representative providing data to IPEDS is aware of the nuances surrounding the field of ET. In addition, some federal datasets that utilize postsecondary degree information rely only on CIP's main field categories, making it impossible to separately analyze subfields within ET.
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From page 166... ...
. ACS, CPS, and OES each use the SOC to assign individuals to specific job types.4 The SOC currently does not provide separate job descriptions for technicians and technologists, combining them all into a category called "Engineering technicians, except drafters." An interagency work group revising the SOC is considering whether to create separate occupational categories for ET technicians and technologists.
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From page 167... ...
ACS and NSCG, which rely on self-reported data, might consider including prompts in their survey instruments to encourage more accurate reporting of degree information from those with ET degrees. A FINAL WORD This report identifies and analyzes information from a variety of sources that sheds light on the education and employment of engineering technicians and technologists in the United States.
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From page 168... ...
"President's Council on Jobs and Com petitiveness Announces Industry Leaders' Commitment to Double Engineering Internships in 2012." August 31, 2011. Available online at www.whitehouse.gov/ he-t press-office/2011/08/31/president-s-council-jobs-and-competitiveness-announces industry-leaders- (August 10, 2015)
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