Innovation Fall 2025

PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY

BC residents share knowledge of engineers & geoscientists

The important work of the engineering and geoscience professions has a significant impact on public safety and sustainability in BC. To strengthen trust and accountability with the public, it is critical that Engineers and Geoscientists BC maintain a consistent dialogue with the public. In the spring, the organization sent its 2025 Public Opinion Survey to 1,060 BC residents, who weighed in on their knowledge and awareness of the engineering and geoscience professions as well as Engineers and Geoscientists BC. The survey also measured public perceptions and their level of trust in the professions and the organization. Starting last year, the public survey (there have been eight editions since 2008) is conducted annually. Understanding the professions The 2025 survey results in this category are consistent

with previous years. Public familiarity with the engineering and geoscience professions remains steady, with 69 percent of the public familiar with engineers. Familiarity with an engineer’s role has marginally increased each year since 2021. Trust levels of the engineering profession remain high at 86 percent (a four percent decrease from 2024). What the public believes engineers do as part of their job (designing and creating; calculating safety; ensuring project safety; and codes adherence) is also mostly consistent with last year, however, 18 percent stated they don’t know what engineers do. This number has been steadily increasing since 2018 (13 percent), perhaps reflecting the growing diversity of engineering roles in society today. Like surveys conducted in previous years, awareness of geoscientists is lower than other professions. Only 29 percent (a two percent decrease from 2024) of BC residents are familiar with the role of geoscientists; a total of 18 percent of the public are not aware of what a geoscientist’s job entails, the same rate as engineers. The public trust for the geoscience profession in BC by the public also decreased from 60 percent in 2024 to 56 percent this year. The public continues (39 percent, up five percent from 2024) to think that geoscientists do geology or study the earth as part of their job. Studying rock or soil samples and checking for ground stability or that buildings can be built safely make up the other top descriptions of what the public believes a geoscientist does as part of their job.

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Fall 2025

Innovation