CONTINUING EDUCATION AND THE OBSOLESCENCE OF OLDER ENGINEERS.

This research was carried out in order to get a better understanding of continuing education (CE) among engineers after they enter midcareer. The specific question addressed here is: how effective are various CE activities in reducing obsolescence. The investigation involved a survey of 168 engineers from six organizations. The participants in the research were all in midcareer or beyond (i. e. 35 years old and older), predominantly electrical engineers, largely employed in development work and mostly professionally oriented, as indicated by either technical society membership or graduate education. Continuing education in this research included formal courses, as well as informal activities, such as attending professional meetings and reading. Both formal and informal CE were investigated. It was concluded that the greater the participation in technical courses by midcareer engineers, the less likely they are to be obsolescent in their job and profession.