According to a survey by Intel, most teenagers have a positive impression of engineering, once they know what it is.  Some conclusions from the survey:

• Teens think that engineers are smart.
• Teens associate engineering with the word, “difficult”.
• The top three reasons that teens would consider a career in engineering are (1) it would be interesting, (2) the pay is good, and (3) engineers have a positive impact on society.
• Teens tend to be more interested in engineering when they know more about what it is.  Most don’t know a lot about engineering.

The survey included much discussion about engineering outcomes (designing tall buildings, providing safe water, improving the world) but little about the engineering process.