Career Clarity and Uncertainty among Early Adolescents in Singapore: Does it matter, how and for whom?

• In Event: Profiles, Perspectives, and Pressures: Understanding Adolescent Flourishing, Motivation, and Relationships in Singapore

Abstract

The active exploration of career goals is a pivotal developmental task during which adolescents begin to envision, explore and commit to potential paths that align with their personal interests and future aspirations. While academic skills are essential for imparting expertise and knowledge for students to participate in the world of work, adolescent career development adds purpose and meaning to students’ academic pursuits. Research shows that adolescents with greater career clarity—often achieved through early exposure to goal-setting and exploration activities—tend to develop stronger interests in their chosen fields of study and make informed career-related decisions that enhance their readiness to navigate higher education and workforce transitions. However, the proportion of adolescents experiencing career uncertainty has increased significantly over the past decade, driven by several socio-structural factors such as the growing complexity of the school-to-work landscape, the abundance of unfiltered information and options, and inadequate access to effective career guidance. These challenges can overwhelm students contributing to increased uncertainty and frustration as they navigate education and career choices, especially among those without adequate support and guidance.

While the benefits of career clarity are well-established, critical questions remain: Does starting early make a difference, and if so, how does it contribute to students’ psychosocial outcomes? Emerging studies have found that middle adolescents (15-16 years) who are unable to name a possible future job are less likely to invest effort in the present life domains, leading to less positive developmental outcomes and potentially less promising future employment prospects. However, few studies have examined the experiences of early adolescents (13+ years) to determine whether inadequate career development during this earlier development period could also be psychosocially maladaptive. This empirical gap leaves important questions unanswered about the prevalence and psychosocial implications of early career clarity or uncertainty. Addressing this gap, we analysed data from a large sample of Singaporean early adolescents (N=4887) to examine two key questions: 1) What is the prevalence of career uncertainty among early adolescents? 2) What characteristics and outcome correlates are associated with career uncertainty? Results indicated that one in three students were career uncertain (i.e., unable to name a possible future job). Student background characteristics of gender, socio-economic status and prior academic achievement showed negligible associations. In contrast, career uncertain students reported significantly lower positive psychosocial attributes such as general self-efficacy, adaptability and future career outlook, though they did not differ on negative attributes such as psychological distress or behavioural problems. Analysis of four types of career exploration behaviours further revealed that close of half (41%) reported very low engagement across all behaviours, while only career conversations and online career information search emerging as significant predictors of career clarity. This study highlights the prevalence of career uncertainty among early adolescents and its negative implications for psychosocial functioning, emphasizing its importance and more attention to this understudied phenomenon. Further implications will be discussed (e.g., consequences of protracted uncertainty), along with potential guidance interventions.

Authors

• Melvin Chan, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University

• Gregory Arief D. Liem, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University

• Trivina Kang, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University