Engineering students and professionals living with a mental illness: An exploration of their experiences and challenges

Mental health has only recently come to the forefront of conversations in the media and academia. Mental health conditions are often triggered by environmental factors like academic stress, interpersonal conflicts, financial pressure, and career concerns. Students living with mental illness may drop out of college due to experiencing a mental health crisis at school. At the same time, engineering is a demanding profession that requires rigorous training. Therefore, the educational and professional experiences of engineers can be overexerting. This challenge can be even higher for engineering students and professionals who struggle with a diagnosed mental illness. Furthermore, the heightened stigma that surrounds mental illness might deter this group from seeking help and persisting in engineering. However, little is known about the experiences of people with a diagnosed mental illness while navigating the training and culture of engineering. Acknowledging and understanding the challenges faced by engineering students and professionals living with a mental illness is the first step towards implementing change in engineering education that would provide adequate support for these students to reach their goals.This work-in-progress reports on the first stage of a larger exploratory study aiming to describe the experiences of engineering students and professionals living with a mental illness and to understand how the engineering culture has impacted their experiences. Results will inform future research on student persistence and will inform engineering programs that want to support students who live with mental illness. Ultimately, this work will help eliminate stigma in engineering education and support the success of those living with mental health conditions.