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Summary report adapted from

O’Regan, Maura (2009)

Career pursuit: towards an understanding of

undergraduate students’ orientation to career

University of Reading PhD Thesis

This report is for internal use and circulation within the University of Reading

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1. Introduction

This report is based on a longitudinal, interpretive study conducted at the University of

Reading which explores undergraduate students’ transition into higher education and

subsequent orientation towards their career and prospective future employment. The

literature on career theory focuses on transition points from school to work (Hodkinson &

Sparkes, 1997; Roberts, 1997) but not on the transition into university, which involves

developing a new undergraduate student identity (Christie, 2009). Research into the careers

of young people has explored the career decision-making process (Germeijs & Verschueren,

2006; Hodkinson, Sparkes & Hodkinson, 1996, Hodkinson, & Sparkes, 1997) whereas this

study takes a holistic view of career development which encapsulates lifelong

developmental (Super, 1980; Super, Savickas, & Super, 1996) and learning processes

(Krumboltz, 1994; Law, 1996; McDaniels & Gysbers, 1992). The Leitch Review (2006)

presented a vision of a highly skilled work force which would drive innovation, leadership

and management enabling businesses to compete in a global economy. Therefore, the focus

on generic and transferable skills prevalent in the past gave way to a more managed

employability agenda with employability described

…as a set of achievements, understandings and personal attributes that

make individuals more likely to gain employment and be successful in

their chosen occupations. (Knight & Yorke, 2004, p.9)

Universities reacted to this employability agenda by introducing credit-bearing careers

education/career management skills modules as either optional or compulsory elements to

the higher education curriculum (Foskett & Johnston, 2006). Inherent in this strategic focus

on graduate employment and employability is the expectation that all young people in

transition to university will know what they want to do post graduation and are willing to

engage in thinking and planning for that eventuality. There is also an assumption that all

undergraduates share the same interpretation of what a career is. However, research shows

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that the term ‘career’ is complex, means different things to different people, has surplus

meanings (Hall, 2002) and is ‚forged in what persons do and what they avoid doing, the

decisions made or not made‛ (Herr, 1990, p.4). The study which is summarised here focuses

on how undergraduates pursue their education, conceptualise their career and what role

they expect the university to play in that situation.

2. The research study

This research study was conducted with thirty undergraduate students at the University of

Reading between October 2006 and June 2007. The information was gathered through semi-

structured interviews and loosely guide-lined diary entries which were submitted

electronically each term during their second year at university. Of the fifteen female and

fifteen male students, sixteen were taking economics modules and fourteen taking history

modules although enrolment covered a range of degree courses. There were ten female

history students and four male history students. The reverse was the case with economics

students where there were five female students and eleven male students. This was

representative of the total cohort of history and economics students that academic year. All

history students were enrolled in the history department, whereas the economics students

represented a wider enrolment including business, politics, geography and statistics. Twenty

six students identified themselves as white British, one as white and Asian, one as white

other, one as British-Filipino and one preferred not to say. Two of the students chose not to

answer the socio-economic classification question. How the remainder of the students

identified their socio-economic background on the survey form is presented in Table 1

below.

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Table 1 Male and female undergraduate self reported socio-economic background

Socio-economic classification Female Male Total

Higher managerial and professional occupation 4 6 10

Lower managerial and professional qualification 6 3 9

Intermediate occupations 3 4 7

Small employers and own account work 0 1 1

Lower supervisory and technical occupation 1 0 1

None of the students declared any disability at the time of enrolment onto the study. One

was diagnosed with dyslexia and another with Asperger’s syndrome during their

participation in the project.

The first interview focused on establishing a rapport while exploring the undergraduates’

reasons for coming to university, why they had chosen their subject and whether they had

any career preferences at that time. Students were also encouraged to disclose anything they

felt was relevant to their career planning. The interview protocols for the spring and

summer terms were based on previous interview responses and diary entries and as such

were unique to each student. In addition to this, the interview in the spring term focused on

the students’ progress, their experience and expectation of university and their thoughts on

the tutorial system and the career management skills module. They were also encouraged to

discuss how things might have changed since the previous interview. The final interview

was designed to consolidate previous information and build a picture of where students

were currently in their studies and pursuit of career. They were also asked how they

thought participating in the project had influenced or affected them. The participating

students were invited to attend a group session during the spring term (2008) where

findings were presented and they had the opportunity to give feedback.

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3. Findings

The findings revealed that the undergraduate students were adjusting to the transition to

university in different ways, partly because they were at various stages of their personal,

social, academic and career development. The students’ transitional journey towards ‘self’

discovery, independence and identity confirmed they were ‘in the making’ (Giddens, 1991).

Some had settled into university life relatively easily and considered they were making

progress personally, socially and academically, while others took longer to adjust to this

new institutional environment. Some students were more career-focused and perceived

themselves to be ready to act to pursue their chosen career. Others were less certain about

what they wanted to do, and varied in how much this concerned them. Not all students

were concerned about their future employment or employability. Not only were the

students at different stages of their career development, but they were also more or less

enthusiastic about pursuing their career ideas.

After reviewing their interviews and diary entries it became apparent that the students in

the study showed four different orientations towards their interest in and motivation to

pursue a career and engage with thinking about their futures.

Those orientated towards learning represent a group of students who

prioritised studying and were enjoying university life (3 students)

Those orientated towards introspection represent a group of students who were

anxious and sometimes quite stressed (3 students)

Those orientated towards hesitation represent a group of students who were

easy-going and inclined to procrastinate (10 students)

Those orientated towards instrumentalism represent a group of students who

pursued every opportunity and were focused on the future (14 students)

These four groups had come to university with differing expectations and priorities. What

they hoped to gain is presented in Table 2.

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Table 2 What students value about the university experience

Orientation Student priorities Total

Learning (3)

The education

A degree

Help with finding a job

Personal development

The social experience

3

2

2

2

1

Introspection (3)

The education

The social experience

3

2

Hesitation (10)

Personal development

The education

A degree

Gaining work after

graduation

Social experience

8

5

5

4

3

Instrumentalism (14) A degree

Gaining work after

graduation

Personal development

The social experience

The education

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9

9

6

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Those orientated to learning, introspection, and hesitation were more likely to value the

educational and personal opportunities offered by attending university.

I think it was the learning. Now, it’s becoming more important to get the

degree. No the learning is still important. It’s *the degree+ not more

important that the learning but it has become more apparent. (Billy,

interview spring 2007)

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Before I came a lot of people said ‘oh it would suit you’. I used to talk a lot

to my teachers at school and college and I just wanted to carry on

learning. I don’t think I really knew back then. I knew I wanted to do

English and History but I didn’t necessarily know what was going to

happen next. Because you don’t necessarily know - because you haven’t

done anything. (Kate, interview spring 2007)

I hoped to gain a lot of independence which I think I have and I’ve made

so many more friends, just mixing with people I probably wouldn’t if I

had just stayed at home. I definitely wanted a good degree as well.

Something that would help me get a job afterwards. It was mainly about

the independence but it has changed more to academic now… (Josie,

interview spring 2007)

Those orientated to instrumentalism believed their degree to be a stepping stone to better

graduate jobs and the educational process and intellectual development were less

important. They acknowledged that they wanted to develop personally, become more

independent, but their focus was clearly on the future and they were driven to achieve their

career aspirations.

Well, I want to get the best degree I can so I can get paid the most. The

point of coming to university is to make more money when you are older.

I wouldn’t be going to university if I could make the exact same money

not going to university…It’s how I was raised. (Ray, interview spring 2007)

For the instrumental group the university experience was more about longer term goals

than the immediate academic experience which differed considerably from the three other

groups expectations. The key to interpreting the stories the students told lay in the

importance they placed on current experiences, the future and its possibilities and how

relevant their ‘career’ was for them at that particular time. The orientations to the future

and career are presented in diagram form in Figure 1 below. This visual representation

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shows a ‘focus’ axis which extends from the present into the future and a ‘relevance’ axis

indicating how much significance students placed on pursuing their careers.

Figure 1 Undergraduates orientation towards their future and their prospective career

The findings from this study suggest that it is those students most clearly focussed on career

and their future employment (the instrumentalists) who fit more easily within the

university employability framework.

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3.1 Orientated towards learning

Students orientated towards ‘learning’ were interested in studying. They were generally

happy and enjoyed their university experience, particularly studying for their degree and

developing intellectually. They preferred to postpone their career planning because they

were concentrating on their education and obtaining a degree. They had handled the

transition from school to university well and most likely made good friends. They were

reasonably resilient and could adapt well to changing circumstances. Their career insight

and identity were developing, but they were more motivated by being students than

pursuing any career planning activities at that time. They valued their education and set a

high priority on what they were gaining from university rather than spending time

considering life after graduation which meant thinking about a ‘career’.

All three student ‘learners’ had thought about their priorities and for them they had come to

university to study a subject they enjoyed in more depth and were content to postpone

acting on their career. They did not give their career much consideration although they

were aware that they would move on and had to make plans eventually. However, their

career was not a major priority. The ‘learners’ were more focused on university, while

…career – I guess it’s that word that means full-time work and staying in

the same job for a long time rather than switching jobs. Staying in one.

That’s why I want to take my time in thinking what I want to do. (Billy

interview summer 2007)

The learners did not have much to say about their careers and conceptualised their ‘career’

in subjective terms. They were interested in work that was rewarding, interesting and had

variety which gave them the opportunity to be successful and work with others. They had

clearly established a student identity and were less focused on putting serious thought into

their career identity. The male students were more concerned with promotion and

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progression. Billy found being asked about career ‘very irritating’ (interview 2/5/07). This is

perhaps reflected in how little he had to say about his career thoughts.

3.2 Orientated towards introspection

Students orientated towards ‘introspection’ reflected on their current experiences and,

although aware of the future, their priority was appraising and coping with the day to day

personal, social and academic life of a student. They considered and reconsidered what they

needed to do but remained focused on the present. They worried quite a lot about not

getting around to doing anything about their career planning but found it difficult to make

decisions or think that far ahead.

Their transition from school to university and living away from home had not been smooth

and some were finding it difficult to make friends and integrate. They tended to lack

confidence and self-esteem in new situations. Their resilience was low and they found it

difficult to adapt to changing situations and needed support and reassurance. They were not

ready to consider work and career planning until their confidence, self-esteem and insight

have stabilised.

I wasn’t ready to be on my own and be approached as an adult. I learnt it

the hard way…The ‘mass’ nature of our universities are suffocating to a

person like me, at least. The joy of learning is fragile, easily lost and put

aside and needs to be cared for and encouraged in the right environment.

(Kate, diary May 2007)

I basically dropped all ideas of a career until I had settled into University

to see how life changed. (Paul, diary October 2006)

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Similarly to those orientated towards learning, the three introspective students chose a

more subjective way of conceptualising their career and were focused on having a career

where they could make a difference, had variety, which provided financial security and was

enjoyable, challenging and yielded some job satisfaction. They did not conceptualise career

in terms of success, achievement or progression and had not really thought very much

about the type of career they wanted because their main priority was to get through their

transition to university and cope with their situation at that time. They were as yet

unfocused on ‘career.’ Alice ‘found 9-5 quite tiring so I’d maybe do part time work to start with’

(interview 25/10/06). Kate saw career:

…as very restrictive. If I go into that I can’t do anything else and that’s

that. It’s meant to be the pinnacle. You are meant to be working towards

your career and your life. Once you’ve had your career, you’ve had your

career and then you retire. And to me I just don’t like it. There’s so much I

don’t like. (interview summer 2007

Kate thought that the compulsory careers management skills module she took as part of her

course ‘just represents everything you don’t know’. Interesting here is how little the students

orientated towards introspection and indeed learning had written or spoken about their

understanding of career. Alice, for example, wanted job satisfaction, something challenging

and enjoyable and where she could make a difference. Kate wanted financial security and

also to make a difference. Paul was looking for variety. Alice, Kate and Paul showed signs of

a diffused career identity and remain on the journey towards a self-constructed career

identity.

3.3 Orientated towards hesitation

Those orientated towards ‘hesitation’ knew what they had to do to realise their career

ambitions but often postponed doing it. However, they took responsibility for their

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procrastination. They could have been more active in pursuing their career but were often

distracted by what was happening around them. They were generally easy-going and had

made a smooth transition to university and had integrated well. Hesitators may have had a

perceived but not fully formed career identity.

I have a feeling – I don’t know – I’m not saying oh yeah office work is

going to be great. I’m thinking that the chances are I’ll end up there,

taking into account enjoyment and money. After all I’ll need to pay off my

debts and things and have a feeling doing that sort of job is probably the

most efficient way of doing that. (James, interview spring 2007)

They were simply postponing acting to realise their aspirations. Their insight appeared to be

limited as goal-setting and taking action were often delayed. They were most likely resilient

when pushed but could be inconsistent. They appeared to have reasonable levels of

confidence and self-esteem and were flexible and adaptable but could lack perseverance and

persistence unless or until they made a conscious decision ‘to go for it’.

I won’t do anything until there is a definite deadline I have to reach. And I

won’t take action until the deadline is closing in. (James, interview 2007)

Doris wanted a career with the ‘possibility for advancement’ and ‘extra training’ (interview

29/5/07). Emily wanted ‘one’ career, to work her way up from wherever she started and ‘after

twenty years be the best at it. What’s the point if you can’t achieve anything?’ (interview 17/5/07).

They were focussed on both the subjective and objective aspects of career. Enjoyment, lots

of variety, job satisfaction, opportunities for progression and the social aspects of work were

all very important.

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Although hesitators’ conceptualisation of career focused on possibilities, they were inclined

to stand back and defer acting on their career options despite being able to articulate their

interest in progression, promotion and job satisfaction. They were aware of postponing

making career decisions and although cognisant of the future they were mainly concerned

with living in the present. They could however, on occasion set goals and make decisions

that could facilitate their pursuit of their chosen career. However, their priority during this

transitional period was their personal development in terms of confidence building and new

found independence.

3.4 Orientated towards instrumentalism

Those orientated towards ‘instrumentalism’ consciously made career related choices and acted

on them to realise their career aspirations. They were motivated and resilient in their

current situation. Their conceptualisation of career was more detailed and thought through

than the other three groups. They were looking for financial security, opportunities for

success and achievement, through further training, promotion and progression. They were

actively involved in the process of moving on and pursuing opportunities and appeared very

driven. They took all the opportunities offered and were able to pursue alternative ones if

necessary. They could be persistent and adaptable. From an early age they had sought

opportunities to ensure their future. They had planned, prepared, consulted and negotiated

their next steps. These were the students who took time to complete internship application

forms, seek ‘useful’ volunteering opportunities and work experience. Instrumentalists share

similarities with ‘careerists’ (Tomlinson, 2007) or ‘players’ (Brown & Hesketh, 2004). Once

one transition was made, they are looking for the next one. Their transition to university

may have seemed effortless, since their primary focus now is on the next transition. Aaron

said of career, ‘this is who I am. It does define you’ (interview 31/5/07). This goes some way to

explaining why career instrumentalists are driven to pursue opportunities which will

facilitate the realisation of their career aspirations. For Bruce, another student orientated

towards instrumentalism, ‘a career involves me working hard, getting to a place where I’m

comfortable and doing the best that I can possibly do’ (interview 4/6/07). Their time at university is

experienced from a career perspective as your career

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…will become a major part of your life. So for a lot of people it is a

dominating part of their life, isn’t it? So a career is sort of a life focus.

(Johnny, interview, summer 2007)

Ray also saw career as ‘like a life style’ (diary June 2007). Phoebe had ‘set her ambitions quite high’

(interview 8/5/07) and to fulfil them she went to the careers service for advice, attended all

the recruitment days on and off campus and networked effectively. She also skipped

lectures to spend time in the library reading the Financial Times. She did this because the

careers service had recommended that if she wanted to secure a graduate internship she

needed to be up-to-date with market trends. For her ‘progression is quite important because you

start at the bottom of say a ladder and you build up your qualifications and your salary goes up’

(interview 8/5/07).

4. Discussion

The four type orientation to the future and career presented here places career development

at key transition points into context. The findings of the study reveal that while some

undergraduate students took an instrumental approach to conceptualising and pursuing

their education and career, not all were ready or interested in thinking about their career,

graduate employment or their employability. The employability of undergraduates, such a

key focus for university policy makers, is in line with the experiences and expectations of

the instrumental students but not for the other three groups for varying reasons. Those

orientated to learning wanted to do just that, study and develop academically. Going to

university is in itself an emotional process which evokes a range of responses including

positive feelings; hope, enthusiasm, and pride as well as ‚fear, resentment and guilt‛

(Christie, 2009, p.135). Those orientated to introspection were struggling to settle in and get

on with the social and academic side of university and so were too anxious to engage with

planning for their futures and their careers. The students inclined to procrastination

postponed planning and taking action to realise their career aspirations. The undergraduates

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therefore responded to their compulsory career management skills module in different

ways. Their responses were linked to how their sense of identity was forming and how far

along they were in their thinking about their next transition point from university into the

labour market. Holland and Holland (1977) suggest that career indecision is based on a lack

of confidence in making decisions, a lack of urgency about the need to make a decision and

a lack of a clear sense of personal ‘identity’.

The link between self and action is strong. According to Fugate, Kinichi, and Ashforth (2004,

p.19) ‚who I am‛ includes goals, hopes, fears, personality traits, values, beliefs, norms,

interaction styles and time horizons. In their sociological theory of career decision making,

Hodkinson and Sparkes (1997) propose that career decisions are pragmatically rational and

‚can only be understood in terms of the life histories of those who make them, wherein

identity has evolved through interaction with significant others and with the culture in

which the subject has lived and is living‛ (p.33). We need to be mindful that career decisions

are amongst the most important decisions people make and are significant for the

individual and the society as a whole (Gati & Asher, 2001). However, we also need to be

mindful that people have different expectations about their lives, their futures and their

careers and that not all undergraduates will follow a prescribed path to graduate

employment.

This study has practical implications for universities and the higher education curriculum.

As long as student success is viewed in terms of the quantity and quality of graduate

employment opportunities universities will drive this particular agenda. In this way

university policy makers would appear to suggest that students orientated towards

instrumentalism are in some way more desirable than the other three groups. The

university system provides for these instrumental students who will engage with the future

focused agenda in their pursuit of gains within the graduate labour market. They will be

quite strategic and focussed on their ultimate goal and so adhere to all the supports put in

place for the undergraduate population to obtain graduate work. This is not the case for

those orientated to learning, introspection and hesitation. In effect the university is

preaching to the converted. What it needs to do now is consider how to accommodate the

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learners, the hesitators and the introspectives within the higher education framework.

These findings therefore, have implications for higher education policy makers, careers

services and individual departments/schools in how best to manage and implement this

provision for all students regardless of their orientation to their career and their futures.

There are a number of questions to consider here:

Is encouraging all undergraduate students to consider their transition into

employment before some have adjusted to the personal, social and academic aspects

of university life feasible or desirable?

Is the intrinsic desire to learn and develop academically undervalued as universities’

push for improved graduate employment destination statistics?

Are we not reinforcing a sense of uncertainty amongst students who are unsure

about what they want to do through university managed career education

programmes?

Does the employability agenda under the guise of supporting students into

meaningful work fail to allow for the fact that students develop at different rates and

with different expectations?

The findings of this study suggest that how students adjust to their university life, prioritise

their learning and cope with this transition will have repercussions for how they react to

being encouraged to plan and prepare for the future. Some of the students felt that they

were being forced to think about what they wanted to do, when they did not know what

that was. While most felt that a university education and a degree would result in better

employment opportunities in the future, many did not want to have to consider ‘that’

future while they were developing personally, socially and academically at university,

particularly during their first two years. They had come to university for ‘the experience’

not to project into another experience in two or three years’ time. The findings also suggest

that some students were less than enthusiastic about their employability and careers

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education with its focus on skills and managing careers. Resources might be better used to

increase employment-based training and experience (Cranmer, 2006). The struggle those

orientated towards introspection in this study had to adjust to university, echoes the need

for support that Cranmer (2006) suggests graduates require in the transitional stage into

employment.

Then there are quite serious implications for policy-makers who make assumptions about

undergraduates’ priorities. They assume that undergraduates are basically homogenous in

terms of their needs and expectations. It is clear from the results of this study that different

students have different priorities on what a university education is for. Even if nearly all

expect that a degree will be generally helpful in their future career, not all are career

orientated while they are at university. For many their employment is too far in the distance

to be relevant to them and they more clearly associate with a student identity rather than a

graduate/career identity. Higher education careers services may need to promote and

provide a one-to-one guidance service which addresses the issues faced by those orientated

towards introspection, who may be stressed, anxious and in need of support and career

hesitators, who may procrastinate and need help to focus and set goals. The evidence from

this study suggests that career management skills in its current guise (and other career-

related activities) compound the anxieties of a significant proportion of students, who are

not yet in a position for various reasons, to consider their future employment.

Better preparation could facilitate more successful transitions and ensure a sense of ‘well-

being’. It would also help young peoples’ confidence in making career choices, if that is

what they want to do at that particular time. Based on these findings, career preparation

and early guidance could be the key as many students described how ‘random’ their choice

of university was and how they had not given their future beyond university much thought.

More informed preparation before completing university applications could perhaps

facilitate smoother transitions for young people by including advice and guidance rather

than focussing primarily on personal statements on university application forms, as the

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students in this study described. Some students described how they had not considered

other alternatives to university, it might be, therefore that practitioners and educators could

include some discussion of other options; for example gap years, apprenticeships, work-

while training opportunities. A more detailed knowledge of work roles, entry routes and

further qualifications required would also be useful rather than waiting until these were

addressed by careers education/career management skills modules at university.

The notion of employability has ensured that careers provision has been introduced into the

higher education curriculum. However, the students participating in this study showed little

concern for the labour market and only a few, as they approached the end of their second

year, had begun to think about their skills development. The students differed greatly in

what they expected from university; ‘employability’ was a concern for the career

instrumentalists, a minority although sizable group in the study. The careers education or

management skills modules which focus on job studies and CV writing could be best placed

in optional workshops which would build on individual needs and prior experience and

learning. For example, some students like Paul, ‘know how to write a CV…I’ve done it before’

(interview 15/2/07), echoed by Neil, ‘we have careers all through secondary school really…so it’s the

same kind of thing over again and we basically get told the same things’ (interview 20/2/07). Monica

on the other hand despite taking the career management skills module felt she needed to go

to the careers service anyway to get individual help writing her CV.

To develop skills that employers want; such as communication, team working, networking,

planning and organisation necessitates perhaps embedding such skills within the

curriculum (Knight & Yorke, 2004). It can be argued that this approach is more functional

and useful than separate stand alone career management skills modules which can only

provide at best a superficial look at skills development rather than its practical application.

However, skills are not enough; a career identity defined as the structure of meanings in

which the individual links motivation, interests, and competencies with acceptable career

roles is required if the individual is to overcome increasing social and work related

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insecurity (Meijers, 1998). We need to consider innovative ways to ensure that

undergraduate students develop personally in order that they have the insight, resilience

and career understanding (London, 1993) to cope within this competitive knowledge driven

economy.

5. Conclusion

If key players such as Government and employers expect universities to generate a

population of self starters who are proactive, confident, and display enthusiastic

characteristics or attributes (Harvey, Moon, Greall, & Bower, 1997) they are in effect

targeting those orientated towards instrumentalism. The challenge remains that if fifty

percent of young people are expected to enter higher education, as the Government

suggests, institutions have to provide a curriculum catering not only for career

instrumentalists but for career hesitators and those orientated to learning and introspection.

Clearly then, policy-makers, deliverers of career management skills, whether embedded or

stand alone, and higher education careers services might want to revisit their understanding

of career motivation and their policies in order to create a learning experience that more

closely meets the needs of the broader student population. The evidence from this study

suggests that universities need to exercise caution when pushing a blanket employability

agenda.

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