This article is part of the职业al Advancement系列：Annual Salary Survey
This article appeared inMicrowaves & RF并已在此处出版。
“Every project involves so many different technologies that it’s hard to keep up,” says a respondent to our 2021 Salary & Career Report Survey. In a nutshell, that’s the overriding sentiment among engineers when it comes to continuing their engineering educations.
在我们的调查中，我们要求您向我们介绍您当前的教育水平以及您如何学习新技术和技能。您的雇主是否通过为账单付款来鼓励继续教育，如果是的话，以什么方式？冠状病毒大流行的形象如何进入图片？在本文中，我们将通过事实，数字和轶事响应来研究这些主题。
Education Levels Staying on Par
First, let’s look at where you stand with your respective highest levels of education and see how that compares with the 2020 survey responses. The leading response was a master’s degree (near 35% vs. 32% in 2020), followed by a bachelor’s degree (25% vs. 27%). Nearly 16% claim a bachelor’s degree plus some amount of graduate studies. The number of respondents holding a doctoral degree has held steady at 12%. So, these survey results suggest that overall, the levels of education among you are holding steady year-on-year compared to 2020.
不乏教育选择
No matter what your level of formal education, you must stay abreast of technological developments and trends as you progress in your engineering careers. So, we asked, “What are some of the ways in which you continue your engineering education?”
重复去年的调查，今年的领先类别是工程/技术出版物，近72％的受访者依靠跟上技术。接近66％的人转向白皮书，约61％的人喜欢工程视频和出版物网站。网络广播和研讨会以大约60％的速度结束了顶级。OEM电子行业的供应商始终在制作视频，白皮书和网络广播方面做得很好，以教育工程师的最新创新。所有这些媒体都是免费消费的，如果您错过了现场活动，通常可以根据需要查看网络广播。
与去年的成绩相比，继续教育的面对面模式（例如课堂内大学课程，研讨会，用户组会议和聚会）是混合的书包。大学课程从11％下降到约9％，但研讨会略有增加，用户团体会议和工程协会赞助的会议也有所下降。人们可能期望看到，随着共同的19个大流行有所减弱，面对面的教育机会会更加普遍。
与2020年的结果相比，在线学习也不同。You’ve been reading more e-books (close to 48% vs. 45% in 2020) and visiting online engineering discussion forums more frequently (19% vs. 17%), but participating less in online college courses (23% vs. 29%). Again, with the pandemic easing its grip on North America, it’s a bit surprising that online learning hasn’t fallen more out of favor. Don’t you want to get out of the house and/or office a little more?
伟大的教育限制者：时间
In keeping with the puzzling reticence to embrace in-person learning, respondents’ written responses to challenges with taking in relevant engineering information mention COVID much less frequently than last year. It’s not fear of disease that’s preventing folks from venturing out into the world. Rather, as is typically the case in each year’s Salary & Career Report, it’s lack of time that holds them back.
“Finding time to devote to self-directed learning is nearly impossible,” said one respondent, while another chimed in with “I have no time outside of other duties to complete in-depth studies.” But at least one of you scoffs at such excuses: “It should never be a case of trying to find time—MAKE TIME.”
此外，对于工程师来说，工作与生活失衡是一个永远存在的问题，并不是每个人都想接受家庭培训材料或课外阅读。一位受访者说：“问题是试图平衡家庭生活和教育，因为工作不允许时间进行研究和学习。”的确，许多受访者宁愿在公司时间做到这一点，但这是不可能的，理由是工作量及其雇主对他们的期望。
另一个经常引用的障碍是要筛选并确定优先级的大量材料。一位受访者说：“问题是在每天辨别我们每天出现的一系列新闻中重要的事情。”同时，另一个哀叹“有太多途径可以从中获取信息”。还有一些人列举了行业变革步伐的结合以及要保持并肩的主题数量。
可以肯定的是，不乏信息。一些受访者提到需要在准确性及其与当前项目的相关性方面审查信息。
Flagging Support from Employers
Finally, we asked whether your employer invests in its engineering staff through reimbursement for the cost of continuing education. Sadly, almost across the board, the trend here is downward when compared with last year’s survey results, and in some cases the drop-off is precipitous.
For example, whereas 48% reported last year that employers offset the cost of attending trade shows and conferences, the number is down to just 37% in 2021. Help with online trade shows and conferences is down to 19% vs. 23% in 2020. Seminar reimbursements dropped to 36% from 41%. Reimbursement for engineering textbooks fell from 30% to 26%, while those for publication subscriptions slipped from 22% to 19%. And, this year, about 26.5% of respondents say their employers don’t reimburse for continuing education costs at all, up from 24% in 2020.
Meanwhile, a couple of bright spots emerged in this regard. When it comes to college tuition, 32% are getting help from employers this year vs. 29% last year. Reimbursements for certifications have stayed on par at 27%. Finally, almost 19% say employers are reimbursing for engineering-association dues, up from 17% in 2020.
Without a doubt, staying abreast of technology trends and project-relevant information is a daunting task. Here’s hoping you’re able to maintain and expand your knowledge base sufficiently in 2022 to keep you at the top of your game.
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