This article explores why the drop-out rate among engineering students is extremely high.Exactly how high is a "high drop-out rate"? Brace yourself, this is a big one:
In the United States, 50% of engineering students drop out or switch to a non-engineering major each year.What's up with that?In India, 450,000 students graduate each year with engineering degrees. In China, 300,000. In America? 100,000. Again, I echo,
What's up with that?The reasons behind the high drop-out rate are debatable. An engineering friend of mind noted that at his school, student enrolled in engineering-prep classes (calculus, physics, etc.) had a much heavier work-load than students pursuing other degrees. Maybe the green eye of envy gets the best of the overworked engineering students, and they wander.
At schools where engineering is a major major, such as MIT and Olin, the dropout rate is significantly lower. The heavy workload is the norm. No envy. No wanderers.
Another factor my friend proposed was the difficulty of required courses that have little to do with students' actual engineering interests. Students often have to wait until their final year of study to really delve into their chosen field. Until then, schedules are booked with seemingly (though maybe not actually) irrelevant, yet time-consuming, courses.
What's the future of Engineering? According to BusinessWeek, Engineering is the new Investment Banking. In an economy that has no room for new investment bankers, graduates that once had their sights set on Wall Street are turning to engineering jobs, instead. Will this affect the drop-out rate? You tell me.
Calling all students -- Engineering and otherwise.
Why do you think the engineering drop-out rate is so high? And what should we do to fix this problem?
