How aware HAU’s Aeronautical Students about their Course and Field of Work?

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Factors Affecting the Decision making of HAU Students

On Aeronautical Engineer

Bondoc, Nico L.

Castañeda, Ciara Q.

Digo, Godfrey William

Flores, Kevin Elijah Nicolai D.

Isais, Karl Louise Q.

Lenon, Gwyneth Audrey P.

Sarmiento, Jonh Rommel A.

Sigua, Russell John

1AE - 107

Mr. Jerhenze

January 17, 2020

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As time passes, varieties of career choices get added up to the options available for

the students to consider. Primarily brought about by the innovations, specifically with

technology, some courses and jobs become obsolete due to the lack of the demand for

these. Although some jobs become out-dated, new jobs arise and outweigh the loss which

copes with industrialization and the advancements being made in the modern world.

According to the research of Ofreneo (2014), the Philippines has a positive growth rate

when it comes to employment. Due to these reductions and additions in career options, the

students have to reconsider other options and rethink paths to pursue. With these, students

are not limited in what they want to pursue.

However, with these many options students have more preference and they tend to

weigh their preferred choices. By weighing these choices there are several factors they

consider to be able to choose the right course. Factors that affect this decision includes how

many years it takes for that course to be completed, it is widely available and accessible,

number of possible job options, benefits of the job and lastly, it has a high salary cap than

any four years course which attracts students to take this kind of course as stated on an

article published by Chua (2019) about the top ten highest paying job in the Philippines.

With these, we cannot deny the fact that most of the students will pick a course that are in

this list. Other professions have greater percentages of a specific gender or religion.

Furthermore, others choose their career because of the influence of their parents; they have

a connection on that kind of job, peer pressure and popularity of the job. Others consider

the school that they are getting to including the passing rate of the school in their preferred

course. Now that state universities offer courses with free tuition fee, this will most likely

be a great factor affecting the students’ decision making. Also, when students select a

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course, one more factor coming into account are their personal interests, which takes up a

huge part in career choosing. Students will more likely prefer courses that almost entirely

involve their hobbies, personal interests, talents as well as having a prior knowledge about

it, since doing so will prevent them from having a hard time studying on their preferred

course. Another reason why interest is one factor is that the students will choose courses

where they will flourish and stand out, since they have knowledge about their own

capabilities.

Deciding on what course to take in college is one of the most important decisions a

person will make (Sismundo, 2015) as it shapes the students’ future job that they may live

for the rest of their lives. Most have to pass through a state of confusion with going for

either passion or practicality. Not all courses entail the students’ passion or interests,

leading them to choose whether to risk doing what they like, or to stay on the safe path

sacrificing enjoyment. However, some are fortunate for having a practical course related

to their passion which makes studying, and eventually working much easier and more

enjoyable. Moreover, whether one's passion is in concordance with a practical course or

not, people still have to think critically and meticulously when selecting a career.

The researchers sought to find the following on how the Aeronautical Engineering

students of Holy Angel University chose the aforementioned course:

1.What are the leading influences of career choices for Aeronautical Engineering

students?

2.What specific factors contribute to the Aeronautical Engineering students' career

selection; With regards to their personal choice? In terms of other people's influence?

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3.How aware are the Aeronautical Engineering students about the job opportunities

their course offers?

4.How congruent are the expectations of Aeronautical Engineering students and the

real job in their future workplace?

5.To determine the students’ plan on whether they will work as an engineer or does

this course just serve as their stepping stone leading to what career they actually want.

Currently, there is a rise in demand of engineers in the Philippines. Students are

more likely to pick an engineering course due to this. Though it has a slight reduction in

number, disciplinary group in field of engineering has increase in numbers in the past

decade according to Commission on Higher Education. Aeronautical Engineering being on

this group is continue to raise in numbers as well though it has a lower number of enrollees

than other engineering course. According to Hencel (2019), it is field in engineering that

deals with creation, design, manufacturing and maintenance of vehicles that travels in the

sky such as helicopters, airplanes, satellites and etc. As the world modernizes, it is evident

that the aircraft industry is in need of development in terms of machineries. As new rules

and regulations are made, Aeronautical Engineers are needed to innovate and make new

products and redevelop current products for the betterment of the industry.

Career in Aeronautical Engineering

Though career in aeronautical engineering is not as popular as other careers on other

fields such as civil engineering and mechanical engineering, there are many career paths

and jobs that an aeronautical engineer can go to. Students’ are influenced by the career’s

advancement and job opportunities as well as the compensation on the field. There is

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Aircraft Interior Engineer, Aircraft Structural Engineer, Maintenance Engineer, Pilot,

Spacecraft Crew and Aircraft Traffic Controller as stated by Nucum (2018). Furthermore,

an aeronautical engineer is not only limited on technical work. They can also be in aviation

industry working in offices and they can even teach as a professor according to Delicano

(2015).

Awareness and Prior Knowledge

According to study of Ngambeki, Daltlmple and Evangelou (2008), it states that

the purpose of this study is to gain prior knowledge and better understanding to students in

terms of selecting their type of major. The study shows that there is a drastic decrease in

terms of the number of students enrolling in engineering courses. Some students who are

not well aware are most likely to make a poor choice due to having misconceptions about

the said course. With that, students end up leaving the engineering course and that could

also lead to frustration. On the other hand, students who have knowledge and more aware

are more likely know where they are going to and what specialization they will take.

With a lot of courses and careers today, students should explore more about what

they want to do in the future. Based on the study of Jaeger and d’Entremont (2018), it is

about the exploration of the experience of discipline selection of the students of the

University of British Columbia. To help the students to come up with a decision in

choosing their specialization in engineering. This will benefit them on whether they are fit

on their choses course. However, as mentioned by Royal Aeronautical Society (2017),

awareness of such a career in aeronautics and in aerospace is small. Adults between the

ages of 18 and 30 are most likely to answer they have heard of it but know nothing about

a profession in the aerospace and aeronautics field (43 percent), whereas three in ten (28

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percent) say they know only a little about jobs in this area. Another 16 percent say they've

never heard of professions in this field. The findings show us that better information during

school age will increase understanding and knowledge in aerospace and aeronautics.

Academic Performance, Skills and Talents

A big factor why students select a specific course because they how capable they

are on that respective course. Ngambeki, Daltlmple and Evangelou (2008) stated that a

strong connection between students' interests and abilities, and their persistence. For that

reason, it is logically assumed that students choose their type of major based on the skills

and interests they have, which could cause them to stay and thrive in the field of

engineering that they choose. Furthermore, it is evident that engineering is a difficult

course, various colleges offer first-year programs to intentionally help students have a

background information about engineering and its disciplines before taking them.

Though in engineering it will be best if you have skills in Math, Sciences, analytical

and critical thinking, it is not entirely based on those. Communication skill is the most

common useful ability of the engineering graduates in their job placement followed by

critical thinking skill and problem-solving skill while leadership, hard work and

professional integrity are the work (Chavez et.al. 2017)

Interest in the Course

Although some students are no academically gifted or talented, many still choose a

course or career based on their interest. It might be because since childhood that is their

dream or they are interested in the salary and the benefits that the job can give. According

to Cebula and Lopes, the differences in the rate of change among fields is one of the most

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important factors is students’ decision making on their course. Even though they are not

that skilled, this factor is what made them motivated to perform good in their field.

Influenced by Others

A big factor why students pick a course is because of the people around them. This

can be his parents or family, friends and teachers. Personal relationship such as parent-

child, student-teacher and peers produce a high impact in the students’ decision making

(Walmsley et.al. 2010).

Most of the time, parents, siblings and friends are the one that greatly affects the

decision making of the student. However, according to the study Wildman and Torres

(2002), teachers and mentors can also have a huge impact in the students’ decision making.

Since most students spend their time on school, teachers are the one that teaches, motivates

and inspires them to do their best and make them better. The influence of these people can

play a huge role towards the decision of the students’ in making their choice.

Reputation of School

One factor that greatly affect the students’ choice of course is the school itself.

Having a school that has a good reputation in a specific course will impact the students to

enroll to that school. According to a journal written by Lucas and Meyer (2007), educators

play a vital role in developing student’s awareness and understanding about their respective

fields. This will lead the students to have a knowledge, background and motivation about

the subject. Furthermore, being on a school with stature affects the students’ decision

making them think that they will likely pass the course.

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Findings

The researchers conducted a survey to the Aeronautical Engineer students of Holy

Angel University. The first question was regarding the reasons why they chose the

aforesaid course and the results were as follows: 52.6% said they chose the course because

they have knowledge regarding the course; 21.1% said their relatives encouraged them;

15.8% said they selected the course because it is mainstream; and a respondent said it is

the path for becoming a pilot.

In terms of how aware are the students regarding their course, the results shows

that 31.6% are unaware, 26.3% are neutral, 31.6% are slightly aware, and lastly there are

only 10.5% are very aware regarding the course.

Subsequently, a question whether the students were aware of the subjects they will

be taking within the course was asked. Most of the respondents answered yes tallying a

73.7% score while 26.3% answered no.

The researchers also gathered information from their survey involving how the

respondents knew about the Aeronautical Engineer course. The 42.1% answered from the

internet followed by 26.3% from the school. Next there was a response of 15.8% knew

about the course from their parents. Other respondents answered they knew about the

course from an acquainted Aeronautical Engineer and a sibling who is an Aircraft

Mechanic.

The next question being asked is regarding the respondents’ expected job after

taking up the course. The majority responded that they do not have any expectation (47.4%)

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and the second highest response was pilot (10.5%). Other respondents answered other

aviation related jobs like Aircraft Mechanic, Maintenance Engineer and Flight Engineer.

According to the survey’s result about when did the respondents decided to pursue the

course, majority of the respondents with a total of 73.7% said that they made up their mind

to take Aeronautical Engineer when they were in Senior High School while 26.3% said

during their Junior High School.

Lastly the researchers asked in a survey whether Aeronautical Engineering was the

respondents’ first choice in selecting their college course. The majority at 52.6% answered

no while the 47.4% answered yes. The reason why the majority did not pursue their first

choice was because there were already a lot of students who took that course. Another

reason was because Aeronautical Engineering has a higher salary and better career

opportunities.

The researchers call into questions some of the conducted study regarding the

factors and background knowledge of students in choosing Aeronautical Engineering as

their course. Here as it follows:

The main reason for students to choose Aeronautical Engineering as their course is

because they have already a prior knowledge about it according to the result of the survey,

but the researchers claims that the students are more driven of choosing the course because

of its dominant trend or being a mainstream at the present time. Aeronautical Engineering

course becoming a trend may result for others to pursue the course just to keep up with its

popularity. Even though they may have a gist of the subjects they will be taking but others

do not know the background of the course and the career opportunities that it offers. This

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may either result to rash decisions and dissatisfaction if the course does not meet their

expectations but there may also be instances where students get satisfied in pursuing the

course regardless of uncertainties.

Taking into account that educators plays a significant role for students to fully

understand what course options they may be able to take in college but Aeronautical

Engineering course are not as popular as other engineering courses just like how it is only

limited in some schools. That is why some students do not discover that there is a course

just like Aeronautical Engineering when there is a College Preparedness Program while in

high school. Others figure it out as they only search aviation related courses in the internet

or being informed by family, relatives, trends and friends that has knowledge about the

course.

Another reason is that many students are already pursuing prominent engineering

courses such as Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, some students opted to

enter Aeronautical Engineering because it has a lower number of takers. Students are also

considering the job competition, if they chose to engage in a course that contains many

enrollees then the competition would be higher. Furthermore, they wish to avert from the

status of unemployment which is more probable in an intense competition state.

An important thing to take note is that the job prospects of Aeronautical

Engineering has started to flourish. There are various airports that are being developed, one

of which is the Bulacan International Airport. In order to get employed in such

establishments, employers take in to account the course that the graduate undertook.

Aviation related courses has a higher advantage of being employed because they are a

priority. Nevertheless, being hired is still dependent to the record of the applicant thus it is

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not guaranteed that he can be employed immediately. This is the reason why this alternative

is discarded.

In terms of employment, Aeronautical Engineer pursuers are also taking in to regard

the benefits of entering the aviation industry. One of these benefits is the high beginning

salary which gets even higher as they progress in their career. Subsequently, there is also

the opportunity to travel free in different parts of the world as a work representative.

However, there is no assurance to the aforementioned benefits. Work performance takes a

toll on whether the worker will attain the benefits because if he does not meet the standards

then the chances are thin. The researchers also claim that the demand of enrollees pursuing

Aeronautical Engineering course will continue to increase due to the country’s developing

aviation industry that will encourage more students to take the career path.

Aeronautical Engineering is one of the courses that a student may take in mind as

a course to pursue in college. Due to the rising demand of enrollees in the said course, the

researchers concluded that the factors affecting the decision making of students on taking

Aeronautical courses are personal interest, influence of their family, friends, trend,

acquaintances and educators. It is more on personal interest rather than other people’s

influence as it is evident that it is not popular just like other engineering courses. It may be

a personal choice but majority of the students’ decision in choosing the course only have a

little background of the career opportunities that an Aeronautical Engineering course can

offer. This shows that it is important for students to have a strategic planning before making

decisions for them to have a clear understanding of the course they are pursuing. Also, the

need for highlighting the course in Aeronautics and having more course awareness

programs for students to base on making decisions. Proper decision making may boost their

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motivation when it comes to their academic performances and make their expectations

more aligned with future field of work as they finish the course.

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