Engineering students’ experiences of transition from study to work
(2010) In Journal of Education and Work 23(5). p.417-437- Abstract
- The focus in this paper is on how students experience their transition from
their education to being employed as engineers in relation to the concept
of employability. Four cohorts of students in a master’s programme in engineering were monitored annually with a ‘follow-up’ one year after
graduation. Results show that there were differences in the way students
talked about their curricular design, career plans, job search, becoming an
employee and employable, and job satisfaction. Throughout the interviews
certain turning points were identified, where the students had to make
various decisions. Many students argued that generic skills and cultural
values are best... (More) - The focus in this paper is on how students experience their transition from
their education to being employed as engineers in relation to the concept
of employability. Four cohorts of students in a master’s programme in engineering were monitored annually with a ‘follow-up’ one year after
graduation. Results show that there were differences in the way students
talked about their curricular design, career plans, job search, becoming an
employee and employable, and job satisfaction. Throughout the interviews
certain turning points were identified, where the students had to make
various decisions. Many students argued that generic skills and cultural
values are best learned in extracurricular activities and in work contexts,
and that doing a thesis project in a firm was the best learning experience.
During this thesis process, students became conscious of their valuable
employability skills, which in the job search process were a good thesis
project, a diploma from the programme, self-efficacy, problem-solving skills and a broad knowledge base. On the job, the most valuable acquired key skills were considered to be mathematics and subject-specific knowledge, problem-solving skills, time management skills, learning skills, and an ability to manage stress and heavy workloads. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/5368999
- author
- Edvardsson Stiwne, Elinor and Jungert, Tomas LU
- publishing date
- 2010
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Journal of Education and Work
- volume
- 23
- issue
- 5
- pages
- 417 - 437
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:78649747479
- ISSN
- 1363-9080
- DOI
- 10.1080/13639080.2010.515967
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 5a59e394-1cb2-4c26-82cd-26233162f7b6 (old id 5368999)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 11:01:32
- date last changed
- 2022-04-20 08:28:40
@article{5a59e394-1cb2-4c26-82cd-26233162f7b6, abstract = {{The focus in this paper is on how students experience their transition from<br/><br> their education to being employed as engineers in relation to the concept<br/><br> of employability. Four cohorts of students in a master’s programme in engineering were monitored annually with a ‘follow-up’ one year after<br/><br> graduation. Results show that there were differences in the way students<br/><br> talked about their curricular design, career plans, job search, becoming an<br/><br> employee and employable, and job satisfaction. Throughout the interviews<br/><br> certain turning points were identified, where the students had to make<br/><br> various decisions. Many students argued that generic skills and cultural<br/><br> values are best learned in extracurricular activities and in work contexts,<br/><br> and that doing a thesis project in a firm was the best learning experience.<br/><br> During this thesis process, students became conscious of their valuable<br/><br> employability skills, which in the job search process were a good thesis<br/><br> project, a diploma from the programme, self-efficacy, problem-solving skills and a broad knowledge base. On the job, the most valuable acquired key skills were considered to be mathematics and subject-specific knowledge, problem-solving skills, time management skills, learning skills, and an ability to manage stress and heavy workloads.}}, author = {{Edvardsson Stiwne, Elinor and Jungert, Tomas}}, issn = {{1363-9080}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{5}}, pages = {{417--437}}, publisher = {{Taylor & Francis}}, series = {{Journal of Education and Work}}, title = {{Engineering students’ experiences of transition from study to work}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2010.515967}}, doi = {{10.1080/13639080.2010.515967}}, volume = {{23}}, year = {{2010}}, }