Student and Alumni Perspectives: Engineering Management at UMR

Engineering Management which is considered to be a non-traditional field of engineering has a long history of attracting high caliber students regardless of some questions about what this field really is. A study was done at the University of Missouri - Rolla to find out what motivated these students to pursue Engineering Management as a discipline, their perceptions, and their success in industry compared to traditional engineers. The data for the study was gathered from focused interviews of forty current students and ten alumni in industry. The results showed that Engineering Management students, just like others, choose a career path that satisfies their needs. These students tended to like the technical field, but they also desired to combine it with a more people oriented approach. Engineering Management as a distinct discipline is relatively new and still faces some challenges due to lack of understanding. Nonetheless, industries recognize Engineering Management as a much needed discipline