GoKawiilArizona State study probes what 'adaptability' really means for engineers
Samantha Brunhaver, an associate professor at Arizona State University, is leading an NSF-funded project examining how engineers develop adaptability on the job. Through interviews with managers, early-career employees, and undergraduates, she found that while adaptability is widely cited as essential, employers rarely define or teach it consistently, and its meaning shifts depending on the industry, from tool turnover in software to regulatory changes in aerospace or biomedical fields.
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As AI reshapes engineering work and hiring, telling students to 'just be adaptable' offers little practical guidance without a clear, teachable framework. This research could help universities and companies move beyond vague advice toward concrete training that prepares engineers to handle rapid technological and procedural change.
- Brunhaver's NSF-backed study interviews managers and engineers to define workplace adaptability.
- Adaptability means different things across industries, from software tool changes to regulatory shifts in aerospace or biomedicine.
- Universities and employers often demand adaptability without explicitly teaching or modeling it.
The Pragmatic Programmer, 20th Anniversary Edition — If the goal is to stay adaptable while tools and languages churn, this classic focuses on durable habits and judgment rather than any single framework. It's the kind of book new engineers can keep on the desk as AI reshapes day-to-day workflows, and reread as their role changes.
See The Pragmatic Programmer, 20th Anniversary Edition on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: spectrum.ieee.org — Gwendolyn Rak, 2026-08-24
Published there as: “What It Takes to Be an Adaptable Engineer”
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