The National Academy of Engineering has done some great stuff lately (see my blog post from earlier this week), so I was looking forward to reading this study called Changing the conversation about Engineering. After all, there are good reasons for changing the public perception of engineering, including:
- Sustaining the US capacity for technological innovation
- Attracting younger people to a career in engineering
- Improving technological literacy
The public already understands that to be an engineer, you have to be good at math and science. However, that wasn’t seen by teens as a good thing, but rather a negative associated with the difficulty of achieving an engineering degree and position. The study authors determined that the branding of engineering had to be changed to appeal to teens in general, but especially to teenage girls.
The study proposes a new positioning statement for engineering:
No profession unleashes the spirit of innovation like engineering. From research to real-world applications, engineers constantly discover how to improve our lives by creating bold new solutions that connect science to life in unexpected, forward-thinking ways. Few professions turn so many ideas into so many realities. Few have such a direct and positive effect on people’s everyday lives. We are counting on engineers and their imaginations to help us meet the needs of the 21st century.
Supporting statements such as “Engineers make a world of difference”, “Engineers are creative problem solvers”, Engineers help shape the future” and “Engineering is essential to our health, happiness and safety” all tested well as supporting taglines.
Now for the bad news. The authors concluded that the price tag to change the public perception would be in the range of $12-$25MM per year for 2-3 years. Ouch!
As always, feel free to email me or post a comment. And for those who are interested, here’s a link to the press release: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12187
Thx
John
Jhayes@engineering.com