February 4, 2004—A hefty salary clearly has its charms, but when asked to rank it among the most rewarding factors in their work, a survey of electrical engineers put money dead last.
In a poll conducted of members of The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) / IEEE-USA, in conjunction with the institute’s flagship publications, IEEE Spectrum, only three percent of those surveyed said money was their most significant reward. What really turned them on, three out of four respondents said, was inventing, building and designing new technologies and, of almost equal importance, solving real-world problems. The survey, which included working engineers and other technical professionals as well as student members, found almost identical response percentages for both groups.
That’s not to say engineers didn’t appreciate the monetary benefits of their chosen careers. About one-third of working members and 41 percent of students said they were motivated by the profession’s prestige and salary opportunities. But, the survey indicates, the real value of their work comes in ways that money can’t measure.
“People who enter technical professions are passionate about making things, making things better and making a difference in the world,” said Susan Hassler, editor, IEEE Spectrum magazine. “Even in today’s rocky economic environment, working engineers were determined to stay loyal to their profession.”
One out of five, for example, enjoyed how their profession allowed them to “have a positive influence on the environment.” Some 40 percent of working members surveyed said they had volunteered as an engineer in the community by talking to students in a classroom or helping out at a science fair. Two out of three student members said they had done so. On average, one out of every three members surveyed says they volunteered as a mentor to young people.
In general, the poll found that engineers are a happy lot, with a majority of respondents saying they like how their work lets them figure things out.
The survey indicates that when the engineering bug bites, it strikes early. Nearly half of the respondents said they knew they wanted to be technologists by the time they were 15. An astounding 13 percent said they knew by the time they were ten. Forty percent qualified as downright latecomers, making up their minds sometime between the ages of 16 and 20.
What influences a person to choose engineering as a career is as varied as the profession itself, but the survey did spot some patterns. Two-thirds said that a family member helped steer them to a technical career, while many said it was a teacher or a friend.
More than one-fourth of those polled, 27 percent, said that meeting an engineer had helped them decide to go into technology.
School courses also seemed to play an important career role. Two-thirds of those polled said they were influenced in their career choice by a math or science course. About one-third of the working professionals, 31 percent, said they were moved by a computer science course, an influence named by nearly half, 49 percent, of the students. Biology followed far behind at just eight percent, although many experts in the field expect biomolecular engineering to have a far greater effect on society than many of the current cutting-edge engineering disciplines such as nanotechnology, megacomputing and robotics.
Forty-two percent said their professional path was influenced or affected by a book or magazine article, while 28 percent had their career choices prompted by a movie or TV show.
Perhaps MacGyver had a greater impact than he’ll ever know.
The release of the survey, conducted in December 2003 and detailed in the February 2004 issue of IEEE Spectrum, coincides with National Engineers Week (22-28 February), which seeks each year to broaden public awareness of the engineering and technology fields and encourage interest among young people in math, science and engineering.
The February issue of IEEE Spectrum is available online.
