Engineering Careers Online

Technology has advanced in innumerable ways the past decade, but not in the percentage of women majoring in engineering.

“There has clearly been no progress in the last 10 years,” said Leah Jamieson, dean of Purdue University’s engineering program.

Only 20% of students in U.S. undergraduate engineering programs are women, says the National Engineers Week Foundation, a coalition of engineering societies, corporations and government agencies. [read full article at Yahoo! News]

With an $8,000 donation to Junior Achievement of Southern Massachusetts, the Verizon Foundation is teaching local students about high-growth careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as “STEM.”

The program is a revision of JA’s popular Grade 5 offering, “Our Nation.” It includes lessons that provide practical information about businesses’ need for individuals who can meet the demands of the job market, including high-growth, high-demand jobs. [read full article at South Coast Today]

IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional society, today announced Global Engineering the Future Day in commemoration of its 125th anniversary this year. IEEE Engineering the Future Day on 13 May 2009, IEEE’s official anniversary date, recognizes the contributions and impact that IEEE, its members and the world’s engineering and technology professionals have made for the benefit of humanity and is designed to raise public awareness of the diverse opportunities in different technology fields. [read full article at redOrbit]

JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society) is a national non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting engineering and technology careers to our nation’s young people. Since 1950, JETS academic competitions, educational activities, and career guidance resources have been exciting students about careers in engineering and technology. JETS makes engineering “real,” “relevant,” and “fun” by helping students discover engineering for themselves. [Learn more about JETS]

Engineers solve problems: how to build the strongest possible bridge using the materials available; how to set up layout and work processes of the factory floor to maximize output and efficiency; how to create the most efficient, bug-free software possible to instruct a computer to process certain tasks; how to create an airplane that flies farther using less fuel; and so on. [read the full overview at WetFeet]