A research project examined the relationship between education and work in the professions of social work and engineering. The project encompassed four main studies of professionals at different career stages. There were (1) a questionnaire and interview study of alumni from the Case Western Reserve University Schools of Engineering and Social Work in five graduating years; (2) a corresponding investigation of current students and teaching methods in these two professions; (3) a project studying engineers and their work environments in two engineering firms; and (4) a study of the experiential learning process. Among those areas addressed in the project were the following: development of an applied theory of experiential learning, assessment of adaptive competencies, assessment of person-environment congruence, the relationship of professional education and career development, and the relationship between careers and adult development. Developed in the study was a system identifying three levels of competence--performance, learning, and developmental competencies. Techniques for assessing each of these levels and for assessing person-environment congruence were developed and tested. Data also indicated that professional education currently prepares professionals better for their core professional role than for lifelong careers and that adult development is marked by a shift from specialization to integration. (MN)