The career aspirations and other characteristics of Australian para-professional engineering students

Abstract

During 2010 more than 300 students currently studying a para-professional engineering course at an Australian institution completed an online questionnaire about their educational and work experiences, and their career aspirations. Students from vocational educational and training institutions, universities and two dual-sector institutions across Australia were invited to participate in the study. This paper reports on a preliminary analysis of some of the raw data from 327 engineering students, 40% of whom are studying an Associate Degree course, 45% an Advanced Diploma, and 15% a Diploma. The key finding was that only 16% of the respondents intend to pursue a career as an Engineering Associate, with 75% indicating that they plan to undertake further studies, and 51% reporting that they have a career goal to become a Professional Engineer. These unexpected results challenge a long-held assumption that students in Australian Advanced Diploma and Associate Degree programs will pursue careers as Engineering Associates.