Juggling act foreseen: Students rank work/life balance above money

Juggling act foreseen: Students rank work/life balance above money
College students have lofty ambitions, planning to become managers and even CEOs during their careers. But they're also concerned about maintaining enough leisure time so they can enjoy life. Respondents to EE Times' annual "College Survey" are also pretty willing to move to a new region, particularly the Southeast, once they graduate.

After spending plenty of evenings studying, engineers hope to enjoy a bit more leisure time once they're employed. Achieving balance between work and personal life was the top concern in a series of career issues among the student respondents.

Achieving such a balance even beat out salaries, with 75 percent citing balance. That's noticeably more than the 70 percent who were interested in finance. Students' views on work-life balance mirror those in the EE Times "2001 Worldwide Salary & Opinion Survey," where working engineers ranked it first on their list of career issues.

The stories one engineering student has heard about engineers working late and being on call have made an impression. "I find it incredibly disappointing that it is expected of engineers to have no separation between their professional and personal lives, an example being work-issued mobile phones coinciding with unpaid overtime," he said.

Two-thirds of our respondents said they value their personal time, so they're going to make sure they have time to enjoy it.

'No worker bee'
"There is more to life than work. I am not a worker bee. I'll leave the long hours and weekends for someone who's productivity/ hour ratio is much, much lower," said a student, who claimed he was quite confident of his efficiency.

The other third of the respondents said they were willing to work as many hours as necessary to get their careers up and running. But even some of the students in this group are trying to put off working heavy hours for a while.

"I will put in more than the 40 basic hours usually required sometimes, but I do expect to be able to pursue a personal life until I get to a higher position," one said.

One unmarried respondent took exactly the opposite approach, saying he planned to work long hours until his bachelorhood came to an end. Then he plans to spend fewer hours in the office.

"I will work as many hours as I can, unless I have a family to consider. I personally feel that a family should come first," he said.

Asked to discuss the balance between work and things done for personal pleasure, one respondent noted that it is sometimes difficult to differentiate them.

"The definition of work varies. If you enjoy your work, the work isn't as much work as it is personal enjoyment," one respondent said.

Such a love of work should help young engineers reach their lofty goals. Company president or chief executive officer is the ultimate position sought by 31 percent of our respondents. A further 15 percent have a goal that's pretty close to that lofty level: They want to become entrepreneurs.

Another 15 percent want to head up technical operations, hoping to become chief technology officer. And 31 percent want to stay out of management, hoping to attain the post of senior engineer.

Going for longevity
A fair number of the students hope that if they don't achieve those goals while at their first employer, they will be well on their way before they leave. The biggest percentage, 38 percent, plan to stay at their first employer for two to five years. Nearly as many, 34 percent, plan to stay there as long as they can. Only 25 percent plan to leave as soon as they get a better offer, while a scant 3 percent predicted they would stay less than two years.

There's more openness when it comes to changing geographies. When students leave school, most are ready to try living in another region. A commanding 56 percent were very willing to live somewhere besides their home region or where they went to college. A further 42 percent were somewhat willing to relocate.

Eyes on the South
The Southeast is the region of choice this year, with 60 percent saying they would like to live there. That's more than double the 26 percent who wanted to live on the West Coast. The Midwest was the third most desirable locale. The Texas-Oklahoma region was attractive to 23 percent .

Students who are still hoping to get their first full-time job weren't as concerned as their elder counterparts about job security and the employment outlook. A key issue for 58 percent of the college survey respondents was the job market, job security and employment; the category was fifth on the list of concerns. That was a bit lower than the ranking by working engineers in the EE Times survey, who pegged it third on their list, a marked increase from sixth place a year ago.

Many engineering students already have a fair idea of what it will be like to work full time, since a solid 68 percent have worked in a field related to their major while attending school. For most, this is viewed as a good situation, and recruiting firms agree that it gives job seekers a substantial edge. But not everyone has seen the best that corporate America has to offer.

"At my company they have already let 15 engineers go. Seeing this, I know that the engineers are the first to get fired when times are tough. I will try to find a company with very few engineers so there is less of a chance to be let go," one jaded student said.

He was not in the minority when he expressed concern about the sagging economy. Though things might have seemed a bit brighter when the survey was taken during the summer, there was plenty of concern even at that time.

"The state of the national economy" was the top national issue, according to more than one respondent. That mirrored the view of working engineers who responded to the EE Times salary survey.

Students provided some insights that were as far-reaching as those of engineers whose college days are but a memory. One feared that a lack of capital would slow the advance and acceptance of technology.

"Troubles with the stock market are leading to underfunding. The underfunding will bring slow progress," that student said.

Another issue that was vitally important in the summer now seems a distant memory.

"Right now it is the energy crisis, including energy shortages in California and rising gas prices due to a depleting oil supply," one respondent wrote.

Students go GOP
College respondents appear to be following the political leanings of their elder counterparts. EE Times readers usually support Republican presidents, and many letters to the editor and public speeches by CEOs decry government intervention in business. Students are no different.

"Federal government spending on programs that don't work," was one student's main criticism for what was happening in the United States during the summer.

"Taxes-they're so oppressive to small businesses," a potential entrepreneur added.

But not all engineers or engineering students lean toward the right. One was blunt when asked-before Sept. 11-to note the top issue facing the United States today. "George W. Bush," that student wrote.

Additional charts:
Where to work: Southeast is popular
Grading the job our schools are doing: Colleges rank highest in performance, survey respondents say