In an article today (8 Jan 09) on Manufacturing.net:
"The American Society for Quality has learned that when it comes to kids’ dream jobs, engineering is not on the list. An overwhelming 85 percent of youth say they are not interested in a future engineering career, according to a recent survey of youth and adults conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of ASQ."
The rest of the article is
here
I have to agree with most of the survey results. I'm still not sure how a kid from a small rural school in WI "where everyone just grows up to be a farmer" (said by a member of the school board at a public meeting), who had never met an engineer, and really had no idea what "engineering" was, made the decision to go off to school and become one. But I am 100% sure that the mentor exposure FIRST gives to students is one of the greatest parts of the program.
And here is a quote from the article that really bothers me: "More girls say their parents are likely to encourage them to become an actress than the number who say their parents are likely to encourage them to become an engineer."