Evaluation of the Engineer Your Life Initiative

The Engineer Your Life (EYL) project is a national initiative to encourage college-bound young women to consider pursuing a degree and a career in engineering. The project aims to communicate to young women the societal value and rewards of being an engineer, rather than the traditional emphasis on the process of becoming an engineer. Target audiences include academically prepared high school girls, career counselors, and professional engineers. Evaluation data were collected in Year 1 and Year 2 of the EYL initiative to assess its impact. We found that young women were especially interested in engineering when they had a fuller understanding of the skills that are required to be a successful engineer—skills that are not traditionally associated with the field, such as writing and people skills, imagination and creativity. We also found evidence that the EYL initiative has had a significant and positive impact on members of its target population who have used EYL resources.