Starter or Joiner, Market or Socially-Oriented: Predicting Career Choice Among Undergraduate Engineering and Business Students

The objective of this research is to understand the cognitive, motivational, behavioral influences that predict career choice among undergraduate engineering and business students. The sample (n = 754) was divided into two groups students whose career choice was to “start” a business or organization after graduation and students whose career choice was to “join” an existing business or organization after graduation. An alternate division allowed separating the sample into those students who were interested in a “market oriented” (for-profit) career outcome and those students who were interested in a “socially oriented” (non-profit) career outcome. The theoretical framework used for modeling these groups was Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). Logistic regression analysis was conducted using a multi-measure survey that assessed cognitive, motivational, behavioral influences. Results show that students who are Starters tend to be “new seeking” and “iconoclastic”, and have higher “domain self-efficacy”, compared with students who are Joiners. Further, students who are interested in Socially Oriented career outcomes are more “socially altruistic,” and have a stronger sense of “personal morals” and a more hopeful future about their “quality of life” compared with their Market Oriented peers. Gender was an important predictor in both models with women more likely to be Joiners and more interested in Socially Oriented career outcomes than were men. Over one-third of engineering majors expressed a career choice that involved “starting something”; however, engineering majors were less likely to be Starters” than were business majors. Both majors had a low level of interest (only 9-13% of participants) in Socially Oriented career outcomes. Long-term educational implications of these findings are discussed.