If the U.S. is to maintain its competitive edge in the global economy, the pipeline of
interested and qualified students prepared to enter STEM careers must be increased. Yet
recent results from a survey by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) revealed that more
than 85% of students today are not considering careers in engineering and that more parents
encourage their daughters to become actresses than engineers. Forty-four percent of survey
respondents cited a lack of knowledge around engineering as the top reason they would not
pursue such jobs. Another 30% listed the “geek” perception as their top reason, indicating
that “engineering would be a boring career,” according to the ASQ [5]. This is one of the
most serious issues our nation will face over the next decade, as the current science and
technology workforce retires without a pipeline of workers to replace them.