What Is Most Important to Students' Long-Term Career Choices

Abstract

This study examined the variables incoming first-year college students believed were most important to their long-term career choice. A sample of 31,731 students were surveyed from 1995 to 2004, and results revealed that men placed a greater emphasis on making money, women placed a greater emphasis on working with people and contributing to society, White students placed a greater emphasis on having independence and intrinsic interest in the field, and African Americans and Asian Americans espoused higher extrinsic work values. Additional analyses revealed significant cohort differences, as over the 10-year period students reported a 10% increase in the selection of intrinsic values, a 5% decrease in selection of extrinsic values, and a 5% decrease in selection of prestige values.

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