Panel: Student Self-Perceptions Regarding Their First Position after Graduation: What Are They and How Do We Help?

This panel session will provide findings from the Professional Engineering Pathways Study (PEPS) followed by an interactive discussion between the panel members and attendees. The interactive forum is intended for stakeholders interested in understanding undergraduate engineering students career choice pathways. The process of engineering graduates pursuing their first position after graduation has become an increasingly complex process. Understanding the ever-increasing number of career options, discerning the specific engineering skills employees desire for a position, and the variety of methods resulting in successfully receiving a job offer may be daunting for students. PEPS, a multi institutional longitudinal mixed methods study, studied factors such as career options, the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for those options, and student career expectations, values, and goals from both university influencer and student perspectives. The panel will highlight salient results anticipated to be of interest to academic advisors, career counselors, faculty, and students pursing their first position after graduation and act as a catalyst to an interactive discussion with attendees.