Salt Lake City, Utah
June 23, 2018
June 23, 2018
July 27, 2018
Continuing Professional Development
Diversity
15
10.18260/1-2--30223
https://strategy.asee.org/30223
414
Charles E. Baukal, Jr. has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, an Ed.D., and Professional Engineering License. He is the Director of the John Zink Institute which offers continuing professional development for engineers and technicians. He has nearly 35 years of industrial experience and 30 years of teaching experience as an adjunct. He is the author/editor of 13 books on industrial combustion and is an inventor on 11 U.S. patents.
This paper will present the results of a survey of working engineers primarily in the energy sector on their formal continuing education practices and preferences. It will not consider informal training such as reading journals and trade magazines, attending conferences, and mentoring. The survey was given to approximately 80 engineers. The following demographic data was collected: • gender • age range • ethnicity (African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic/Latino, other) • native country & language, length of time lived in the U.S. • highest engineering degree (B.S., M.S., Ph.D.) • highest engineering degree specialty (chemical, electrical, mechanical, etc.) • professional engineering license (yes or no) • primary position / role / function • employer type (industry, academia / education, government, non-profit, other) • years of working experience • employer type (e.g., industry, education, government, non-profit, other) • management role (non-supervisory, middle management, senior management) • total years of work experience Continuing education practices were collected: • number of courses taken each year • typical types of courses taken (e.g., technical; management; environmental, health & safety; legal/compliance, other) • what fraction of the courses are internally taught by the employer • what percentage of the courses taken each year are mandatory • what percentage of the courses taken each year are required by someone other than the employer (e.g., customers, licensing boards, government, etc.) • what percentage of the courses are taken for credit (college, Continuing Education Units, Professional Development Hours) • what percentage of the courses are taken outside normal working hours (e.g., nights, weekends, holidays) Continuing education preferences were collected: • if you could take more training each year, what type would it be (e.g., technical; management; environmental, health & safety; legal/compliance, other) • ranking of the participant’s preferred training delivery method (classroom, online, hybrid) The purpose of the survey is to determine what type of continuing education is currently being done in a particular industry and what would engineers prefer if they had their choice. This information is invaluable to those designing and delivering continuing professional development for engineers.
Baukal, C. E. (2018, June), Continuing Engineering Education Practices and Preferences Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30223
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