The Influence of Out-of-school High School Experiences on Engineering Identities and Career Choice.

Students' engineering career choices are not well understood. There are a variety of factors, including irrational ones, which affect students' ultimate career decisions. Among them, out-ofschool experiences in high school can impact their career interests and decisions. We examined differences in incoming engineering students' high school extracurricular experiences, and how those experiences influenced current and future selves, as well as career plans. The data for this work come from a national survey, distributed in Fall 2013, of 15,847 students from 27 different institutions across the U.S. Among the students, 2,007 students were interested in an engineering career. Chi-square tests were conducted to examine differences in male and female engineering students' reported out-of-school experiences in high school. Additionally, regression analysis was used to study how students' high school experiences and interests predicted their engineering identity both now and in the future. Gender interactions were also examined to see if a particular interest was more or less important for women in forming their engineering identities. Students who were interested in tinkering, chemistry, engaging with the natural world, and participating in science competitions were more likely to have defined engineering perceptions of their selves now and in the future. Moreover, gender interactions were found for students who tinkered with mechanical and electrical devices and talked about science. Finally, students' engineering identities, both now and in the future, were used to predict engineering choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]