In two multi-wave studies, we draw on self-regulation theories to explore relations between master’s students’ career decision-making stress and self-regulatory career behaviors. Study 1 ( N = 126) demonstrated that decisional stress was positively related to avoidance-oriented career behaviors, aimed at regulating negative affect. Decisional stress did not relate to approach-oriented career behaviors, aimed at making progress in the choice process. Study 2 ( N = 176) replicated these findings. Furthermore, we explored the moderating role of core self-evaluation (CSE) and peer career support. Neither of these factors moderated relations between decisional stress and self-regulatory career behaviors. Instead, CSE related directly negatively to avoidance-oriented career behaviors, and peer career support related directly positively to approach-oriented career behaviors. Avoidance- and approach-oriented career behaviors related negatively and positively to choice progress, respectively, which in turn was negatively related to subsequent decisional stress. Limitations, future directions, and implications for career counseling and theory are discussed.
This study examines how individuals articulate competencies developed through volunteer experiences, an important form of informal career development. Drawing on Social Cognitive Career Theory, we tested how volunteer learning experiences relate to intentions to articulate competencies through self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Survey data from a labor-market active sample of volunteers at a large North American sporting event ( n = 445) showed learning experiences positively predicted both self-efficacy and outcome expectations, and both variables, in turn, positively predicted intentions to articulate competencies. Indirect effects showed that learning experiences influenced intentions partly through both self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Perceived meaningfulness strengthened the relationships between learning experiences and both self-efficacy and outcome expectations, whereas responsibility and knowledge of results did not. These findings advance the understanding of competency articulation in informal learning contexts and highlight the importance of meaningful volunteer experiences in translating uncredentialed learning into communicable competencies.
In contemporary high-stakes environments, perfectionistic traits are increasingly prevalent among adolescents, impacting their career development. Drawing on Career Construction Model of Adaptation, this longitudinal, person-centered study examined how within-person combinations of perfectionistic strivings (PS) and perfectionistic concerns (PC) shape adolescents’ career adaptability trajectories and adapting behaviors ( N = 1,391; 51% female; M age = 15.32). Latent profile analyses identified five perfectionism profiles extending the 2 × 2 model. Latent class growth analyses revealed three trajectories—Decreasing High, Fast Decreasing Moderate, and Stable Low—which differed significantly in adapting behaviors. Latent transition analyses revealed that Personal Standards Perfectionists and Non-Perfectionists-B were more likely to follow higher trajectories, whereas Evaluative Concerns Perfectionists and Non-Perfectionists-A tended toward lower trajectories, with Mixed Perfectionists showing divergent patterns. Gender moderated these transitions: high PC constituted a risk factor for girls, while extremely low PS for boys. These findings underscore the need for profile-specific, gender-sensitive career interventions.
Most tertiary students now work to support themselves, but some are motivated by improving their employability and career development. However, many work in precarious jobs and the relationship between job quality and career development is poorly understood. We tested how precarious employment related to career capital, whether perceptions of organisational career growth (i.e. goal progress and ability development) explained this, and whether meritocratic beliefs (i.e. in a just society) moderated these relationships in working university students ( N = 214; 78% female; M Age 20 years). Precariousness was related to less career capital, which was explained partially by perceiving fewer organisational career growth opportunities. Meritocratic beliefs buffered the negative precariousness-career growth relationships and boosted the positive career growth-career capital relationships. Overall, 52% of the variance in capital was explained. Results point to how career practitioners might assist precariously employed students to successfully engage in career self-management.
This study examines the career development trajectories of undergraduate students from rural backgrounds pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), guided by Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). Through a qualitative interpretive approach, the research provides a nuanced analysis of the social, cognitive, and contextual factors shaping students’ academic and professional pathways. Two central themes emerged: To Know the Unknown (Being Inquisitive) , which captures students’ intrinsic curiosity and early exposure to STEM through family, peers, and personal relevance; and Possibility of a Different Career Choice , reflecting the evolving decision-making process influenced by perceived utility, major switching, and career exploration. Findings reveal the critical role of early interest cultivation, strong social support systems, and career awareness in promoting STEM persistence among rural students. This study offers actionable insights for educators, policymakers, and institutions aiming to strengthen a more inclusive and adaptive STEM workforce.
This study expands our understanding of how family mechanisms of marginalization and support shape the career development of sexual minorities. Guided by the Psychology of Working Theory, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 Israeli sexual minority young adults. Consensual qualitative research analysis identified five domains: exclusion, barriers, family support, resilience and growth, and identity-work and social roles. Findings highlight the profound effects of exclusionary experiences, particularly within the family, on career development, exacerbating issues such as shame, strained family relationships, and disrupted developmental tasks. Family support and acceptance promoted career development and personal growth, whereas societal and familial rejection hindered career exploration and fostered negative self-perceptions. Our findings highlight the need for family education on the acceptance of young adults as they are and support their career choices. They also underscore the need for comprehensive support systems empowering sexual minorities to navigate their career development while safeguarding their psychological well-being.
This study explores how neurodivergent individuals define vocational success and how their personal definitions relate to dominant societal ideals. Using an adapted form of Strauss’ and Corbins Grounded Theory Methodology, 16 biographical interviews were conducted with participants identifying with traits of autism, ADHD, or high emotional sensitivity. The analysis revealed a typology of self-positioning toward vocational success: (1) congruent success (alignment of subjective and societal success), (2) discongruent success (external success without internal alignment), (3) divergent success (subjective success without societal recognition), and (4) lack of success (absence of both). These findings illustrate how neurodivergent individuals navigate, resist, or redefine success for themselves before the backdrop of societal success norms. The study contributes to an understanding of how opportunities for vocational success can be structured in ways that are not only socially recognized but also subjectively meaningful for neurodivergent individuals.
Career plays an important role in shaping an individual’s identity, purpose, overall well-being, and life satisfaction. Understanding the association between career adaptability and life satisfaction is essential because being able to navigate career-related transitions and challenges prepares the ground for professional success and fulfillment in life. This study investigates the relationship between career adaptability and life satisfaction, focusing on self-regulation as a mediator and perceived social support as a moderator. Data were collected from 182 academics (118 women, 64.84%) through a cross-sectional survey. The results indicated that self-regulation fully mediated the relationship between career adaptability and life satisfaction. Furthermore, moderated mediation analysis demonstrated that the indirect relationship between career adaptability and life satisfaction through self-regulation is strengthened at higher levels of perceived social support. These findings highlight the importance of self-regulation and perceived social support in fostering life satisfaction among academics, offering valuable implications for career development interventions.
Career optimism helps individuals sustain motivation and adapt to uncertainty in the workplace. Using data ( n = 279) from a 3-wave survey, we investigated the relationship between protean career attitude and career success when career optimism was a mediator. We observed a statistically significant positive relationship between both dimensions (self-directed and values-driven) of the protean career attitude and career optimism, between career optimism and career success, and between the self-directed dimension and career success when mediated by career optimism. In contrast, we found a statistically significant negative indirect effect between the values-driven dimension and career success when mediated by career optimism. These results reveal the role of the self-directed attitude as a strong predictor of career success among women. Our findings advance understanding of career optimism as a psychological resource that enables positive career outcomes. Implications, limitations, and future research are also discussed.
Out-of-school experiences are important opportunities for career and educational development, especially for underserved students. This study explored the experiences of rural Appalachian high school students who attended a STEM-based summer camp and the impacts on their college and STEM attitudes and beliefs. Grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent et al., 1994 ), the camp provided hands-on learning experiences, mentorship, and career exploration opportunities with the goal of increasing students’ college-going self-efficacy, science identity, and STEM career interest. Findings indicate that students who attended the summer program experienced an immediate increase in self-efficacy and science identity following the summer camp, as well as a positive increase in STEM career interest over time compared to a matched sample of non-participants. These results highlight the potential of out-of-school STEM programming to support college and career development and extend the longer-term impact of STEM interventions.
This study integrates social learning theory and the Uses and Gratifications framework to examine binge-watching intensity and job-search readiness among graduating students. In a three-wave survey ( N = 250), low-to-moderate binge-watching of workplace dramas was associated with lower job-search anxiety and higher job-search self-efficacy, but these benefits attenuated as viewing intensity increased. Learning motivation emerged as a key boundary condition: higher intensity was associated with lower anxiety and higher self-efficacy only when learning motivation was high. Mediated moderation results further indicated an indirect association with job-search quality through self-efficacy, but not anxiety. These findings highlight the conditional value of learning-oriented media use for vocational anticipatory socialization.
Stressors and one’s response to stress play not only a major role in one’s life but also have significant impacts on the career decision-making process. This study, grounded in Cognitive Information Processing Theory, explores the impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), the COVID-19 pandemic, and response to ambiguity on career decision-making difficulty and negative career thoughts. Participants included 231 college students. Findings indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic had a greater impact on both career outcomes than ACEs, and one’s ambiguity response had an even greater impact on both career outcomes than the COVID-19 pandemic. These results indicate that recent stressors and one’s response to those stressors play a larger role than distal stressors in career decision-making. Practical application of CIP theory to address these issues and research implications are discussed.
Middle school is a critical period of identify formation, academic achievement, and career exploration, particularly for prospective first-generation college students (PFGCS). This instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) focused on interviews with a sample of 15 8th graders identified as PFGCS and enrolled in an out-of-school, university-sponsored program supporting college and career readiness to understand what they valued and articulated as protective factors in their career learning experiences. This project emerged out of a large, mixed-methods, longitudinal project studying the implementation of the out-of-school youth program, and the data analyzed were semi-structured interviews. Drawing on social cognitive career theory (Lent et al., 1994) and ecological risk and resilience theory (Masten, 2018), the coding analysis found that participants valued family, mentorship, and joy in their career learning experiences and career decision-making. Middle school represents a critical window for fostering aspirations and addressing systemic barriers that may hinder students' postsecondary success. The findings from this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the career development process for PFGCS and inform future efforts to enhance college and career readiness programs for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds. More specifically, the study offers implications for embedding career exploration within school curricula, developing joy-centered and experiential learning opportunities, increasing mentoring support, and sustaining school-family-community partnerships.
This study explored the perceptions of female graduate assistants who worked in the NCAA division I athletic department regarding the barriers to their career success in the sport industry and their coping mechanisms through the lens of social cognitive career theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 female graduate assistants who were working in the athletic department of an NCAA Division I institution. The participants felt pressured to prove their value at work because of the perceived gender stereotypes against women working in sport and the belief in the glass ceiling for women working in a sport organization. To overcome these barriers, the participants adopted various behavioral and psychological coping mechanisms. The unique insights obtained from this study add to the body of literature on the career development of women in sport by filling the theoretical gap related to women who pursue a professional career in sport.
While scholars have focused on exploring what predicts subjective career success (SCS), we built on conservation of resources theory to study SCS not only as the ultimate outcome but also as a resource for achieving further valued work outcomes. To this end, we analyzed the gain spiral between SCS, work engagement, and creativity (SCS -> work engagement -> creativity -> SCS) in a four-wave longitudinal design (one-year intervals). Based on a sample of N = 1228 German academic scientists, we conducted a cross-lagged panel model analysis. As expected, SCS showed positive time-lagged effects on work engagement, and work engagement showed positive time-lagged effects on creativity. However, creativity showed no time-lagged effects on SCS. From a series of exploratory multigroup analyses, this pattern of results emerged as robust across sociodemographic and work-related variables. The results help to further our understanding of how SCS functions as a resource.
This study introduces the Adversity-Transformation Framework (ATF), a theoretical innovation that reconceptualises how economic constraints function within collectivist cultural contexts. Drawing on structural equation modelling with 507 Vietnamese university students, the investigation reveals that economic constraints positively and significantly predict work volition, career adaptability, and decent work perception, contrasting with traditional assumptions of the Psychology of Working Theory. Mediation analyses demonstrate that psychological resources sequentially transmit the effects of economic constraints to career outcomes. Proactive personality moderates the relationship between economic constraints and career adaptability, with stronger compensatory effects observed among students with lower proactive dispositions. These findings suggest that cultural meaning-making processes, collective support systems, and an achievement-oriented mindset transform economic adversity into motivational catalysts within Vietnamese society. The study advances career development theory by identifying boundary conditions under which contextual constraints activate rather than deplete psychological resources in developing country contexts.
Vocational identity has consistently been linked to occupational well-being, yet its role among adults with ADHD remains unclear. This study examined the benefits of a clear vocational identity to job satisfaction, work amotivation, and income in context of ADHD. Participants were 100 full-time employees with ADHD (51% male; ages 19-30). Controlling for age, sex, and medication status, path analyses revealed a clear vocational identity was associated with higher levels of job satisfaction and protected against work amotivation. ADHD symptoms and executive function problems (time management, organization, motivation) were associated with lower levels of a clear vocational identity. Regression analyses further revealed that a clear vocational identity moderated the adverse effects of ADHD symptoms and executive function problems on job satisfaction and work motivation. Altogether, our findings provide initial evidence that a clear vocational identity may be protective and a promising intervention target for occupational functioning among adults with ADHD.
Adolescents face high-stakes career decisions under uncertainty. Yet, while bounded rationality research has established that cognitive biases can systematically distort human judgement and decision-making, we know little about how these biases appear in adolescent career exploration. This pragmatic, mixed-methods study investigated how cognitive biases appear in career decision-making among 21 Australian high school students aged 15-18. Students participated in semi-structured interviews exploring their career decision-making approaches, followed by a quantitative survey assessing bias tendencies. Content analysis revealed several cognitive bias patterns: confirmation bias appeared as selective information seeking, availability bias emerged as choosing familiar careers, and varying levels of confidence and sunk-cost fallacy were observed. These findings highlight how biased thinking patterns can appear in adolescent career choices while acknowledging their potential benefits and limitations. Schools may benefit from incorporating bias-awareness activities into career education programs and teaching structured decision-making frameworks.
This article presents findings from a youth participatory action research (YPAR) project conducted within a career development education internship program in the San Francisco Bay Area. Led by Black youth members of the Youth Leadership Council (YLC), the project demonstrates how a pedagogy of solidarity can fundamentally reframe career development education toward equity and institutional accountability. Drawing on focus groups with current and former interns, the YLC produced three thematic findings organized around the dimensions of solidarity. Youth members redefined success on their own terms, named what genuinely supportive workplaces look and feel like, and designed and delivered employer trainings that centered youth knowledge and needs. Together these findings challenge the dominant career development education paradigm that places the burden of adaptation on individual youth, and make the case that responsibility belongs with the institutions and supervisors who shape the conditions in which young people work.
This study explored the intersection of midlife women, purpose-led career change, and well-being. Given the limited existing research, a qualitative approach was used to highlight the transformative potential within this area. Semi-structured interviews with six participants were employed and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The themes "Compromised Self," reflecting the women's initial unaligned career choices, and "True Self," encapsulating the women's journey towards purpose-led careers, were identified. Whilst challenging, the transition outcomes were promising, with career dissatisfaction making way for fulfillment, improved health, and contribution to others. Factors such as introspection, agency, and external support facilitated pathways to the new careers, with most transitioning into self-employment. The insights obtained contribute to the fields of purpose and career change and suggest that women's midlife career change presents an untapped potential for personal fulfillment and societal sustainability.
