TABLE 1:

Descriptors of factors capturing affinities toward engineering professional practices

Practice	Definition
Project management	This factor captures the skill set individuals utilize to organize, plan, and makes decisions needed to execute a design project, as well as the wherewithal to see the plan through to the end.
Framing and solving problems	The factor describes an individual’s application of math and science to solving engineering problems, continuous learning, improving process and methods, and embracing curiosity in relation to addressing societal issues.
Collaboration	This factor captures the ability to communicate and present your ideas, convince other people as to the merits of an idea, work with others, and break down a project into manageable parts.
Analysis	This factor captures the ability to identify what you need to know to solve a problem or complete a project and apply the appropriate math and science to solve the relevant governing equations during design and evaluation.
Design	This factor describes an individual’s push to search out innovative ideas and to be creative and generative in the course of experimentation or prototyping in the design process. It relates specifically to an individual’s ability to keep up with and apply technology to contemporary issues.
Tinkering	The factor captures the propensity an individual has to understand how something works by taking it apart and fixing things.