Job satisfaction of mechanical engineering full-time faculty in recently upgraded institutes of technology in Taiwan (China)

As the upgraded institutes of technology become universities in Taiwan, it is important to understand what satisfies and dissatisfies faculty at these institutions. The purpose of this study was to determine and compare sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of mechanical engineering full-time faculty in recently upgraded institutes of technology in Taiwan. The study analyzed and explored solutions that may provide a reference for improvement of school administrators or the Ministry of Education in Taiwan.; The population for the study included all full-time mechanical engineering faculty in recently upgraded institutes of technology in Taiwan. The survey was mailed to 180 full-time faculty at four public and eight private institutes/universities in Taiwan. A total of 153 usable surveys were returned for an overall response rate of 85.0%.; The survey instrument used to collect data was adapted from Gamber (1997). The survey instrument contained 60 items divided into two parts. Part 1 of the survey requested demographic information. Part 2 consisted of 53 items on a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from (1) = very dissatisfied to (5) = very satisfied. The 53 items measured job satisfaction and dissatisfaction within various aspects of the professors' work environment in recently upgraded schools. The largest demographic groupings of the study respondents were in the 36–45 years of age range (73.2%), were males (91.5%), had earned master's degrees (49.7%), held the academic rank of instructor (50.3%), had taught for 11 to 15 years (34.6%), and had a current salary per month of NT{dollar}60,001∼NT{dollar}100,000 (88.2%).; The results of the study indicated that there was elevated job satisfaction among mechanical engineering full-time faculty in recently upgraded institutes/universities of technology. Intrinsic sources of job satisfaction produced higher levels of job satisfaction than extrinsic sources among mechanical engineering full-time faculty at public and private institutes of technology in Taiwan prior to and following upgrading. Mechanical engineering full-time faculty from public institutes/universities of technology in Taiwan enjoyed greater job satisfaction than their counterparts at private institutes/universities of technology. Mechanical engineering full-time faculty at institutes/universities of technology in Taiwan were more satisfied with their jobs following upgrading than they were prior to upgrading.