Engineering Employment Characteristics (1985) / Chapter Skim
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3. Utilization of Engineers
3. Utilization of Engineers
Pages 16-27
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From page 16... ...
Concentration ratios of engineers in the work force are discussed in the next major section, and, finally, efficiency the degree to which the engineer's technical abilities are being used- is addressed. Employment Characteristics Sector and Field of Employment According to National Science Foundation date, 8 of all employed scientists and engineers in 1982, some 75 percent were employed in business and industry.
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From page 17... ...
achelor' s Degrees Degree Field Computer specialties ~ · . cngmeermg Life sciences Mathematics Physical sciences Chemistry Physics Social sciences (including psychology Employed in Other Employed in Science and Number of Field of Engineering Bachelors Degree 1% )
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From page 18... ...
bCategory revised by BLS and now called "professional workers. " SOURCES: National Science Foundation, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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From page 19... ...
During the same period, engineers themselves became increasingly involved in production and analysis and somewhat less involved in management. The proportion of engineers involved in teaching showed little change during 1976-1980, but was relatively low, about 2.3 percent, compared with 15.7 percent for all scientists Only about half of the engineers employed by educational institutions are actually engaged in teaching)
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From page 20... ...
The percentage doing research remained essentially constant. Mobility Among Primary Activities Engineers move regularly among primary work activities; they also move entirely out of engineering and sometimes return.
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From page 21... ...
Traditionally, however, the choice of purely technical work meant a sacrifice in salary and status, because progress in one's company normally entailed assignments to other kinds of work. To ease this problem, larger companies have set up dualladder arrangements which are designed to permit engineers to move up a technical ladder, in terms of salary and status, in parallel with their counterparts on the management ladder.
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From page 22... ...
As noted earlier, many computer specialists may be converted engineers. Examination of concentration ratios indicates that one engineering discipline traditionally has tended to be dominant in each industry: mechanical engineers in the machinery industry, electrical engineers
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From page 23... ...
When the automobile industry, for example, -began- to reduce the weight of carsto improve fuel efficiency, automobile manufacturers began to hire more civil engineers to do the necessary structural analyses. Similarly, the percentages-of electrical and computer engineers in the aerospace industry have been growing steadily as the electronics and computer content of major aerospace systems has grown.
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From page 24... ...
It is not possible to separate engineering support tasks from the survey data. Even so, the ratio of technicians to a given engineering work force provides at least a crude measure of the degree to which they are freeing engineers for tasks that require engineering qualifications.
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From page 25... ...
The results of the panel's survey show in part that, in senior management's opinion, computer hardware engineers, computer software engineers, and civil engineers are the most fully utilized ;70 percent and higherJ, while aeronautical, chemical, electronics, and industrial engineers are somewhat underutilized {46 percent and lower)
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From page 26... ...
TABLE 11 Survey Results: Engineers' Views of Their Work {Civilian Engineers in Joint Logistics Commands) Respondents: Percent Satisfied with work assignments Job uses individual's potential Working as engineer in federal government is satisfying 37a 28 23 NOTE: Total sample = 1, 609 experienced engineers.
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From page 27... ...
Because certain design programs can be incorporated into CAD systems and because of interactive graphics, designing with CAD in some jobs may require less technical direction than designing without CAD. Most importantly, these new computer-aided tools permit increasingly sophisticated products to be designed in less time with substantially greater accuracy and with greater cost-effectiveness.
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