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Youngsters reject engineering due to lack of awareness

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
''Young people are rejecting engineering as a career choice because they don’t know enough about the profession, according to new research to mark the start of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week.



The research shows only half of 11 to 14-year-olds would consider a career in engineering and less than one in ten (7 per cent) plan to be engineers once they finish their education.



Girls in particular are not attracted to engineering as a career option, with 65 per cent saying they would not consider a career in engineering, a quarter (24 per cent) of which do not think that engineering is a suitable or attractive career for women.'' E&T Magazine



I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.



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  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    I think an interesting theme emerging is that a lot of people do not understand what engineering is. Perhaps this is an underlying issue which is contributing to preventing progress with gender inequality? I don't know - I'm shooting from the hip a bit with that statement



    Would it be wild to suggest that the profession could do more to educate the public? Something which I have been working on is a lecture on ground and wall penetrating radar, but pitched at the 'educated layman' level, rather than the high-end research level. The objective is to help the public understand how engineering benefits humanity - in this case landmine detection and anti-terrorism technology - and hope that 50-60 people leave the lecture with more respect and understanding of engineering.



    If the public is better educated, surely the change in culture and the message will filter through to children and they will view an engineering career as desirable.



    Or do we just accept that the small percentage with an interest in a career are the only ones cut out for it anyway?
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  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    I think an interesting theme emerging is that a lot of people do not understand what engineering is. Perhaps this is an underlying issue which is contributing to preventing progress with gender inequality? I don't know - I'm shooting from the hip a bit with that statement



    Would it be wild to suggest that the profession could do more to educate the public? Something which I have been working on is a lecture on ground and wall penetrating radar, but pitched at the 'educated layman' level, rather than the high-end research level. The objective is to help the public understand how engineering benefits humanity - in this case landmine detection and anti-terrorism technology - and hope that 50-60 people leave the lecture with more respect and understanding of engineering.



    If the public is better educated, surely the change in culture and the message will filter through to children and they will view an engineering career as desirable.



    Or do we just accept that the small percentage with an interest in a career are the only ones cut out for it anyway?
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