(262a) Using AI to Aid Young ChE Students in Career Discovery

We observe that our second-year chemical engineering students struggle to articulate even five potential career paths within chemical engineering. This can cause them to be discouraged by the rigor of the curriculum without seeing the purpose of the material they are learning. We are developing an on-line career discovery module which will be integrated into an early required course (material balances, sophomore year). This module will help students discover their skills and strengths and combine these with their interests and experiences to help them explore possible career paths. Throughout the modules, they will reflect on these paths, connect with professionals (alumni), and create an actionable plan for their future.

In this presentation we will specifically focus on the career discovery aspect of the module in which we will have students use AI to generate possible career paths within chemical engineering. Students will complete the CliftonStrength® assessment to identify their top five strengths. Students will then create an AI prompt (Microsoft co-pilot or similar) that includes their strengths, along with personal interests and experiences, that asks for five possible career paths in chemical engineering. Students will then reflect on these findings and come up with some goals for the future which might include areas of specialization, co-op/internships, alumni contacts/discussions, leadership development, and elective class selection. We will evaluate student data of strengths and AI generated career paths and their perception of fit of these possible career paths. We will also evaluate the breadth of goals that this activity precipitates. In addition, we will survey students before and after this activity to determine the impact of this activity on their beliefs about themselves and chemical engineering as a field.