Career Goal Profiles of Early Career Scientists: A Person-Centered Approach. (October 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Noppeney, Ruth; Stertz, Anna M.; Wiese, Bettina S.
• Is Part Of: Journal of career development. Volume 49:Number 5(2022)
• Page Start: 1048
• Page End: 1062
• Publication Date: 2022-10
• Subjects: career goals -- latent transition analysis -- doctoral students -- doctorate holders -- person-centered approach; Career education -- United States -- Periodicals; Career development -- Periodicals; 370.113
• DOI: 10.1177/08948453211017235
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0894-8453

Abstract

Obtaining a doctorate offers various career options. This study takes a person-centered approach to identify interest profiles. Career goals (professorate, entrepreneur, etc.) were assessed at two time points (1-year interval) in a sample of doctoral students and doctorate holders from the STEM fields in German-speaking areas ( NT 1 = 2, 077). Latent profile analysis revealed that a four-profile solution provided the best data fit: At T1, 33.0% of the participants aimed for a management position in industry, 16.9% pursued an academic career, 30.1% were interested in activities without leadership responsibilities, and 20.1% had a relatively flat career-goal profile. Latent transition analysis indicated that most changes occurred for those classified into the flat profile, while strong interest in a management career was very stable over time. Additionally, the attainment of the doctorate seemed to be a good predictor for profile membership: Doctorate holders were more likely to be clearly dedicated to an academic career.