Early Transitions into the Work Force among Engineering Majors: Does Gender Matter?

• In Event: 2448 - Integrated Occupations, Segregated Experiences

Abstract

Women’s representation in engineering remains low, despite increases in the share of recent graduates who are women. Even though women with degrees in engineering are as likely as men to transition into STEM jobs following degree receipt, they are more likely to exit STEM occupations within the first few years of employment. To date, however, little research has explored the various turning points in career decision-making, and how they might be linked. This paper examines the processes utilized by men and women as they search for jobs after receiving a STEM degree in Chemical Engineering. Data are from in-depth interviews drawn from a sample of graduating seniors who completed a degree in Chemical Engineering at a northern private university and a public southern university in the spring of 2015 and 2016. Respondents (n = 42) were contacted in the year following graduation and asked about their educational and early career experiences. We categorized job search strategies as Focused, Exploratory, or Haphazard and assessed the importance of social networks and internship experience in the transition to work. Preliminary results suggest that gender disparities emerge during the job search process, despite the success of almost all of our respondents in finding jobs. Women experienced more unexpected roadblocks in their job search than men, and were more likely to describe the process as stressful and anxiety-producing. Since finding a job is one of the first exposures to the field of Chemical Engineering for recent graduates, the experience of job searching could be an important mechanism explaining who is retained within the field. Our research suggests some tantalizing hints about where the gender gap in STEM occupations begins, with the transition into the first job post-college.

Authors

• Sharon L. Sassler, Cornell University

• Emily Anne Parker, Cornell University