Open AccessManaging reality shock: Expectations versus experiences of graduate engineers
Author(s) -
Sarah Riordan,
Suki Goodman
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
sa journal of industrial psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.438
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 2071-0763
pISSN - 0258-5200
DOI - 10.4102/sajip.v33i1.259
Subject(s) - work (physics) , shock (circulatory) , psychology , graduate students , applied psychology , qualitative research , social psychology , medical education , sociology , pedagogy , social science , engineering , medicine , mechanical engineering
The objective of the study is an analysis of the relationship between the work expectations and experiences of graduate engineers during their early career period. It reports on discrepancies in graduates’ expectations of the world of work and the reality of the early career stage. Conclusions include recommendations of how "reality shock" can be managed better by both organisations and individuals. Qualitative data were obtained through in-depth interviews with sixteen participants with less than five years work experience, employed in a large utility organisation in the Western Cape. Results indicate that participants experience significant incongruence between their expectations of work and work experiences