Engineering should include concern for people, communities, and societal welfare at the heart of the profession. Focusing on these helping attributes of engineering may help draw individuals, particularly women, into the field. However, are prosocially motivated individuals leaving engineering during college due to the lack of social responsibility (SR) typically portrayed in their education? Understanding more about students’ reasons for leaving in relation to perceived social responsibilities through their careers can help fill this literature gap. Thirty-four students initially majoring in engineering participated in a qualitative study of SR in engineering. Among this cohort, 7 of 14 women motivated to help people/society through engineering left, compared with 0 of 7 whose professional motivations were less related to social impact goals. Three rounds of hour-long interviews with nine students who left engineering explored reasons for leaving, if/how their personal SR impacted their decision, and social impact opportunities they envisioned through their new potential career path. The interviews show professional prosocial desires are motivation to leave combined with unsupportive environments, decontextualized technical courses, and curricular difficulty. These results provide insights for those trying to: understand why talented students choose to leave engineering, and create a more responsible and caring engineering profession.

工程学应该把对人，社区和社会福利的关注作为职业的核心。专注于工程学的这些帮助属性可能有助于吸引个人，特别是女性进入该领域。但是，出于社会动机的个人是否由于在教育中通常缺乏社会责任感（SR）而在大学期间离开工程专业？了解更多关于学生在职业生涯中与感知的社会责任相关的离职原因，可以帮助填补这一文学空白。最初攻读工程学的34名学生参加了工程学SR的定性研究。在这个队列中，有14名女性中有7名女性愿意通过工程技术帮助人们/社会，而7名女性中有0名女性的职业动机与社会影响目标的相关性较低。对九名离开工程专业的学生进行了为时三小时的访谈，探讨了他们离开的原因，个人SR是否/如何影响他们的决定以及他们通过新的潜在职业道路所设想的社会影响机会。访谈显示，专业亲社会的渴望是离开的动力，无助的环境，脱上下文的技术课程以及课程上的困难。这些结果为那些尝试以下工作的人提供了见解：了解为什么有才华的学生选择离开工程学，并创建一个更具责任感和关怀的工程专业。访谈显示，专业的亲社会欲望是离开的动力，无助的环境，脱上下文的技术课程以及课程上的困难。这些结果为那些尝试以下工作的人提供了见解：了解为什么有才华的学生选择离开工程学，并创建一个更具责任感和关怀的工程专业。访谈显示，专业亲社会的渴望是离开的动力，无助的环境，脱上下文的技术课程以及课程上的困难。这些结果为那些尝试以下工作的人提供了见解：了解为什么有才华的学生选择离开工程学，并创建一个更具责任感和关怀的工程专业。