How Are the Engineering Technology Graduates Doing? a Rochester Institute of Technology 25 Year Survey

Session 2647 How Are The Engineering Technology Graduates Doing? A Rochester Institute of Technology 25 Year Survey John Stratton Rochester Institute of Technology Abstract: A study of the long term progress of the baccalaureate engineering technology (ET) graduates from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was undertaken during 1997. Approximately 550 of RIT’s 3,000 graduates and 250 of their direct supervisors replied to the survey. The results and analysis show that RIT’s ET alumni are performing effectively in a wide variety of career paths, using salary, position, and satisfaction data and comments. Introduction: The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), in Rochester, NY, is an independent university of approximately 13,300 students. Within the College of Applied Science and Technology, the engineering technology (ET) programs are administered by three departments: Civil, Electrical/Computer/Telecommunications, and Manufacturing/Mechanical Engineering Technology. The programs have a (headcount) enrollment of approximately 1,250 students, or almost 10% of the RIT enrollment. RIT’s ET baccalaureate programs were started in 1970 for transfer students only, and the first class graduated in 1973. The original programs used the Bachelor of Technology designation, with the programs changing to Bachelor of Science in 1990. First and second year students were included starting in 1988. The ET programs are offered co-op for day students and most programs are scheduled evenings for the employed part time students. RIT’s ET accreditation was initially granted in 1975 by what has become the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (TAC of ABET). Initial programs were in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Technology, with Civil Engineering Technology (1971), Manufacturing Engineering Technology (1980), Computer Engineering Technology (1985), Telecommunications Engineering Technology (1991) and Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Technology (1992) being added at the dates listed. In preparation for the Fall 1998 TAC of ABET visit, it was determined that a survey of the graduates of the past 25 years, and their immediate supervisors, was in order. Over 3,000 surveys were mailed to the alumni with known addresses. 550 of the alumni responded and 3.311.1 Page 250 of their immediate supervisors responded to this survey. Most of the surveys were complete, but a few of them were returned without a name, without part of the salary data, or with some other data missing. This report summarizes the findings of this survey. Page 3.311.2 Page 2 The Survey Form: The survey form is one that has been slightly modified from a form used by Robert L. Mott in his 1992 paper (1). Prof. Mott’s study and one done by W. D. Stanley and A. K. Verma in 1996 (2), have established the benchmarks for the data to be gathered for graduate professional recognition and satisfaction. A copy of the RIT graduate and immediate supervisor form is available upon request. (Please refer to the end of this paper for request information.) Are the Responses Representative of RIT ET Graduates? The responses are representative of the RIT ET graduates for the following reasons: • The response rate was almost 20 %. • RIT maintains a very good data base for alumni addresses. • The alumni were not pre-selected. • A cursory look at those who responded show a wide range of ability and motivation while they were at RIT. • The number of responses from Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Technology (the early RIT programs) are large enough to be significant. The number of responses from the newer programs are significant only when placed in the context of the total response. Salary Study: Graduate salaries should be compared in a number of ways. For a sample size of 550 graduates, a year by year comparison of RIT ET graduates, and as a comparison group the national Engineering Workforce Commission study of all engineering graduates (3), is included in Graph #1. This is a study of current median salary of all RIT ET graduates (or of the national engineering graduate salaries) vs. years since graduation. The data is based on salaries reported as of early 1997, reflecting 1996 salaries. Graph #1, Salary of Graduates in Thousands of Dollars Comparison of RIT ET Graduates and National Engineering Salaries Page 3.311.3 Page 3 Salary Median Years $80,000.00 $70,000.00 RIT ET GRADUATES $60,000.00 EWC ENGINEERING GRADUATES $50,000.00 $40,000.00 $30,000.00 $20,000.00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 YEARS SINCE GRADUATION Is the comparison with the Engineering Workforce Commission summary of median salaries of all engineers fair? Since almost a quarter of RIT ET graduates have a master’s degree, perhaps a small amount should be added to the EWC numbers for fairness. Even with this change, the RIT ET graduates are being compensated at about the same rate as the national survey of engineers. Another comparison of importance is the comparison of the median salaries of graduates of the various ET programs. Table #1 list salaries by program for four time periods: Table #1, 1996 Salary of Graduates in Thousands of Dollars Comparison of Salaries by RIT ET Program Years of 1973-79 1980-84 1985-89 1990-96 Graduation Civil ET 70 64 48 36 Computer ET 75 48 Electrical ET 60 65 54 43 Energy ET 52 Manu. ET 63 40 Mechanical ET 65 67 54 47 (Telecommunication ET and Electrical/Mechanical ET have too small a sample to be significant.) Page 3.311.4 Page 4 Job Titles and Descriptions: One of the most frequently asked questions is what job titles do the RIT ET graduates have in their current professional assignment. Table #2 is a summary of the self reported job titles of RIT ET programs. Table #2: Professional Job Title, RIT ET Graduates (By Percent) Category Technician Engineer Management ET Other Engr. Gen. Senior Related Civil ET 6 54 13 12 9 6 1 Comp. ET 0 52 10 6 13 20 0 Energy ET 11 33 56 0 0 0 0 Elec.ET 6 50 17 10 7 7 3 E/M ET 0 25 0 50 25 0 0 Mech. ET 1 42 23 11 7 13 3 Manu. ET 2 62 18 4 2 11 0 Tele. ET 0 100 0 0 0 0 0 Total ET 4 50 17 10 7 9 2 Definitions: Technician: Includes Senior Technician. No Technologist reported. Engineer: Engineer in title, but no manager title. Engr. Mgt.: Manager of engineering, project or design functions. General Mgt.: Other functions related to industrial management. Senior Mgt.: President, Owner, Principal, or other high ranking official. ET Related: Did not contain engineer in title, clearly uses ET education. Other: Does not appear to require ET education. Page 3.311.5 Page 5 Another way of looking at the professional responsibilities of ET graduates is by their self- identified job descriptions. Table #3 is a summary of such descriptions. A graduate was able to chose any number of descriptions which apply to their current position, so the percentages add to more than 100%. Table #3: Job Descriptions of RIT ET Graduates Job Description General Management 7% Systems Design 7% Engineering Management 20% Product Evaluation & Testing 5% Sales and Marketing Management 4% Hardware/Software Development 9% Health Care Management 0% Controls Engineering 4% Service Industries Management 0% Manufacturing Engineering 9% Manufacturing / Operations Man, 5% Process Design 4% Plant Engineering Management 1% Plant Engineering 3% Maintenance Management 3% Methods/Standards Engineering 2% Management of other functions 1% Quality Assurance 6% Sales and Marketing 4% Production Planning & Control 2% Purchasing 1% Plant Layout 2% Technical Services 7% Research & Development 4% Field/Applications Engineering 8% Education 2% Product Planning 2% Product Design 6% Environmental Engineering 3% Engineering Design 16% Construction 8% Other Non-Technical 2% Other Technical 8% Graduate Education: Are baccalaureate ET degrees terminal? Many remember statements of the AAS degree as being “terminal”, and the same question is sometimes raised about the BS degrees in engineering technology. Table #4 summarizes the graduate education resources. Page 3.311.6 Page 6 Table #4: Graduate Education, RIT ET BT & BS Graduates By Percent Category Some MBA MS All Ph.D. Graduate Any MS Any Work Field Field Civil ET 20 5 8 13 0 Comp. ET 43 3 26 29 0 Elec. ET 41 14 14 28 0.2 Mech. ET 41 9 13 22 0.2 Manu. ET 41 22 10 32 0 Other ETToo Small A Sample All ET/Yr. 73-79 38 15 12 27 1 80-84 43 17 13 30 0 85-89 38 11 17 28 0.5 90-96 26 3 8 11 0 All ET 36 11 13 24 0.4 In table #4, one of the PhD’s was in Mechanical Engineering, the other one did not report a field. Of the MS degrees, most were in engineering, engineering management, or a specialized technology. There were a few MS degrees in fields not directly related to ET or management. This data clearly shows that the BSET degree is not terminal. Licenses or Certifications: Are ET graduates licensed as professional engineers or certified in some other way to practice in an engineering or related profession? The first question is related to the PE license, which is allowed for ET graduates in New York and many surrounding states. The second question is a difficult one to define. Rather than limit the responses, the graduates were allowed to list their particular certifications. The responses are included in Table #5. Table #5: Licenses or Certifications of RIT ET Graduates, By Percent Program: EIT (Not Yet PE) PE Certifications Civil ET 30% 24% 24% Computer ET 0% 0% 39% Electrical ET 0% 2% 35% Elec./Mech.

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