Entrepreneurs in the Making: A Qualitative Exploration of Entrepreneurial Mindset in Engineering Learners

A prominent statistic within the field of entrepreneurship is the relatively low business failure rate of entrepreneurs holding engineering degrees compared with entrepreneurs holding other degrees. Engineers, particularly with software engineering and mechanical engineering backgrounds, account for approximately $20 \%$ of all billionaires and are similarly overrepresented among millionaires. The underlying reasons for how entrepreneurs achieve success has been explored in a number of ways, including in research on Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM). A collated model of EM highlights four key areas on the likelihood of entrepreneurial success for an individual: 1) cognitive perspective, 2) creating value by recognizing and acting on opportunities, 3) making decisions with limited information, and 4) being adaptable and resilient in uncertain conditions. An examination of this literature suggests that the reason engineers who do well with entrepreneurship is connected to engineers’ undergraduate engineering education, often equipping engineering learners to act on opportunities as well as becoming resilient and adaptable in their engineering efforts. However, studies in the literature suggest this relationship without having identified that specific correlation. Instead, many studies explore the intersection of entrepreneurship and engineering education with a primary focus on leveraging engineering learners’ apparent talent for entrepreneurship. There is a lack of foundational research on EM in engineering learners that informs those engineers’ trajectory for success in entrepreneurship. To address this research gap, we conducted an ethnographic case study of undergraduate engineering learners and recent engineering graduates at a primarily undergraduate institution in the midAtlantic region of the United States who had participated in institutional programs focused on entrepreneurship. This paper presents the analytic results of the semi-structured interviews and highlights our key findings. We found that the four key areas of EM manifested in complex, interconnected ways. We also found critical perspectives held by the engineering learners that gravitate toward risk-avoidant attitudes as well as relying on a social network of support. Future research in this area is merited to expand upon our preliminary findings so that further insights might be gained when designing undergraduate engineering education with entrepreneurial elements.