What Are You Going to Do Next? Understanding Postgraduation Career Goals in First-Year Engineering Students

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 22
  In Roundtable Session: Developing Pathways to STEM Education and Careers

Abstract

We used Goal Setting Theory to examine the characteristics of the content of first year engineering students’ post-graduation career goals. We conducted a qualitative analysis of interviews with students at two different universities. Our study yielded two primary findings. First, we found that post-graduation career goal content consisted of two distinct types of content, each of which contained descriptive categories: 1) job goal content, and 2) attribute goal content. Second, we found gender differences, with female students describing certain types of content more frequently than male students.

Authors

• Holly Marie Matusovich, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Phillip Brown, Rutgers University