Rethinking employability: how students build on interest in a subject to plan a career

As universities prioritise employability, there is increased attention to promoting students’ career decidedness. In this mixed method, cross-sectional study, we explore whether and how students’ interest in their academic subject affects their career decidedness. Using surveys of 428 undergraduates studying sciences in a UK university (60% F, average age = 19.9) and case examples from follow-up interviews with 15 students, we examine students’ interest development and its relation to their career decidedness and their desire for meaningful, interesting work. Findings showed that most students who were studying science in university had a well-developed interest that had motivated their choice of programme, and their subject interest and career decidedness were linked. Regression analyses indicated that students’ interest in their subject was a significant predictor of career decidedness, mediated by students’ desire to pursue that interest in their career. Open-ended comments on the surveys suggested that decidedness was informed by coursework, proactive career exploration, work experience, interest, feasibility, and familial contacts. Interviews confirmed these factors and illustrated how they contributed to students’ career decidedness. We propose implications for academics and career counsellors who might help students refine their interest by considering connections between their academic subject, interest, and related career options. We argue that educators and policy-makers need to reframe employability interventions and think beyond teaching students skills or attributes that lead to employment. Educators can start with students’ interest in their subject and support students’ exploration of how they can continue to pursue that interest in various careers.

The Changing Landscape of Doctoral Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: PhD Students, Faculty Advisors, and Preferences for Varied Career Options

The landscape of graduate science education is changing as efforts to diversify the professoriate have increased because academic faculty jobs at universities have grown scarce and more competitive. With this context as a backdrop, the present research examines the perceptions and career goals of advisors and advisees through surveys of PhD students (Study 1, N = 195) and faculty mentors (Study 2, N = 272) in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines. Study 1 examined actual preferences and career goals of PhD students among three options: research careers, teaching careers, and non-academic careers in industry, and compared the actual preferences of students with what they perceived as being the normative preferences of faculty. Overall, students had mixed preferences but perceived that their advisors had a strong normative preference for research careers for them. Moreover, students who ranked research positions as most desirable felt the most belonging in their academic departments. Further analyses revealed no differences in career preferences as a function of underrepresented minority (URM) student status or first-generation (FG) status, but URM and FG students felt less belonging in their academic departments. Study 2 examined faculty preferences for different careers for their advisees, both in general and for current students in particular. While faculty advisors preferred students to go into research in general, when focusing on specific students, they saw their preferences as being closely aligned with the career preference of each PhD student. Faculty advisors did not perceive any difference in belonging between their students as a function of their URM status. Discrepancies between student and faculty perceptions may occur, in part, because faculty and students do not engage in sufficient discussions about the wider range of career options beyond academic research. Supporting this possibility, PhD students and faculty advisors reported feeling more comfortable discussing research careers with each other than either non-academic industry positions or teaching positions. Discussion centers on the implications of these findings for interpersonal and institutional efforts to foster diversity in the professoriate and to create open communication about career development.

Professional development and career-preparedness experiences of STEM Ph.D. students: Gaps and avenues for improvement

This study presents the experiences of current science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Ph.D. students and alumni with respect to professional development opportunities in their Ph.D. training. Specifically, it investigates if and how the Ph.D. training supports graduates to pursue non-academic and non-R&D roles, which have become increasingly common career paths post-graduation. A mixed-methods questionnaire was developed to obtain quantitative and qualitative data regarding the graduate school experiences of current Ph.D. students and recent Ph.D. graduates pursuing diverse career paths. The study investigates the values, needs, and conceptions of professional development from the student perspective, as well as the contributions of peers and mentors in graduate school towards their professional development. Experiences of Ph.D. alumni are used to identify the barriers for transitioning to the first job post-graduation and to provide an assessment of the current professional development opportunities in Ph.D. programs. It is reported that although Ph.D. training allowed alumni to develop a robust skillset that includes research, teaching, and scientific writing; some common barriers associated with obtaining a job post-graduation were lack of awareness about career options, limited or no professional networks outside academia, and a lack of preparation and support for non-academic job transitions. Through analyzing the student perspective on various aspects of professional development, the study identifies gaps and avenues for improvement for professional development in Ph.D. training, including increased awareness of diverse career paths for STEM PhDs, increased networking opportunities for PhD students with sectors outside academia, embedding professional development in the PhD curriculum, and others; so that programs can support students in entering the labor market in a variety of careers that extend beyond academia and traditional R&D jobs, using interventions that resonate with the students and meet their needs.

Target Oxbridge Year 10 programme

Target Oxbridge is Rare Recruitment's programme to help students with black African and Caribbean heritage to increase their chances of getting into Cambridge or Oxford Universities. Target Oxbridge and Trinity College, University of Cambridge, launched a unique programme called the Target Oxbridge Year 10 programme to demystify the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford in order to help more 14 and 15 year olds of black heritage prepare to apply to and gain places at these leading universities. This new programme for students in Year 10 featured webinars with Trinity College academics and students, and Target Oxbridge alumni provided advice to Year 10 black British students who are considering attending university. The webinars aimed to demystify Oxford and Cambridge Universities, offer insights into what college life is really like, provide information on the application process, and offer guidance on preparing applications. Students also learned about how degree subject choice can affect their career options. This article provides an evaluation report on the Programme's effectiveness.

Scope and determinant of career preferences for medical preclinical students at Udayana University

The medical field has wide career preferences as the medical world develops, making it attractive for students to study medicine. The breadth of career preferences in the medical field exposes students to various career options according to their wishes and abilities. Insight into medical career preferences will help students determine the right medical career. This study aims to determine the determinants of career preferences of medical preclinical students in general in Indonesia. This study used a method descriptive cross-sectional. The data is the result of the questionnaire in accordance with the inclusion criteria of the sample. The number of samples obtained was 145 medical preclinical students at the Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University. From the results of the study, it was found that 138 students (95.2%) chose a career as a clinician and 7 students (4.8%) chose a career as a non-clinical doctor. Students who choose clinicians, choose a pediatrician and internal medicine specialist as many as 22 students (16.2%). Pre-clinical blocks that are preferred by students are Behavior 87 students (60%) and Endocrine 24 students (16.6%). Parental background, cost, and time required for further education are not obstacles for respondents to choose their career preferences.

It's Just the Wilson Way: Investigating the Extended Impact of an Elementary Full-Service Community School Initiative on Middle School STEM-Related Outcomes

This study investigated the sustained impact from elementary fullservice community school programming on middle school STEM academic outcomes that could lead to greater college and career readiness, as well as increased STEM career options for underserved urban students. Quantitative findings suggest middle school youth who attended an elementary full-service community school performed better on middle school STEM outcomes and were predicted to be more prepared to graduate and enter a STEM-related field than a matched comparison of peers who did not. Qualitative results explain differences. Two meta-inferences, informal facilitation of STEM and sustained fullservice community school impact, frame the discussion.

Employment of educated youth in rural Punjab: Amidst Stagnancy and (IM)Mobility

In the context of larger discussions of how education, employment opportunities and social mobility processes intersect, this article presents micro-evidence to interrogate the role of higher education in accessing avenues for mobility regarding employment opportunities for educated youth in India’s rural Punjab. By presenting their career ambitions and trajectories, this fieldwork-based article maps a plethora of dynamics influencing the individual journeys. The article reflects on how social capital, caste and economic marginality affect the career options and mobility potential of these young males and females. The findings reaffirm that caste, compounded by economic inequality, tends to inhibit paths to upward mobility for young people located at the lower end of traditional hierarchies. However, determined efforts by many disadvantaged young rural people to succeed, partly supported by targeted affirmative action programmes, are also showing some remarkable results that offer hope.

A seismologist's beginnings: Inge Lehmann's experiences during the 1910s and '20s as a woman in science

Celebrated for her 1936 discovery of the Earth’s inner core, seismologist Inge Lehmann (1888–1993) has often been portrayed as a trailblazing female scientist, unwilling to accept discrimination in her pursuit of an academic profession. Yet, a close reading of her experiences suggests that Lehmann faced severe restrictions early on in her career. Only by being pragmatic about her situation did she successfully establish herself as a professional scientist. Having attended a progressive co-educational school before studying mathematics at the University of Copenhagen, Lehmann had little direct experience of gender discrimination. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she entered Cambridge University in 1911, along with Niels Bohr, but found herself unprepared for the gendered social segregation practiced there. Exhausted from overwork, Lehman abandoned her studies and returned to Denmark. Over the next six years, she came to understand how severely her gender limited her career options. In 1918, Inge Lehman returned to the University of Copenhagen to complete her studies, and became a teaching assistant for a professor of actuarial science in 1923. Because her chances for obtaining a scientific post at the university were slim, she joined Professor Niels Erik Nørlund in his efforts to reform the Danish Geodetic Service. In 1928, Professor Nørlund rewarded Lehmann's voluntary change of academic discipline from mathematics to seismology by appoint her as Director of the Seismology Department.

PSII-B-22 High-impact minimester course in animal science

Many Animal Science students have little exposure to working livestock production systems prior to entering college. As such, they can lack insight into day-to-day challenges and rationale behind decision making in these systems, opening the door for adoption of misconceptions frequently promoted in popular press. Additionally, students identify lack of first-hand knowledge and experience in the industry as a challenge to their educational success. Field trips stimulate interest and motivation, provide context for learning, and influence long-term career goals, but are underutilized in higher education. Potential impact of such experiences prompted creation of the Texas Panhandle Beef Production Tour, a 2-credit hour course that takes place during the spring minimester. To cement learning through reflection, students were asked to respond to a series of questions before, during, and after visiting beef production sites in the Texas Panhandle to probe preconceptions, observations, and outcomes of the experience. We then performed a retroactive evaluation of these reflections (n = 22) to determine cogent themes. Emergent themes included surprise at the intensive systems of data collection and management and the level of technology used at each site. Cattle were calmer and more comfortable than expected at feedlots, dairy, and packing plants visited. Students expressed new appreciation and understanding of course material and a desire to share their insights with others after completing the tour. Finally, participants gained a broader view of industry opportunities and returned with renewed motivation to pursue additional hands-on opportunities. Participation in this course provided valuable insight into the livestock production industry and motivated students to explore new career options and address their own preconceptions of the industry through independent inquiry. Creation of similar courses may be useful to address misconceptions, create personal connections with course material, and broaden career interests in undergraduate animal science students.