Career Choice of Undergraduate Engineering Students

Choosing engineering as a profession has traditionally not been a top priority among women. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), choice is contingent upon attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, all of which influence behavior. Our research aimed at determining whether the frequencies of these three factors are the same or different among women and men choosing engineering careers. We examined the set of three TPB factors for 330 undergraduate engineering students majoring in information and systems engineering and computer science. We asked the students what had led them to choose a future engineering career. Analyzing each response for recurring TPB factors and sub-factors, which were identified and validated, we found that undergraduate female students who did not express the attitudes factor in their statements are influenced by the subjective norm factor more than men. At a higher resolution, women are significantly more influenced than men by other people. Our study contributes to advancing our understanding about gender-dependent career choice by exploring factors and sub-factors that expand on TPB. These factors and sub-factors can serve researchers interested in developing tools for encouraging women to choose and retain STEM careers.