Decoding destinations: unraveling the factors that shape career choices in commerce and management

Abstract

AbstractStudents often find choosing a career to be one of the formidable choice since it affects not only their personalities but also their future life and income trajectory. Considering which, this study examines the various factors influencing students’ career choice. In this study, responses have been collected from 342 commerce and management students through proportionate stratified sampling method. Upon validating the questionnaire’s reliability and accuracy and collecting the necessary data, the objectives were achieved through the application of multiple regression analysis, t-tests, ANOVA and correlation assessments. Personal factors, future job opportunities and factors related to working conditions significantly contribute to students’ career choices but Peer/Parents/Family-related factors and Financial Factors were found to be insignificant in the prediction of career choices. The link between factors and chosen careers is also moderated by the extent of obstacles such as financial/economic issues, personal difficulties and excessive educational requirements to pursue the course, with higher barriers decreasing the influence of different factors on students’ career choices. This result encourages the need for tackling student challenges in choosing their career. This finding will aid organisations in developing HR strategies and will assist college counsellors to appropriately guide students in their future careers.

Keywords

• Career choice
• curriculum-related factors
• personal characteristics
• peer/parent/family-related factors
• future employment prospects
• financial factors