Brunhaver, S. R., & La Place, C., & Ansah, J. O., & Figard, R., & Neelawathura, R. W. (2024, June), Board 272: Examining the Catalysts and Barriers that Early-Career Engineers Experience to Their Adaptability at Work  Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--46846

\bibitem{asee_peer_46846}
  Brunhaver, S. R., \& La Place, C., \& Ansah, J. O., \& Figard, R., \& Neelawathura, R. W. (2024, June), \emph{Board 272: Examining the Catalysts and Barriers that Early-Career Engineers Experience to Their Adaptability at Work}
  Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Portland, Oregon.
  10.18260/1-2--46846

Samantha Ruth Brunhaver, Cecilia La Place, Joshua Owusu Ansah, Rachel Figard, and Rashmi Wimansa Neelawathura.  "Board 272: Examining the Catalysts and Barriers that Early-Career Engineers Experience to Their Adaptability at Work".  2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon, 2024, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2024.  https://peer.asee.org/46846 Internet.  14 Apr, 2025

\bibitem{asee_peer_46846}
  Samantha Ruth Brunhaver, Cecilia La Place, Joshua Owusu Ansah, Rachel Figard, and Rashmi Wimansa Neelawathura.
  "Board 272: Examining the Catalysts and Barriers that Early-Career Engineers Experience to Their Adaptability at Work".
  \emph{2024 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Portland, Oregon, 2024, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2024.
  https://peer.asee.org/46846 Internet.  14 Apr, 2025

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_46846
author = "Samantha Ruth Brunhaver, Cecilia La Place, Joshua Owusu Ansah, Rachel Figard, and Rashmi Wimansa Neelawathura"
title = "Board 272: Examining the Catalysts and Barriers that Early-Career Engineers Experience to Their Adaptability at Work"
booktitle = "2024 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2024"
month = "June"
address = "Portland, Oregon"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/46846}
number = {10.18260/1-2--46846}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This work-in-progress paper explores the lived experiences of early-career engineers as they navigate work situations that require them to adapt. The paper is part of a broader National Science Foundation-funded research study focused on increasing the adaptability of engineering students and early-career professionals. While adaptability is a top engineering competency, few studies have sought to understand early-career engineers’ experiences with adaptability, with related literature suggesting that they may have suboptimal adaptability as a result. Our study analyses the adaptability-related supports and barriers that early-career engineers experience on the job. Semi-structured critical incident interviews were conducted with thirty early-career engineers and analyzed. Preliminary analysis revealed three kinds of factors that early-career engineers reported influencing their work adaptability: personal factors, such as whether the engineer felt confident in and agency over their ability to adapt; interpersonal factors, such as whether the engineer received sufficient mentorship from their managers and coworkers; and organizational factors, such as whether the engineer had access to adaptability-related training and development opportunities. Codebooks for both supports and barriers are presented in this paper, with findings to be explored in more detail (e.g., how adaptability-related experiences varied by social identity and/or work environment) in a later publication. Findings from this study are expected to address a gap in the literature regarding the role of industry and academia in shaping early-career engineers’ adaptability and provide guidance to organizations and universities about how to best facilitate engineers’ adaptability development. Future work will evaluate specific strategies and interventions to address this issue. 
AU  - Samantha Ruth Brunhaver
AU  - Cecilia La Place
AU  - Joshua Owusu Ansah
AU  - Rachel Figard
AU  - Rashmi Wimansa Neelawathura
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Board 272: Examining the Catalysts and Barriers that Early-Career Engineers Experience to Their Adaptability at Work
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/46846
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--46846
ER  -